There aren’t many teams in professional sports that have had a more disappointing 2024 than the New York Jets. Ok, except maybe the Chicago Bears. And even the beloved game show Jeopardy! is taking stock of the franchise’s woes.
Sports categories and clues on Jeopardy! can always be hit or miss. Ok, it’s mostly misses that we see. And that was true for Thursday night’s Final Jeopardy category about Super Bowl history that put the recent struggles of the New York Jets in the spotlight.
And by recent struggles, we mean well over 50 years.
The clue looked like a tricky one. It’s the only NFL team that made the Super Bowl before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon that hasn’t been back since. And no contestant got it right.
The first answered the Cleveland Browns, who have famously never been to a Super Bowl. Another answered the New York Giants, who have won multiple Super Bowls and lost everything. The final contestant simply said “Houston” who has never been to the Super Bowl as the Oilers or the Texans.
Of course, the right answer was the New York Jets, who won Super Bowl III behind Joe Namath’s guarantee in January 1969 but have yet to make a return to play for the Lombardi Trophy. Armstrong walked on the moon in July of that year.
Judging by their responses, Thursday night’s “Jeopardy!” contestants are not football fans.pic.twitter.com/khKN4Xe67D
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 20, 2024
In fairness to the New York Jets, they at least have one more Super Bowl victory than historic franchises like the Cleveland Browns Detroit Lions, and… whoever it is that plays in Houston these days.
And at least they didn’t get into Jets owner Woody Johnson deciding on trades around Madden ratings. Now that would have just been embarrassing for the Jeopardy! world to learn about. But on the bright side, at least one former Jeopardy! guest host is very familiar with the struggles of the New York Jets.
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