The Jets had gotten off to a 2-5 start. Teams that get off to a 2-5 start usually don't make the Playoffs. Judy Battista of The New York Times asked him, "Do you have to talk to your team about not giving up on the season?"
Herm's answer became legend. He said, "This is what's great about sports. This is what the greatest thing about sports is." And he leaned into the microphone, and said, "You play to win the game!" He pulled himself upright, pauses, waved his hands, and said, "Hello? You play to win the game! You don't play it just to play it! That's the great thing about sports: You play to win! And I don't care if you don't have any wins. You go play to win. When you start telling me it doesn't matter, then retire! Get out! 'Cause it matters!"
At this point, he seemed to be on the verge of tears. And if the season had continued the way it had been going, with a final total that is frequently familiar to Jet fans, then Herm, once a very good cornerback who helped the Philadelphia Eagles reach Super Bowl XV, and whose fumble recovery beat the New York Giants in a 1978 game that became known as "The Miracle of the Meadowlands," would have gone down in history as a coach who melted down and couldn't handle the pressure of New York.
But a funny thing happened on the way to a nervous breakdown: Herm's rant worked. In their next game, the Jets clobbered the San Diego Chargers, starting a 4-game winning streak, and allowing them to finish 9-7, and make the Playoffs with a home game. Then they beat the Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card round of the Playoffs, before going to Oakland and losing to the Raiders.
So instead of being a guy who couldn't handle coaching in New York, Herm became known as a coaching genius and a master motivator. It didn't last long, but he'll always be remembered for this success, not for his failures. He later served as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona State, and an NFL studio pundit.
Herm's answer became legend. He said, "This is what's great about sports. This is what the greatest thing about sports is." And he leaned into the microphone, and said, "You play to win the game!" He pulled himself upright, pauses, waved his hands, and said, "Hello? You play to win the game! You don't play it just to play it! That's the great thing about sports: You play to win! And I don't care if you don't have any wins. You go play to win. When you start telling me it doesn't matter, then retire! Get out! 'Cause it matters!"
At this point, he seemed to be on the verge of tears. And if the season had continued the way it had been going, with a final total that is frequently familiar to Jet fans, then Herm, once a very good cornerback who helped the Philadelphia Eagles reach Super Bowl XV, and whose fumble recovery beat the New York Giants in a 1978 game that became known as "The Miracle of the Meadowlands," would have gone down in history as a coach who melted down and couldn't handle the pressure of New York.
But a funny thing happened on the way to a nervous breakdown: Herm's rant worked. In their next game, the Jets clobbered the San Diego Chargers, starting a 4-game winning streak, and allowing them to finish 9-7, and make the Playoffs with a home game. Then they beat the Indianapolis Colts in the Wild Card round of the Playoffs, before going to Oakland and losing to the Raiders.
So instead of being a guy who couldn't handle coaching in New York, Herm became known as a coaching genius and a master motivator. It didn't last long, but he'll always be remembered for this success, not for his failures. He later served as head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona State, and an NFL studio pundit.
This was also the day that rap legend Jam Master Jay was murdered. I have a separate entry for that event.
*
October 30, 2002 was a Wednesday. Baseball season had ended 3 days earlier, with the team then known as the Anaheim Angels beating the San Francisco Giants, in Game 7 of the World Series. Football was in midweek.
Every NBA team then in operation, except for the Sacramento Kings, played that night:
* The New York Knicks lost to the Detroit Pistons, 86-77 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, New York.
* The New Jersey Nets beat the Atlanta Hawks, 105-94 at the Continental Airlines Arena in the Meadowlands. Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson scored 34 points for the Hawks, but it wasn't enough.
* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 98-95 at the First Union Center (now the Wachovia Center) in Philadelphia.
* The Chicago Bulls beat the Boston Celtics, 99-96 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston.
* The Orlando Magic beat the Miami Heat, 100-86 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.
* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 119-108 at The Pyramid in Memphis.
* The New Orleans Hornets make their debut, after 14 seasons as the original Charlotte Hornets. Ironically, it's against the last team to represent New Orleans in the NBA, the Utah Jazz, who left in 1979. The Hornets win, 100-75 at the New Orleans Arena (now named the Smoothie King Center). Karl Malone scores 20 points for the visitors, and John Stockton 14. But Baron Davis of the Hornets leads all scorers with 21 points, while Courtney Alexander scores 19 off the bench.
In 2004, Charlotte got a new NBA team, the Charlotte Bobcats. In 2013, the NBA made a deal but which the New Orleans franchise gave up the Hornets name, and became the New Orleans Pelicans. In 2014, the Bobcats reclaimed their city's old name, and became the Charlotte Hornets.
* The Toronto Raptors beat the Washington Wizards, 74-68 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.
* The Indiana Pacers beat the Houston Rockets, 91-82 at the Conseco Fieldhouse (now the Gainbridge Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis. Steve Francis scored 39 points for the Rockets, but it wasn't enough. It was the NBA debut for Yao Ming. I have a separate entry for that event.
* The Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Denver Nuggets, 83-77 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 98-96 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.
* The Golden State Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs, 106-98 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena (then named The Arena in Oakland). Antawn Jamison scored 36 points.
* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 102-90 at the Rose Garden (now the Moda Center) in Portland.
* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Phoenix Suns, 86-73 at the KeyArena in Seattle.
There were 6 games played in the NHL:
* The New York Rangers lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-0 at the St. Pete Times Forum (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.
* The New York Islanders lost to the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-2 at the RBC Center (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina.
* The Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals, 7-2 at the MCI Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington. The Bruin goals came from 7 different scorers: P.J. Axelsson, Rob Zamuner, Jozef Stümpel, Brian Rolston, Bryan Berard, Joe Thornton and Glenn Murray.
* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-1 at the Corel Center (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.
* The St. Louis Blues beat the Nashville Predators, 7-0 at the Savvis Center (now the Enterprise Center) in St. Louis. Like the Bruins, the Blues got 7 goals from 7 different players on this night: Reed Lowe, Al MacInnis, Keith Tkachuk, Pavol Demitra, Petr Čajánek, Shjon Podein and Dallas Drake.
* And the Florida Panthers beat the Dallas Stars, 3-2 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Valeri Bure scored the winning goal with 1:39 left in overtime. Bure was the younger, less successful brother of Hall-of-Famer Pavel Bure, but he's probably better remembered for his wife, actress Candace Cameron Bure. Attendance at this game: 18,532, matching the title of the sitcom starring his wife: Full House.
