I will be replaying the 2000 NFL season with the card set sold by APBA, copyright 2001. The replay will consist of 248 regular season games and eleven playoff games including Super Bowl XXXV. I’m dedicating this replay to an APBA Hall of Famer, Vietnam veteran, lawyer and friend that recently passed away. Jim Sce was a big personality, who lit up any room that he was in. I miss our periodical phone conversations and time shared at several conventions. I’m forever grateful for him giving me this set that he obtained from an estate sale.
The 2000 NFL season was the 81st regular season of the National Football League (NFL). The season ended with Super Bowl XXXV when the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New York Giants, 34–7, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
The Ravens finished the year with a 12–4 record (their first winning season), finishing 2nd in the AFC Central and qualifying for the playoffs as a wild card team. The team’s defense, which currently holds the all-time league record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game regular season with just 165 (10.3 points per game), is considered among the greatest of all time, including 4 games where they kept their opponents from scoring.
As for my beloved New York Jets, the new millennium began with Woody and Christopher Johnson purchasing the team from the estate of former owner, Leon Hess. Bill Parcells stepped down as head coach and passed the reins to Bill Belichick, who abruptly resigned to take the same position with the New England Patriots. The Jets netted four first-round picks in the college draft: Shaun Ellis, John Abraham, Chad Pennington and Anthony Becht. They also found a gem in the third round, receiver Laveranues Coles. Although they managed to finish one game better than they had in 1999, their 9–7 record (including three losses to close the year) was not enough to make the playoffs. However, I will always remember Victor Green’s acrobatic interception to seal an opening day victory in Lambeau, followed by a thrilling comeback win against Belichick’s Patriots, the legendary Monday Night Miracle against the Dolphins, sitting in the torrential rain at Raymod James Stadium to witness Curtis Martin’s halfback-pass to Wayne Chrebet for another epic come-from-behind win over Keyshawn Johnson and the Buccaneers and seeing Curtis Martin rush for 203 yards in a week 14 win over the Colts.