For eight to nine months per year, the New York Jets and Buffalo Sabres shared the ignominious title of "longest active playoff drought in North American sports."
No longer are they linked in infamy, as the Sabres clinched a playoff berth Saturday to snap their 14-year postseason drought -- the longest in NHL history -- with six games to spare.
The Jets are still going, at 15 years.
The latest official elimination for the Jets occurred last Dec. 7. The next day, the Sabres dropped their third straight game to fall to 11-14-4, seemingly on their way to a 15th straight season without a postseason berth.
What happened next was one of the greatest turnarounds in NHL history. The Sabres (46-22-8) are currently tied for first place in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference.
"I think we try to take a lot of pride in just representing the crest well, and that's been fun and the city has been great," goalie Alex Lyon told ESPN last week as they were closing in on postseason entry.
⚔️ THE BUFFALO SABRES ARE GOING TO THE STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS! ⚔️ #LetsGoBuffalo | #sabrehood pic.twitter.com/qt4GZcfZwT
Maybe the Sabres will inspire the Jets, whose coach is on a mission to end the drought for a crest he once represented. Aaron Glenn made that clear 14 months ago in his introductory news conference, and he reiterated it at the recent NFL springs meetings in Phoenix earlier this week.
Glenn got emotional when asked how often he thinks about it. He almost made it to a Super Bowl as a Jets' cornerback in 1998 and decided years later that he'd devote himself to leading them there as a coach.
So, yes, the drought remains at the forefront of his mind.
"I want to leave a legacy, I do," said Glenn, who went 3-14 in his first season. "When I'm gone, man, I'm looking at this team being a team that consistently puts themselves in a place to win."
His voice quivered and his eyes turned watery.
"Every day," he continued. "There's not a day, there's not an hour, there's not a minute I don't think about that."
The Jets still have a way to go before they make history.