Move Over LeBron James, the New York Jets Are Now the Biggest Villain in Sports

LeBron James’s decision to sign with the Miami Heat was one of the biggest sports stories in years. It instantly transformed one of the most beloved North American athletes from a hero to a villain. Since his arrival in South Beach, LeBron has become despised by millions of fans who once rooted for him.

However, his infamous image is only reflective of the actions of one individual, rather than the entire Miami Heat franchise. It is LeBron James who is constantly getting scrutinized for his free agency choice, not Pat Riley or Dwyane Wade for recruiting him.

The Jets' likeness as a villain is evident from their boisterous head coach down to the 53 men on their roster.

The Jets have made themselves an easy team to hate amongst fans around the league ever since the Rex Ryan era was ushered in two years ago. Ryan brought a flash and brash style with him from Baltimore that instantly brought attention to a franchise that has usually played second fiddle in the Big Apple to the Giants.

The hiring of Rex Ryan and the drafting of Mark Sanchez have complete transformed the New York Jets franchise. Rex’s style is very similar to his father Buddy and his persona has arguably made him the biggest icon for the New York Jets since Joe Namath.

Before he coached his first game with the Jets, he called out the New England Patriots by saying he wasn’t here to kiss Bill Belichick’s rings. Then, before he coached his first game against Belichick, he sent a voicemail message to Jets season ticket holders urging them to make it difficult for Tom Brady. 

The upstart Jets ended the 2009 season coming off a surprise appearance in the AFC Championship and looked at 2010 as their chance to win the Super Bowl. They received a lot of attention in the offseason for their high-profile acquisitions of Jason Taylor, LaDainian Tomlinson and Santonio Holmes, among others. 

This offseason hype made the Jets an easy choice for HBO to choose them for their program Hard Knocks, which further increased their profile on sports channels and the blogosphere. The show brought criticism from former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy who called out Rex Ryan and the Jets staff for their explicit language.

Let’s not forget about Antonio Cromartie’s inability to remember the names of his six children when he was interviewed on camera. Just when it seemed this team couldn’t any more attention in the sport’s media, they received an even higher profile in the national media with the Ines Sainz scandal.

The Jets' bad boy image was on full display last week leading in to their much anticipated divisional matchup with the New England Patriots. Press conferences from both teams featured more trash talk than an episode of Jersey Shore.

Rex Ryan called this game with Bill Belichick personal (similar to his comments last week about Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts). Antonio Cromartie called Tom Brady an asshole and accused him of pointing his finger towards the Jets sideline during the Patriots' 45-3 win on December 6.

Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker joked about Rex Ryan’s foot fetish incident, which got him benched for the first drive of Sunday’s game. The NFL finally intervened after Bart Scott said Welker’s days in a uniform were numbered.

On the field, the Jets are an extension of their head coach. However, for a team with such a flamboyant image they have a very conservative game plan offensively. This is the kind of team that will run on 3rd-and-5 or punt on 4th-and-1 near their opponent’s 40 yard line. They may not win in dominating fashion, but their playing style gets the job done in the win column.

The Jets were outgained offensively and the Patriots had the ball for nearly 10 more minutes. What stood out in the box score were their five sacks against Tom Brady and zero turnovers. Getting pressure on the quarterback and not turning the ball over will be crucial for a Jet’s victory in Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Their brash and flash style was on full display in the closing seconds of the game, after Rex Ryan came out to congratulate Shonn Greene for scoring a touchdown that essentially sealed an AFC title game appearance for New York. Then, Santonio Holmes did his best impression of an airplane on the field, Braylon Edwards showed off his gymnastic ability and Bart Scott gave ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio a WWF-like interview.

The Jets are officially the biggest villain in North American sports right now, but what will their lasting legacy be? This team will certainly be a hard one to forget whether or not you like them. However, they will need to win a championship to be despised in a way that the Oakland Raiders of the 1970s or the Miami Hurricanes of the 1980s were.

It's one thing for a villain to win a playoff game or two, but winning a title makes a sports villain more memorable than just an annoying team that finally met its match. If Rex Ryan and the Jets can pull off a victory in both Pittsburgh and Dallas in the next three weeks, they will become champions. Championship or no championship, these Jets will always be remembered as villains.