Schwartz: Jets Should've Taken Welcome Mat Away From Snell
By Peter Schwartz
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In the grand scheme of things, Sunday was all about the Jets' 38-20 win over the Dolphins that kept Gang Green relevant in the AFC playoff race and generated some more buzz for this week's showdown with the Giants.
But there was something about Sunday that didn't sit well with me and I hope other Jets fans feel the same.
We all know that the Jets don't have the history that other NFL teams enjoy. The Jets have just one NFL title, a victory over the Colts in Super Bowl III, their only appearance in the biggest game on the planet. There have been other good years, including four trips to the AFC Championship game.
The Jets, of course, came up short all four times.
But throughout their 55-year history, the Jets have been fortunate to have a number of outstanding individuals that represented the green and white to the point where they have earned special recognition by the franchise -- induction into the team's Ring of Honor at MetLife Stadium.
Since the Jets' new home opened in 2010, Gang Green has honored a number of special players, including Joe Namath, Weeb Ewbank, Joe Klecko, Wayne Chrebet, Marty Lyons, and Curtis Martin.
On Sunday, the Jets' Ring of Honor membership grew by two with the induction of two members of the Super Bowl III squad, Emerson Boozer and Matt Snell. The annual ceremony is always special, but Sunday's event, in my opinion, was hollow at best.
That's because Boozer was the only honoree to attend. Knowing that Snell has had a long-standing rift with the organization, I wondered why he was being honored.
Could the two sides have patched things up?
Or perhaps Snell had put his feelings aside and was going to show up to hear the cheers from the fans?
The answer was no on both counts.
Snell, who rushed for 121 yards and scored the Jets' only touchdown in Super Bowl III, wants nothing to do with the franchise, but there is very little known as to why. Regardless of his reasons, Snell should have accepted the Jets' invitation and let the fans see him receive the special honor.
But thinking about it further, the Jets should never have put themselves in that position. Once they determined that they wanted to induct Snell and he declined to show up, they should have gone in a different direction. They should have inducted Boozer and another player, and there were plenty to choose from.
Why induct a player that wants nothing to do with you?
This may sound cruel, but if Snell has no intentions of ever fixing his relationship with the franchise, then the Jets should have waited for Snell to pass away and inducted him posthumously.
If they had decided not to honor Snell, the Jets could have inducted any one or two of many terrific players that have donned the green and white, guys like John Schmitt, Dave Herman, Kevin Mawae, Mickey Shuler, Greg Buttle, Pat Leahy, Mo Lewis or Marvin Jones.
They could have even gone the broadcasting route by inducting Marty Glickman.
The Jets and their fans have been the punchline to a lot of jokes over the years. That shouldn't take away from some pretty cool memories that the team has provided.
Being inducted into a team's Ring of Honor is a very prestigious honor. If a player gets a call from a team informing him that he has earned that recognition, 99.9 percent of the time it's a happy phone call and the player does his part and shows up.
In this case, there was a ceremony for two and the presence of just one.
I'm not telling Matt Snell that he should forget about whatever it is that is irking him, but he should understand that he is one of the best players to ever play for the franchise and was a big reason why it won its only championship. If such an honor isn't that important to him and pleasing the fans doesn't interest him, then he doesn't deserve the honor.
Sunday's ceremony would have been so much better had the Jets made the right choice and chosen someone other than Snell. I think it would have been great if the Jets, at the last minute, said "Hey, we changed our mind and we inducted Emerson Boozer and ..."
Fill in the name of any one of the former Jets that were at MetLife Stadium on Sunday.
By the way, here are my choices for next year: Mawae and Shuler!
Follow Pete on Twitter at @pschwartzcbsfan
