You can’t build your New York legacy until the cheers of your home crowd reach your throat and echo throughout the stadium and the city.

When the love affair you envisioned when you arrived in New York goes beyond walking through the tunnel with an American flag on 9/11 and you’re their quarterback from start to finish of this home opener and you can finally bathe in one warm chorus after another of JETS, JETS, JETS, JETS.

Welcome home, Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers going down with a torn Achilles tendon four plays into his 2023 MetLife debut was hell… for him, for the franchise, for the tormented fan base.

That – Jets 24, Patriots 3 – was heaven.

Aaron Rodgers calls the stadium JetLife.

Emerging from the darkness, just like him.

In his darkest hours, he feared that no matter how hard he tried to make it a reality, he would never be able to find his way all the way back.

They fear that a 40-year-old with a rehabilitated Achilles tendon might not be their savior.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the Jets if there wasn’t a confusing intrigue.

For example, why did Rodgers shove Saleh on the sideline and hiss at him after the coach appeared to want to hug him following a 1-yard touchdown run by Breece Hall in the second quarter?

Could Saleh have banned all future trips to Egypt during the mandatory minicamp?

In any case, Rodgers was back, chasing his second Super Bowl title. Everyone born after January 12, 1969, was chasing their first Super Bowl alongside him.

He was General Rodgers (27-35, 281 yards, 2 TDs).

He may have reminded some of MVP Rodgers.

Life begins at 40?

“Aa-ron Rodgers… Aa-ron Rodgers… Aa-ron Rodgers,” they chanted toward the end of the third quarter. And again after a personal foul by Josh Uche sent Rodgers to the ground on a 22-yard pass over the middle to Tyler Conklin. And again after an 18-yard pass to Mike Williams.

All the years the Patriots dominated them and the wish that one day they could compete against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick with someone like Aaron Rodgers.

A quarterback who deserves to be feared.

The Jets ended the Pats’ 15-game dominance without Rodgers in the final game of the 2023 regular season.

With Rodgers, their streak is currently at 2 and should be at 3 after their next meeting.

Here was Rodgers, the third-down machine, surgically dissecting the Pats with his arm and his mind, moving effortlessly out of the pocket when needed, and giving the Jets defense a lead that would have destroyed them a year ago, or years before that, for a moment like this. A big lead.

We’ve never seen Rodgers’ offense so efficient. Williams, Conklin and Allen Lazard were brought into the game early with Hall and Braelon Allen. The final piece of the puzzle was the start of the fine-tuning with Garrett Wilson’s perfect 2-yard touchdown throw inside the right pylon to Christian Gonzalez.

We even saw Rodgers scurry out of danger early in the third quarter and make an eleven-yard run to the Jets sideline.

Rodgers threw across the line of scrimmage to the left to Lazard, who evaded the desperate catches of Alex Austin and scored the 10-yard touchdown that tied the game 7-0 for the Jets.

Lazard made sure to hand the ball to his old Packers teammate after throwing his first MetLife touchdown pass for the Jets.

Artists at work:

Rodgers darted left from the 13 on third-and-7 and found Lazard, who was suddenly a YAC maniac, for 17 yards.

A wrist slap to Conklin over the middle on second and 17 for 22. This put Hall in position for the 1-yard touchdown run after a successful challenge against Saleh and the score was 14-14 for the Jets and 0-0 for the Patriots.

Third and 9 before the two-minute warning: another wrist flick to Conklin for 22 yards over the middle.

Welcome home, Aaron Rodgers.

You can cheer him on as much as you want. Apparently he doesn’t need a hug from everyone.