It’s the greatest postgame interview of all time. It was the right place. Right time. Right moment. Right person in Bart Scott.
Fourteen years ago today, Sal Paolantonio found himself in the perfect storm of circumstances on the frozen field of Gillette Stadium. The New York Jets had just accomplished the unthinkable — a 28-21 upset over Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round.
For the Jets, everything went right. They secured their second consecutive AFC Championship Game berth, toppling a dynasty on the road and fueling dreams of their first Super Bowl appearance since man walked on the moon.
Next stop: Pittsburgh. One win away from immortality.
But before Pittsburgh, there was Foxborough.
And before immortality, there was Bart Scott.
In the raw, unfiltered aftermath of a victory that shook the NFL to its core, the veteran linebacker delivered a postgame interview that transcended the moment. Now, he delivers takes on ESPN that surpass those of Stephen A. Smith and Chris Canty, the network’s new take machine, but it was that night in New England that Scott, already a household name in football, became a legend.
And so did Sal Pal.
“To all the nonbelievers. Especially you, Tom Jackson. Way to have our back, Keyshawn [Johnson]. Anybody can be beat.”
Paolantonio didn’t do anything. He pointed the mic in Scott’s direction. Again, right place, right time. And he let Scott do the talking as he took aim at some of his colleagues who didn’t believe in the Jets. And after New York lost 45-3 just a month prior to the same team, who could blame them?
But in Scott’s view — and the Jets — “anybody can be beat.”
Paolantonio took that to heart and asked Scott the perfect question, setting the table for a soundbite that still resonates 14 years later.
“How did that just feel?”
“It felt great — poetic justice. We know we’re a much better team than we came up and represented ourselves. And we’re pissed off. We was ready to come back and show what kind of a defense, what type of team this was, what type of character we had. We take a lot of slack. People gave us no chance like we barely made it in the playoffs. We’re a good football team.”
“It looks like this team played with anger all day. Why, Bart?”
“For all you nonbelievers, disrespecting us, talk crap about the defense, like we ain’t the third best defense in the league. All we hear is about their defense — they can’t stop a nosebleed. 25th in the league, and we the ones who get disrespected.”
But instead of wrapping it up and thanking Scott, Paolantonio leaned into the moment. He congratulated and sent him off with a parting shot that fueled the fire.
“See you in Pittsburgh.”
“CAN’T WAIT.”
Can’t wait.
What an elite response. What a terrific quote. Fourteen years later, it remains the last breadcrumb of what New York Jets immortality was. For one fleeting moment, they — and Bart Scott — were on top of the football world. Peyton Manning? No problem. Tom Brady? Even easier. Ben Roethlisberger? Can’t wait.
Well, the Jets have waited another 14 years since that loss in the Steel City.
Scott has long moved on from the NFL, but his voice remains as strong as ever in the media. And so does the memory of that night in Foxborough — a moment when the Jets, for once, had the last word.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.