NY Jets fans are playing matchmaker with Sauce Gardner and this Grammy Award winner
By Justin Fried
NY Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner opened his Twitter app on Sunday night to a sea of fans flooding his mentions with gratitude. The two-time All-Pro cornerback was undoubtedly confused by this seemingly random slew of "thank you Sauce" messages that were sent his way.
And unless you watched a very specific moment of the 2024 Grammys, you'd also be left wondering why Jets fans jumped at the opportunity to express their gratitude to Gardner last night.
What if I told you this entire social media movement — one that even got brands such as Buffalo Wild Wings involved — stemmed from an innocent Twitter post about three-time Grammy Award-winning R&B artist SZA?
Just prior to the singer's performance at the 2024 Grammys on Sunday night, CBS aired a video package that showed her wearing a classic Jets starter jacket for a brief moment. Jets fans were pretty excited to see one of the most famous musical artists in the world donning Jets gear.
What followed was a light-hearted attempt to get Gardner to follow in the lead of Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Jets fans want their own version of Kelce and Taylor Swift.
NY Jets fans are playfully pushing for a Sauce Gardner/SZA romance
Jets Twitter user @NYJ_Matt replied to a post pleading with SZA to "date" Gardner with a tweet expressing gratitude for the star cornerback. That reply can be seen below.
Of course, Gardner didn't actually save NYJ_Matt and his family from a burning building, as the post suggests. This was just Matt's way of trying to play the ultimate wingman for his favorite Jets cornerback.
This prompted the Jets Twitter masses to assemble in unity in support of Gardner's fictional pursuit of SZA — hence Gardner's surprise when he checked his phone and saw the responses.
Here are some of the best, including responses from the likes of Green Bay Packers All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari (let the speculation continue) and even Buffalo Wild Wings.
SZA has yet to respond to Gardner or any of the social media outpouring, most likely because she had other things on her mind last night. Nonetheless, Jets fans are pushing for their own superstar athlete/world-famous singer romance.
Will Jets fans play the unlikely role of matchmaker, or will this be a light-hearted anecdote in what promises to be a busy offseason for the organization?
Only time will tell, but let me be the first to say thank you Sauce Gardner for single-handedly stopping that runaway train from hitting my lost puppy. You sir are a hero (someone send this to SZA).