Here’s a way for Jets executives to distract fans and the media from the Taylor Swift madness descending on MetLife Stadium Sunday night.
Sign Colin Kaepernick.
There’s still time.
Kickoff against the Kansas City Chiefs is scheduled for 8:20 p.m., which still leaves plenty of time for the franchise to create some buzz of its own and hold the line against the army of Swifties looking to turn the stadium into a circus.
Swift, the pop star who rocked the New Jersey stadium in May during her sold out Eras Tour, is scheduled to make a return appearance to cheer on her new man, Travis Kelce, a tight end for the rival, and heavily-favored, Chiefs.
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Donna Kelce and Taylor Swift are seen during the first half of a game between the Chicago Bears and the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on Sept. 24.
The pop star was front and center at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium last week in a private suite with Kelce’s mother, Donna, to watch Kelce and his team beat the Chicago Bears 41-10.
Swift even celebrated Kelce’s third-quarter touchdown.
Now, she’s headed here. How big a deal was Swift’s Meadowlands appearance in May? Among the fans in the stands that day was Jets quarterback and savior himself Aaron Rodgers, who proclaimed himself a “big fan.”
But that was when the future looked bright, and all was right with the world, before Rodgers tore his — our — Achilles tendon on the same field just minutes into Week 1, and burst our big green bubble.
Jets fans have been under a big black cloud ever since, and the last thing we need is someone coming in and stealing our thunder.
Which brings us back to Kaepernick. Having Kaepernick suit up for the Jets would guarantee at least one moment during the night when all eyes wouldn’t be on Swift.
Instead of watching Swift sing the national anthem with Kelce’s mom, fans would be craning their necks and looking on the sidelines to see if Colin Kaepernick was taking a knee.
Kaepernick said the Jets, unaccustomed to winning, have nothing to lose.
“In a perfect world for the Jets, Zach Wilson finds his stride and shows that he is able to lead this championship caliber team that you’ve put together to the Super Bowl,” Kaepernick said in a letter last week to Jets General Manager Joe Douglas.
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Zach Wilson, #2 of the New York Jets, in action against the New England Patriots during their game at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 24.
“I believe a confident Zach Wilson has the tools to do this. However, in the event that this is not the case, I would love to offer you a risk-free contingency plan.”
Kaepernick, who at 35 is a full five years younger than Rodgers, hasn’t played in the NFL since the 2016 season. That year, the then-San Francisco 49ers star caused a firestorm by kneeling during the national anthem before games to protest racial injustice in America.
He has since been blackballed from the game, but he hasn’t stopped trying to make a comeback.
Kaepernick’s latest pipe dream is the Jets, offering himself as a bargain basement practice squad player.
“Worst case scenario, you see what I have to offer and you’re not that impressed,” the letter reads. “Best case scenario, you realize you have a real weapon at your disposal in the event you ever need to use it.”
Diehard Kaepernick fans say they are disheartened to see their proud hero reduced to begging for a job.
“I hate that he feels like he needs to do this,” one fan wrote on social media. “I just don’t like him having to beg for a spot when he did nothing wrong to begin with.”
But for many successful Black people, Kaepernick’s Hail Mary is something else. It’s another example of how often we have to beg for a job that’s beneath us just to get a foot in the door.
