We were at a family gathering and the Jets were playing Oakland. It looked like the Jets were going to win the game and suddenly "Heidi" was on. That game was exciting to watch but for some reason I did not follow the Jets closely until a couple of years later. Unfortunately the Jets played a pretty big game against the Colts not too long after the Heidi game and I did not watch it (but have since). Been watching them ever since but have not seen them play in that big game that I missed. Personally, with our current coach and QB, I don't think I will see that game in the near future.
I flipped a coin, one side had giants on it the other had Jets, J/k , i was abducted by Aliens working for Woody Johnson and they planted a chip in my brain that forces me to be a Jet fan no matter how shitty it gets
My dad took me to the Polo Grounds to see the Titans play. We lived about 20mins on foot from the stadium and we didn't have a lot of money so I would imagine Titans tickets were cheap back then. My dad bought me a Titans banner that I hung in my bedroom. When they moved to Shea, it was a great ride to Flushing not only for the Jets, but also for the World's Fair back in '64. Little did I realize what was in store over the next 4 decades.
It was the mid-80s, the NFL was catching on in the UK mainly due to the Fridge NY is obviously the most well known place in the US, my mate went with the Giants, I got stuck with the shitty Jets and been following them ever since
How did I become a jets fan? I grew up in the midwest where almost everyone and their brother like the Vikings. When I was in 6th grade, I played "junior leader football" and our coach was a guy from New York attending a Midwestern college . The jets had just won the Super Bowl the previous year, and he called our 6th grade team the "jets" and got us all following the jets. He was a huge jets fan and had pictures of Namath, Maynard, etc. Our 6th grade football team wasn't very good (2-6-1), but I really liked the coach. After the football season was over (fall of 1969), he was drafted and sent to Vietnam. About two months later, he was killed over there by ground fire. He was the first person that I really knew well that died, and I know had he lived he'd still obviously be a huge fan. I decided the jets would always be my team. Rest in peace, coach!
I grew up back in the days when each household only had 1 TV and on Sunday's it was always football. As a girl back then, I HATED it and used to throw fits that it wasn't fair that on Sunday's it was always football. I was the only girl in a family of boys and I didn't have a prayer. Finally, one day my father told me to sit down and watch the game and maybe I would enjoy it. I had no choice since I was outnumbered but to comply. As my father started to explain the rules of football, I found myself strangely liking it but wondered why they always rooted for the Giants and wasn't there another football team in NY??? My answer was - Yes there is but we don't like them or root for them and I said well maybe" I will root for them".. So as a joke - I decided to get even with them all and root for this "other" team. They laughed at me and said that I wouldn't even be able to name one player on the Jets. Well that was over 25 years ago and I am still a diehard Jets fan today.
My parents were on their honeymoon in Aruba in the late 70's. They got into a fight and my father went down to the hotel bar to blow off steam. Only one other person at the bar, Joe Namath. At the time my dad was a Raiders fan, but had a soft spot for NY teams being from Albany. They sat there and got hammered. My dad was asked where he was and he said drinking with Joe Namath. My mother did'nt believe him, and he was a Jet fan ever since. I came along in 85'. Born and raised gang green.
My Dad. He is a fan of the team since their inception. He had season tix back when they were the Titans in the Pologrounds, through their history in Shea, and up to the Meadowlands. I've been to many games with him in both Shea and Giants (YUCK) Stadium. I still love hearing his stories of going to games in the Pologrounds. ("They would announce 10,000 plus in attendance, yet I could count the people if I wanted to.") I was literally born into it. The Jets have and always will be family to me. My Dad will always be my best friend. Watching, going to, and discussing the Jets with him will always be a HUGE part of my life. No matter where we are in the world, we talk daily and it ALWAYS involves the Jets. That's also why I hate the Jets so much. My Dad has been fighting multiple forms of cancer as well as heart issues for years now. I wish I could see the Jets make the SB with him one time. We have both come to grips with the fact that he will be gone before that ever happens. '09 and '10 were our last chances. I will always root for the Jets, but damn.....almost 40 years of my life gone and my Dad and I together, have seen 2 division titles, no AFC titles, no SB titles and a handful of playoff wins. UGH!!!! If you are a new fan, know what you are getting into. My Dad watched them win SB III (I love his story about being at the AFL Title game). He swears he thought he would see them win at least 5 more titles since SB III. I keep saying if the Jets ever win, it will be one of the most amazing things ever. Without my Dad, it will be the most bittersweet moment ever. That being said, SOJ fan or not, I'm pretty sure I'll never see it. Just sucks. Oh well. Go JETS!!!!!
I said before I became a Jets fans because I was born into it. Which I was. My dad was the Jets fan. My mom didn't really care. My dad was born and raised in Mexico. When he was a kid/teen down there they played the "big" teams from up here, the Phins, the Raiders, 9ers, Oilers, Cowboys, especially. He obviously grew up on soccer but also played on a football team down there when he was a kid in high school. He never really declared a team but always watched the games. When he came here and met my mother, my mom's family is basically all Giants fans. My uncle has had season tix since the meadowlands opened. He used to take my dad to games, and my dad liked to go but he said he was really interested in the sack exchange. He watched them and the Jets on TV and finally declared the Jets as his team. He bought sweat shirts, hats, jackets, etc. I came along in 1991 and my first bottle was a Jets bottle, my first hat was a Jets hat, so I had no choice to become a Jets fan. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I grew up watching this team, I grew up watching games with my dad, I grew up during some hard, hard times. Our day will come and when it does it will be the sweetest thing! I have always wanted to share that moment with my father, and as a poster said before, be able to tell my father "they did it, they finally won, they're champions." Until then, the hope still burns.
That was actually 1986, and it was a crazy game. It was like 7-3 at the end of the 1st quarter if I remember correctly (unlike some guys here I don't run to check stats, it's mostly all memory baby!). Then it was just like watching tennis. I was at the game, and other than the Monday Night Miracle, I've never been to a more exciting game. 51-45 in OT. O'Brien to Walker.
