It’s often a hot topic in the Big Apple. Who should New York Yankees fans root for in the NFL: the New York Giants or New York Jets? Why not both? At least, root for them to win in Week 1. After that, cheer for whichever team you feel best about.
With the MLB postseason approaching and the World Series looming on the horizon, watching the G-Men and Gang Green win their season debuts may have been all Yankees fans could have asked for. The Giants and Jets snapped a 17-year hex with their Week 1 victories in 2026, and the Yankees’ World Series drought could enjoy the same fate because of it.
“The last time the Giants and Jets both won season openers… The New York Yankees won the World Series less than two months later,” The Yankee Report stated on X.
Boasting a Cy Young Award favorite in Cam Schlittler, having Aaron Judge back from the IL, and sitting at 86-63 on the 2026 MLB season, it may not have been encouraging enough. But watching the Jets and Giants win in Week 1 may have been the final confirmation that this year might be special in the Bronx. Never has a Week 1 victory meant so much in New York.
Good omen: The last time Giants and Jets won in Week 1, Yankees became World Champions.
Throwback to 2009 in New York
Back in 2009, the Giants and Jets started their NFL seasons on a Sunday, Sept. 13, too. The G-Men played a divisional opponent, the Washington Commanders, at home, while the Jets played on the road against a Southern AFC opponent, the Houston Texans.
The Giants defeated the Commanders in a one-possession game, 23-17, just like they did against the Dallas Cowboys 17 years later. The Jets won by a larger margin on the road against the Texans, just like they did against the Tennessee Titans in 2026. The signs are there for the taking, at least for those not too blind to see them or too desperate to search for them.
As for the Yankees, they were doing a bit better on Sept. 13, 2009, than they are on that exact date in 2026. The Bronx Bombers were 92-52 by then, well en route to a statement-sending 103-59 record to end the season. Still, the best was yet to come.
NY Yankees’ last World Series
The New York Yankees went 11-4 in the 2009 MLB postseason, en route to their 27th World Series championship—their fifth since the Commissioner’s Trophy was introduced in 1985. They swept the Minnesota Twins in three games in the ALDS, eliminated the Los Angeles Angels in six games in the ALCS, and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series with a 4-2 series win.
NY Yankees’ rooting guide for Week 2 of the NFL
Going into the NFL’s Week 2, the Yankees will have to root for both New York-based clubs. In fact, if they want to keep the good omens coming, they need the Jets and Giants to start the season 3-0, just like it happened 17 years ago.
It will be much easier said than done, especially considering the Jets will face the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions next, while the Giants will take on the Los Angeles Rams next Monday night.
Perhaps the Yankees will be better off focusing on themselves. Week 1’s omen was enough fuel for the superstitious, and it may be best not to get greedy.
