For the Jets, the lights are brightest after the game is over. That's when they really get to shine. They bark proclamations of disrespect, soar around the field with their arms stretched wide and literally do back flips.
New York has a roster full of players fighting for camera time and a bold, bombastic coach that encourages the team to express their arrogance.
And they're winning right now, so it's fun. So fun that even a Patriot tried to throw a haymaker prior to New York's 28-21 win over New England on Sunday. But Patriots coach Bill Belichick doesn't allow his players to participate in the war of words -- benching receiver Wes Welker for the first series for mocking Jets coach Rex Ryan.
We have grown accustomed to the Belichick approach: say nothing and let your play speak for itself.
His deliberately dull style, along with the team's success and the Spygate scandal, has added to fans' disdain for the Patriots.
But their Evil Empire came crashing down Sunday, and a much more demonstrative group is ready to supplant them as the villains of the NFL.
It's an exciting time to be a hater. Instead of Belichick's cliche-filled interviews, we get Ryan's crude, uninhibited declarations. Instead of the focus always being diverted to the team, we get a bunch of uncensored, self-promoters. Instead of Tom Terrific, we get Shaky Sanchez.
Teams with bravado are nothing new to football. The 1985 Bears taped "The Super Bowl Shuffle" before even making the championship game. The Cowboys proclaimed themselves "America's Team." And "The U" taught us the meaning of excessive celebration.
The Jets have a different style than the legends of loathing. They don't rap, label or dance. New York is identified by their villainous vernacular. They have become fluent in trash talk. And it starts with a coach that exudes swagger.
But in order for the Jets to fully embrace their role as the bad boys of the NFL, they must first do what many of their pompous predecessors have done: win a title.