2020 - What a Sports Year It’s Already Been!
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
The historic, life-changing COVID-19 pandemic has certainly made our World a much different one than before. And as for sports, well, they’ve become basically non-existent for the major four from the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB.
For us, Patriots fans, me amongst them, the biggest change of course now comes in the form of Tom Brady not being the quarterback in New England. Instead, after 20 years, he’s now TB12 in TB as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For many of us, it also means a very long time since the Patriots were NOT the favorites to win the AFC East Division. After all, the Pats have won 11 straight division titles and 16 of the last 17. Right now, the Buffalo Bills have Las Vegas oddsmakers' eyes to win the crown, per OddsShark.com.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTSo, it got us thinking as to how times were when the other three teams in the division sat atop it. Let’s take a look!
Buffalo Bills - 1995
Let’s start with the Bills, arguably with the deepest roster and best quarterback in the division as Josh Allen leads Sean McDermott’s team with new wide receiver Stefon Diggs added to the mix from Minnesota.
It was 1995 when the Boys from Buffalo last finished in first place in the AFC East. Think about it, back then, the Colts were still in the East instead of the AFC South. The Bills, led by quarterback Jim Kelly, running back Thurman Thomas, also had Bruce Smith & Cornelius Bennett on defense along with defensive player of the year Bryce Paup. Plus, in the playoffs, Buffalo put an end to Don Shula’s coaching career with a Wild Card win over the Dolphins.
1995
Bills 10-6
Colts 9-7
Dolphins 9-7
Patriots 6-10
Jets 3-13
1995 was the year current Super Bowl MVP Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was born. Olympic gymnasts Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney joined us as well.
The top songs are the Billboard Music Charts was Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise” and TLC’s chart-toppers “Waterfalls” and “Creep.”
The top movies were “Dean Man Walking,” “Nixon,” “12 Monkeys” and the original “Toy Story.”
How about gas prices? Sure, they are low now with the coronavirus crisis, but back in 1995, it was only $1.15 a gallon on average throughout the United States.
Also, that year, former Bills running back OJ Simpson was acquitted of the brutal murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. eBay was formed and Yahoo! was incorporated.
And of course, needless to say, there was no social media to speak of for us to enjoy.
As for the Patriots, they went 6-10 as neither quarterback Drew Bledsoe nor running back Curtis Martin had hit their prime yet.
New York Jets - 2002
How about the Jets? Their last AFC East Division Title came in 2002. Chad Pennington’s four TD passes against the Packers in week 17 led New York to the crown. It’s a memorable Jets team in that this was the year of the infamous Herman Edwards quote – “You play to win the game” after a loss to Cleveland early in the season.
Not only did the Patriots not win the division that season, they didn’t make the playoffs, losing a tiebreaker to the Cleveland Browns for the AFC Wild Card.
2002
Jets 9-7*
Patriots 9-7
Dolphins 9-7
Bills 8-8
* - win tiebreaker
Back in 2002, gas was still cheap at $1.36 a gallon across America.
Current teen heartthrob Asher Angel was born in September of that year while we saw the passing of legendary athlete Bob Hayes and actor James Coburn.
Topping the charts on radios were Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me” as well as Nelly’s “Hot in Heree” and Ashanti’s “Foolish.”
What were we watching? Well “XXX,” “A Beautiful Mind,” and “Sweet Home Alabama” were taking our money at the theaters.
2002 was also the year that President George W. Bush created the Homeland Security Act that brought us the Department of Homeland Security.
Miami Dolphins - 2008
Ironically, it was former Patriots head coach Bill Parcells first season in Miami as Executive Vice-President of Football Operations who, along with first-year head coach Tony Sparano and old foe, quarterback Chad Pennington, led the Dolphins to an amazing turnaround to win the AFC East Title. The Dolphins went from 1-15 to 11-5 to become the last team through the 2019 season other than the Patriots to top the division.
Miami beat Kansas City 38-31 in the final game of the season to beat the Patriots for the top spot. Not only did New England fail to repeat as AFC Champions, but didn’t even qualify for the playoffs, becoming the first team in almost 18 years to win 11 games and not make the postseason, losing a tiebreaker to the Ravens. Oh, by the way, the 2008 season is also the one in which QB Tom Brady tore his ACL in the team’s season opener against the Chiefs. Matt Cassel then took over, leading the Pats to 11 wins that season.
Back then, we all remember that Barack Obama was elected as the 44th President of the United States, the first African-American to achieve the honor. Also, Spotify was created for all our musical enjoyment.
Speaking of music, "Low" by Flo Rida, "Bleeding Love" from Leona Lewis and "No One" by Alicia Keys along with "Apologize" from Timbaland and One Republic (a personal favorite) were sitting high atop the Billboard Charts
At the movies. Twilight, Iron Man and The Dark Night garnered out attention while we sang along to Mamma Mia!
At the pumps, we were paying a robust $3.27 a gallon for our cars and trucks.
So, now as we bring it back to 2020, we’re left with the questions as to will the Patriots win without Tom Brady as its on-field leader. Will Jarrett Stidham be able to take over the reins from Brady and keep the Pats contenders? Will Bill Belichick still be the genius without Brady? Will someone else rise about and unseat the perennial champs? Can the Bills ride the wave as favorites or maybe will it be former Patriots coach Brian Flores continue the upward swing in Miami to make them champions? Or, will it be Adam Gase bringing the Jets back to prominence and first place?
All of it will play out amidst the backdrop of how, and if, the 2002 NFL season gets played as normal with the COVID-19 crisis continuing through the fall. We all certainly will be watching on TV as it remains to be seen as to whether fans will be allowed in stadiums at live events anytime soon.
As usual with the Patriots and the AFC East, the outcome will be historic. We can’t wait for the games to begin. Whenever that may be.
