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The New York Post’s Jets-Patriots Cover Is Just Legendary

In our nearly eight-month history of writing about, among other things, New York Post (and Daily News) covers, we’ve seen some doozies. They had a field day with the Rex Ryan foot business. They went there with Michael Vick after the Giants’ infamous collapse last month. They even photoshopped LeBron’s head (and Heat insignia) onto a chicken.

Yes, when it comes to New York Post covers, we’re conditioned to expect pretty much anything. But we have never seen a New York Post cover like the one previewing this weekend’s Jets-Patriots playoff matchup. Here is that cover.

Sweet Lord almighty.

So much to look at here. (Also, it should be noted this is a “special pullout cover,” but this in no way diminishes its brilliance.) There’s the “Jet-i” pun, showing that at its heart, underneath all the fancy design quirks, this is a classic Post sports cover. There’s the fact that Belichick-as-Vader gets front-and-center billing, rather than any of the hometown “good guys.” (Also, Belichick is Mark Sanchez‘ father, apparently.) There’s the fact that Tom Brady, though surrounded by Stormtroopers that appear to be his offensive linemen, isn’t made up as a character. (Maybe Brady is a mythical enough figure already?) Rex Ryan as Han Solo, despite the difference in body types, works (and is hilarious).

Also fantastic are the people the Post stuck in…well, just because. Joe Namath will have nothing to do with Sunday’s game…but the design people felt like making him Yoda, so there he is. Does a Michelle Ryan-as-scantily-clad-Leia gag even fit this cover thematically? Probably not…but there she is, anyway. Nick Mangold (I think, at least) is an Ewok…just because someone at the Post had the thought, “LOL Mangold=Ewok.” (I wouldn’t be completely shocked if some small detail like that inspired this entire cover.)

I’m not entirely sure why Darrelle Revis is Obi-Wan, and while I get that jets are circling the Patriots Death Star because, well, they’re the Jets, the kid in me who watched the movies and logged approximately 86,000 hours of Rogue Squadron playing would have preferred X-wings (maybe even with a few Y-wings mixed in). Still, this is nothing short of a remarkable effort, and the people of the Post have set an absurdly high standard for themselves to live up to the next time that, say, the Yankees and Red Sox meet in the playoffs.

[h/t Kevin Neghandi]