Quick Football Note

Kellen Clemens got beat out by the rookie Mark Sanchez, the former USC quarterback (and descended from Mexican migrant workers), to be the starting quarterback for the New York Jets. The Jets moved up in the draft to pick Sanchez, needing a new face for the franchise and trying to drum up support for their new stadium--opening next year--and the attendant expensive PSLs (that's Personal Seat License for you non-NFL fans...does it seem strange that you should need to drop between two- and twenty-thousand dollars for the right to buy tickets to games?).

At first, depending how much you know about the Jets, or really care in the least, it might seem to appear that Clemens got jobbed. He was supposed to be the new face-of-the-franchise. He was picked in the second round a few years back after a nice college career at Oregon, tapped to be the new "it" kid by the coach and general manager. He never wowed anybody though, and before last season started, it seemed like that would have been his time to shine, his time to excel, his time to claim his spot as an elite starting QB...and then the Jets went and traded for Brett Favre. Maybe next year would be his year.

And then they went and drafted the flashy Sanchez, and let them battle for it during the preseason. I thought they hosed Clemens. To me, it seemed like they were screwing him over again, but the reality of sports in this media-centric area makes franchises skittish with unproven stars, and maybe Sanchez could be some backup, some insurance.

But then Clemens never took control of the quarterback competition this preseason, even with four years to learn the complicated playbook and starting out ahead on the depth chart...so, whatever it's worth, I've changed my mind. Maybe Clemens hosed himself. Maybe he needs a change of scenery, and with a trade he might develop into a great QB. Maybe he's just not good enough to be elite.

But really, it's just football. American football. America's bloodsport and machismo factory. I must say, though, that it's kind of neat having an LA kid who's grandparents were thrown out of Chavez Ravine, to make way for Dodger Stadium, after moving over from Mexico, be in an extremely prominent spot in New York. After Sonia, he's another Latino role-model in the area that's set to make a splash.