Welcome to the 2021 Season from Neon Boudeaux
(Editor’s note: The 2020 winner, Neon Boudeaux, has penned some words of wisdom as we kick off the 2020 season. His message is below.)
As a kid, Neon and his dad attended dozens of New York Jet home games between 1990 and 1996, including the preseason. This included every home game in the 1996 season when the Jets finished 1-15. They lost every game at home that year. The journey to the game was always entertaining. At times– harrowing. To avoid paying for parking, we would park across Route 3 at the Hilton Hotel. From there we would run across a service road and then walk across the Turnpike bridge. It wasn’t an experience for the faint of heart. And then we would stroll through the old Giants stadium parking lot. It was a scene from a Hunter S. Thompson novel.
Once inside, anything could happen in section 330. There were a few die-hard fans consistently there in that section. Mostly, it consisted of a lot was police, firemen, NJ transit employees and some families. Some great people, but it certainly wasn’t a family atmosphere.
And then there was always a multitude of fans from whomever the Jets were playing. Typically, there would be fights in the third quarter. The four o’clock starts were always a treat. Like I said above, anything could happen. It was good exposure and life preparation.
Most of these games had a tempo. Sometimes they would just get blown out. But many times, the Jets would do as they often do, and disappoint you. Break your heart. Let you down. I was there for the fake spike with Marino. And like many perpetually hopeful Jets fans, we wanted Pete Carroll out after the team stumbled down the stretch. Yowzer. And then we brought in Rich Kotite. We know how that ended. I can still hear Ira from the Long Island calling in to WFAN radio. He still calls in. That’s the whole thing.
On one of these cold drives home during this era, my father remarked to me that having a team to root for is a wonderful distraction. I still remember the conversation. What he said precisely was that “in this world, it’s important to have coping mechanisms”. It was his way of saying it’s important to have passions or hobbies or really anything that reduces anxiety and creates community. For a while, I didn’t connect the dots back to how sage that advice was. We often don’t until we go through certain experiences- such is life.
In 2020, we couldn’t go to a Jets game. They finished 2-14. But at some point early in the season after a brutal defeat, my father told me and my brother via text message that the whole experience of going to all those games was just an excuse to spend time together. It was a very profound admission from a man who I deeply admire and love.
Therefore, we should be grateful to the Executive Director and our FMFL community. FMFL is a coping mechanism. And it’s an excuse to spend time together, albeit virtually. Or at least some time chasing your weekly Sunday dopamine or cortisol hit, depending on how your picks play out. So thanks for directing your thoughts, time, and monies into this league. We should be grateful to the Executive Director for the time he puts into fostering this community. That’s time he could be spending doing something else, including being a husband and a dad. But being a friend is also important. He knew that over a decade ago when he created this league. Everything takes time.
So as another season begins, I wish you all the best of luck. Bet how you’d like to bet. Get your bets in on time. Try not to lose money. Find your coping mechanisms. Celebrate your wins by talking trash. Have fun. And stay safe.
