HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.— The idea of winning ugly has become quite appealing to the New York Jets.
So much so that they have adopted Shrek, the hideous-looking movie character with the good heart, as their mascot for this season.
Curtis Martin, the NFL's rushing leader and one of the team's most insightful members, first mentioned the Jets' association with the green character. After all, the Jets also are known as "Gang Green."
"We're the Shrek of the league," Martin said after a 27-7 victory over Kansas City on Sunday that was, well, not ugly at all. "We're the green monster that everyone calls ugly. And we're fine with that. As long as it's a W, we could be the ugliest thing on the planet and it wouldn't make any difference."
The Jets are 6-3 and, with the exception of their win over the Chiefs, none of the victories has been an artistic masterpiece. After they edged Carolina 13-12 two weeks ago in one of the most homely wins imaginable, players were insulted by the way they were perceived.
Instead of becoming belligerent, they turned creative. They knew that Shrek was an ogre who wound up marrying a princess. They believe they can be that unsightly (to some) team that wins a championship.
So they hung a giant poster of Shrek in their meeting room.
"It started a while back," coach Herman Edwards said. "It fits us probably to a T. That's what I call ourselves, really.
"We put that guy up every time we win a game. He let the fun out of the bag, that doggone Curtis. The Shrek's been out. We're ugly."
Martin is more the dashing hero who saves the day than some unsightly ogre. He leads Jerome Bettis of Pittsburgh in rushing 917-866 and is tied with receivers Terrell Owens and Marvin Harrison with an NFL-best 10 touchdowns. He has never rushed for fewer than 1,152 yards in a season and appears headed for his best yardage total.