Favorable. He was my favorite player as a kid. My mother and sister got me a Mark Gastineau autographed helmet for Xmas this year.
I was born in long island in 1972... when I was 10 years old my Dad was doing a TV commercial with him and since I idolized him my dad set it up so I could ride to the place (I think it was a tile store) in the limo with him. He was supercool, it was awesome getting out of the limo with him in front of the big crowd. I have this picture of him with his arm around me... whats great is he's got a skin tight black v neck sweater on, hair all bushin out the top and tight jeans and a white rope belt. Amazing. Anyway, mostly for this story alone I idolized him. As an adult I can understand he had some issues.
My opinon is negative. I am only 18, so I dont know much of his playing days. My dad always tells me how he single handedly lost that Browns playoff game. And how he was a hot head and had many other bonehand penalties in big spots.
Favorable. I had a chance to meet him after a Jets game a few years ago and he was a pretty nice guy, he signed evrything for everyone.
was that the 04 texans game? I met him on the way out,he signed my ticket. I also met him in Sept along with the rest of the sack exchange
Favorable. Us Jet fans dont have many on the field legends to be proud of from that era.. Gastineau and the sack exchange made history and should be further appreciated.
Unfavorable, because I am not a Jets fan and this... ...existed. I'm sure Mark is a good guy and he was a great player, and I'm aware he hasn't been associated with those people in years, but come on.
Favorable...he was an awesome pass rusher. I loved the sack dance. I use to have a really cool Sack Exchange poster with all four of them standing on the NY Stock Exchange floor. My most prized Jets possesion is a game worn Gastineau football helmet. Long story on how I got it. It is when they had the white face masks. I got it around 1986. I wish he did not end his career the way he did...
Cleveland was a killer. But like all penalties, we had other chances to save that game. Yeah he was a hothead, and probably an ass, and yeah that Brigitte Nielsen thing hurt, but they guy was intense, and helped bring back Jet pride. So I say favorable.
MARK had issues but he was a heck of a football player. We could use his passrush ability today! He was awesome at times! JOE KLECKO belongs in the Hall of Fame! Together they were dynamite!
I said favorable because I liked him on the field, but I could have done without the theatrics and overall weirdness.
One more Gastineau memory.... I live in NE Ohio and the only times that I have seen the Jets play in person are against the Browns or Steelers. I live about an hour from both stadiums. When I was about 15 years old I went with my dad to see the Jets play the Browns at the old Municipal Stadium. I was wearing my Richard Todd Jersey and my Jets stocking cap (that I still have by the way). It is from the early to mid 70's. One of the first plays of the game, Brian Sipe goes back to pass for the Browns and Gastineau knocks one of his passes down. He then starts to do the "sack dance" and the crowd goes nuts booing him. I was so excited (I was sitting on the end of a row) that I started to do my own sack dance in the isle....the crowd started booing me and started throwing drinks and bottles (yes bottles) down from the higher level on me. I did not get hurt but I learned my lesson about wearing my Jets attire at a Browns game. Mike
I agree....Klecko belongs in the HOF. On my 20th birthday, August 3, 1985, Joe Namath was inducted into the HOF and I drove over to Canton (about 45 mins. west of were I live) to see his induction...it was awesome.
I appreciated Gastineau's pass rushing skills, but he was a selfish player and was disliked by many of his teammates. Read Klecko and Fields book NOSE TO NOSE and you'll get the inside scoop on Gastineau. Countless times other players had to make up for his "go for broke" get the quarterback play. He was a whiner and a crybaby to boot. Combine that with his boneheaded play in Cleveland along with the idiocy and embarrassment of quitting on the team for Bridget Nielson. He was all flash. Klecko is the one to admire from that D-line. Lyons too, he played hard and was a selfless guy off the field.
I have always been a huge Gastineau fan. 2 quick stories. We have 4 season tix (Section 302) and we all have Sack Exchange Jerseys. I'm Klecko, my cousin is Lyons, my brother is Salaam and Dad is Gastineau. In 2002 we were going into the game and had just gotten out tix scanned. My Dad and I were waiting for the others (there are 14 of us that go to the game) to clear the security pat down and this guy comes up and slaps my Dad on his back and says. "Hey, I had one of those jerseys once...It turns out to be Mark. He was so cool He shook hands with all of us and was really cool to everyone becuse we made a scene and everyone started to come to him to shake his hand. The second story is an all time favorite.. When I was 14 in 1984 I use to hang out and get autographs after the game. Mark was always the last out and of course he had hundreds of people wanting his autograph. I too was waiting then realized an amazing red ferarri with this goregeous blonde waiting on the side of the lot. My 15 year old hormones kicked in and I quickly realized it was Lisa Gastineau. Say what you want about the gold digger now, but to a 15 year old boy, she was amazing. So, I figuered I would hang near the car unitl Mark got there so I could get an autograph without having to deal with all the people. The strategy worked and there was myself and only 2 or 3 people left by the time he got to the car. I asked for an autograph (got it) and ...... a picture of myself and Lisa standing next to his ferrari. He had a good laugh about it with my Dad, but he and Lisa were both up for it. So for my last 3 years of HS, that picture of me and Lisa Gastineau leaning on their red ferrari was in my locker. With Mark's autograph next to it... He was the best pass rusher of h9is day and IMO he still holds the record for sacks in a season. That belly flop by Favre against the Giants was ridiculous.
Gastineau was one of the biggest jerks in Jet history. First of all, all he cared about was getting sacks. The Jets could be losing by three touchdowns, but if Gastineau got a sack he acted like the sack iced the game for the Jets. Second, his teammates HATED him for his selfish play. Klecko in particular couldn't stand him. Again, the hatred came from his selfish play. Third, the Cleveland game. Need I say more? Fourth, he quit on the team. Doesn't anybody remember that????? In 1988, when the Jets were having a decent season, he left the Jets in midseason to be with Bridgitte Nielson because she was having some medical issues (which turned out to be nothing). Sixth, he was a suspected steroid user and that led to him constantly being injured late in his career. Seventh, he embarrassed the team after his career by going into boxing, getting arrested, being publicly drunk etc. In the end those on this board who criticized John Abraham for his injuries, apparent lack of dedication, and his failure to play the run are hypocrites if they have a favorable impression of Gastineau. Gastineau was the ultimate selfish quitter who made Abraham look like a classy dedicated choir boy. And those who criticized Namath for his Suzy Kobler incident are hypocritical if they have a favorable impression of Gastineau. Namath's mistake was a one time thing. Gastinaeau embarrassed himself and the franchise repeatedly for years. One last thing - I have a story that epitomizes Gastineau. In the mid 1980's I joined the Big Brother program. I brought my little brother, a 9 year old kid, to a Jet practice at Hofstra one summer. He had a year book and we were getting autographs from just about every player. The one autograph he really wanted was Gastineau's. In those days, the players walked past the fans into the locker room after practice. When we approached Gastineau, he hemmed and hawed and said he wanted to clean up and would autograph the book after he changed. We waited and waited and waited. When he came out of the locker room, he tried to run away from this 9year old boy instead of taking the 10 seconds to sign the book. We caught up to him anyway and he jumped into his car and made some lame excuse about being in a hurry (after spending 45 minutes to change in the locker room!). After that, I knew he was nothing more than an asshole.
