"Saint Kilda is a mess. But what else is new?" One of the original Melbourne teams, they were also the original "whipping boy" for early footy teams of the late 19th century, losing games by ridiculous scores like 59-2 and 94-3 in that first "official" season of the Victorian Football League (they went 0-14 that first year). They've had only marginal success over the years, winning exactly one premiership over their 117 seasons of footy, back in 1966, when (after finishing second to Collingwood during the regular "home-and-away" season AND losing to them in the prelims, the Saints made their way back through to the Grand Final, where they managed to defeat Collingwood by one point, 74-73.
They've had more recent chances, most famously in 2010, when they actually tied Collingwood in the Grand Final at 68, only to lose the replay of the game a week later by 56 points (no such thing as "overtime" I guess, even when 100,016 people pay big money to see a champion crowned...that rule's been changed now, by the way.)
Nowadays, the Saints have rapidly fallen on hard times yet again, dropping all the way to the "wooden spoon" in 2014 for the worst record in the AFL (actually tied with Melbourne, but their scoring percentage was worse, which is very important in footy!). Beyond that, they're not even sure where they want to be based: a new facility in Belvedere Park, their old home back down the road in the Linton St Oval, or their training and admin facility in Seaford; plus having Wellington, New Zealand, as their "home away from home", where they're contractually obligated (and more than willing) to play two games a year as a 'home' team.
Who in the United States sporting world is that screwed up?
Their American counterpart: the New York Jets
Ah, the glorious New York Jets! Home of Mark Sanchez and the "butt fumble", home of the quiet and refined coach Rex Ryan, home of the glorious championship history that is...er... well, actually, they've only one one title, back in 1969, but because of Broadway Joe Namath's prediction and antics (and, frankly, the overconfidence of the Baltimore Colts, the NFL champ forced to play the upstart AFL Jets in Super Bowl III), it's remembered. Oh, BOY, is it remembered!
Like the Saints, a recent flirt with not only competence but quality fell by the wayside, and they went 3-13 in 2014. Like the Saints, they live off their one title from the sixties. Like the Saints, they're not even sure where they're from (what part of New York state is the Meadowlands in, again?), and like the Saints, they have revered stars who fail to achieve on their team.
BUT...
Don't look now, but in 2015 both teams took steps forward, the Jets moving to ten wins and the Saints to seven... and then in 2016, the Saints came within percentage points of making the final eight, finishing the season 12-10 and tied with the North Melbourne Kangaroos, who made it in on basis of their scoring percentage (as we said, that's really important in footy!). The Jets look like they may...may be good enough to make the playoffs this year - but as of this writing they're 2-5 (Oct 27) and may or may not come back to playoff caliber.
(C'mon, Jets! Don't ruin my analogy!)
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