INDIANAPOLIS — A riveting air of anticipation engulfed the Jets as they arrived to Indianapolis late this afternoon, poised to play the Colts in Sunday’s AFC Championship with a first Super Bowl appearance in 41 years within tantalizing reach. Jets fans littered the streets and packed the team’s hotel as team buses pulled in and players made their way through the lobby to get the most important night’s sleep of their respective careers.
Before heads would hit pillows, there was heavy anticipation among those on the team about what would go down in Rex Ryan’s team meeting. Ryan has become known for his passionate night-before-game speeches, often getting creative with them, like he did before last week’s divisional playoff game against the Chargers when he showed footage of Mike Tyson knockouts.
“(Ryan) varies it every week, but there’s always one consistent theme: whatever he says resonates with every player and when those players walk out of that room there’s an air of anticipation for the next day,” assistant coach Doug Plank told The Post. “There are not many coaches like Rex who can get up in front of a group of men and captivate them like that. It’s always a quiet, spell-bound room.”
Plank, who played for Rex’s father, Buddy, in Chicago and had the 46-defense named after his jersey number, gave an exclusive description of the team’s journey from the fan rally at Florham Park, N.J., to the bus ride from the airport to the team hotel.
“I noticed on the bus ride from the airport to the hotel it felt like the bus ride from the hotel to the game,” Plank said. “It felt like we were going to the game. There was a silence on that bus, a purpose. I thought, ‘This feels like we’re going to the stadium.'”
The scene was electric here in and around the Westin Hotel downtown, with fans, wearing green of all sorts, milling everywhere, and bursting into “J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!” chants.
When Joe Namath walked into the lobby, the crowd surged toward him as if the Beatles had arrived. A short time later, Jets owner Woody Johnson arrived and said, “This is unexplored territory for us … certainly for me. My expectation is always to win.”
After Buddy Ryan checked in, he spoke to a couple of reporters and was asked about this Jets team’s underdog status against the Colts.
“I remember we were 16-point underdogs in ’68,” Ryan said. “What are we in this game?”
Told the Jets were 7 ½-point underdogs, Ryan said, “Hell, that’s nothing.”