Looks like JetsUK beat me to the all important questions! Thanks for that. Super excited to be coming over the pond for the Patriots game on Oct 30th. I was going to join the U.K. Supporters Club trip, but I had promised the wife a romantic long weekend in NY before COVID and we just got a bunch of airline compensation so why not kill two birds with the same stone?! Got a good feeling we’ll see a competitive team this year - hell it’s about time - but if not I’m sure it will be a great time all the same!
Glad to hear you are crossing over the pond. If you still have any questions left, feel free to ask. And enjoy your trip my friend. What part of UK are you from? Are you a Galatasaray hater or a neutral British to my beloved soccer team?
Hey @Brook thanks for the reply. I have a few questions, but first as an Englishman living on the East Coast of Scotland I can hand on heart say I have no affiliations with Turkish football! I have two teams: Raith Rovers (local) and Manchester United (my cousin used to play for them). I did see Utd play Galatasaray in CL a few years back. Think we won 1:0 from memory. Sorry! So those questions… - best plan for tailgating. Nothing crazy as will be with the wife. Would be good to soak up some atmosphere and a few beers before the game though. Are the paid “experiences” worthwhile? - best spots for a great NY breakfast? We are staying mid-town but happy to travel for great food - apart from the Jets what would you recommended for a great evening out with the lady? We like most types of bars/music (not keen on musicals!) and prefer local places rather than the tourist hotspots. Here’s hoping we can turn the Patriots over and make a great weekend even better. cheers
Aha. I liked United during Ferguson days. Glad we are cool in terms of Galatasaray. Answers to your questions. I want to think on them a little and respond when I have more time in my hands. Came from USA to Istanbul 2 days, flying to Iraq tomorrow night, coming back to Istanbul next Wednesday and flying to Dublin with wife and kids on August 14th. Returning back to USA August 22nd. I will give you some recommendations for above questions. But for tailgate, don't bother with paid tailgates. Jets brotherhood is for real at the parking lot. Just approach any tailgate, say hi and tell them you are from UK and you will have free food and beer and will make great friends. But good thing is, I have my own tailgate at Lot D and @GreenFan15J has also a great tailgate at Lot J. We will one way or another take care of you. Hope you guys go home with a victory.
I'm thinking you're looking for a hotel dining room or something equally refined but for most of us a true New York breakfast is a "Bacon, egg and cheese on a roll, to go" from any neighborhood deli or bodega - ketchup is optional. If you're still in town on November third the Marshall Tucker Band is at the Beacon Theatre, a great place to see a show. The week prior the Beacon has Joe Satriani on the 27th and Ray LaMontagne on the 28th and 29th. And the day after the game is Halloween so bars will be a bit more active the entire weekend.
For breakfast: https://sarabethsrestaurants.com/locations/central-park-south/ (59th st. between 5th & 6th ave.)
thanks for the replies and safe travels Brook. Looking forward to the whole Jets experience! appreciate the recommendations Sarabeths looks very good, but we’ll also be doing the greasy spoon breakfast options too! Will be flying back the Monday after the game but will have time before and during the weekend for some music and tourist stuff.
There’s not a lot of great food in midtown so prepare to travel. There are a ton of great food options in NYC, I’d recommend thinking of ways to narrow it down. For example: maybe you want some tacos, in that case you should check out Tacos No 1. Maybe you want a real NY Slice so you go to Joe’s pizza. It you really want something different and want to go the greasy spoon route, there’s a Dominican diner in Williamsburg called Ruben’s that’s damn good. Other iconic meals would be Pastrami on Rye at Katz’s or some chicken over rice from halal guys. I know a guy who opened up a couple Mexican restaurants named Javelina, damn good queso. Same goes for bars. Figure out your scene and budget and go from there. You want to hang out with a bunch of recent college grads? Go to the east village. You want to be at the bars where broadway goes after the shows are over, go to Hell’s Kitchen. You want to throw some money around at a more high end bar go to soho or TriBeCa. It’s too big of a city to do everything, figure out what you want and go from there. Ps. Don’t waste your time or money in little Italy.
Thanks all, some really great advice there. Is there a jets shop at the stadium with decent gear in it? Would be nice to get a T-shirt or two.
Yes there is. Every floor of the stadium has multiple Jets shops. And there is one outside the stadium as well.
Does anyone know if the main stadium shop is still making custom jerseys on game day? They were last year and I was thinking of having one done while I’m there for the opener. Thanks in advance!
Been a long while since I have lived in NYC so as restaurants go I'll leave that to those still frequenting up there but every time I am back I usually try to hit up the Old Town Bar. Nothing fancy, just a good old bar down on 18th St. My dad used to frequent the place and I used to go there pretty often when I worked in the city, actually got tickets to the last Jet game me and my dad went to together from the bartender there. I did see they now have a website, oldtownbar.com, so not sure if it's become over touristy now.
I can report having gone to the game (man was that another stinker), that they are indeed still doing same day custom jerseys. There are a couple of touchscreen kiosks (one just inside the shop doors and one outside adjacent to the area where they have the machine to do the customizing) that you use to choose the jersey color(green, white or the alternate black) , size, name and number. You get to see a preview and the result is printed out on a receipt you then take to a cashier inside the shop to pay for and then bring both of those back out to the table outside where they make the jersey. Process can take as little as 30 mins if you get there early or a couple of quarters of the game if they are backed up. Also, if you want to try on a size first before configuring you can ask at the counter outside. Hope this helps anyone interested!
In a week we’ll be in NYC! Very much looking forward to the trip and the game of course! We might even be competitive against the Pats. Strange days. We’re going to tailgate for a bit with the GCC who we’re recommended by another couple of jets fans over here in the UK. Looks like tailgate starts from 9am but the train doesn’t run so early and the (preferred) bus doesn’t leave the Port Auth until 11am. Should we get a cab over and the bus back? Thanks again for all the help.
Did you go? If so I am sorry that the game you saw seems to have been even worse than the one I went to - hope you enjoyed the trip overall though
Yes - just back home in the UK this afternoon! We had a fantastic long weekend that even the Jets couldn’t ruin! I wont bore you with the details of the whole weekend, but the game was great despite the outcome and something I’d recommend every overseas fan tries to do at some point if they can. We were up early so got breakfast in mid-town and walked over to the West side and hailed a cab. Took 20 mins to MetLife and from there found the GCC tailgate. Tailgating was fun, the guys there made us most welcome and I got to meet Wes Walker which was cool, but from a UK fan perspective I think it’s going to be much better with a bigger group of friends and family. Great to see both sets of fans mixing and having a good time. Quite unlike the UK MetLife gets a hard time, but I didn’t think it so bad. It is very grey and soulless when part full, but by the start it was close to capacity and the atmosphere was great. The weather was amazing and also played a part in the good vibes. We got resale club tickets near the half way on the jets side and I can’t imagine a better view. The price was a lot less than we paid for similar in London last year. The fans around us were friendly and props to the guy one row in front of us in the receipt fancy dress! Nice effort. The game was as we know a big disappointment, but not without its exciting moments. MC2’s pick 6 before everyone saw the flags probably the highlight/lowlight and after that it descended into SoJ territory. Out of the game it was busy with a long queue for the bus back to Port Authority and slow traffic all the way back to Manhattan. Finished the day with a few drinks and watching the Bills game on TV… that also didn’t make me feel any better! Anyone else thinking about going I highly recommend it. Not sure I’d go again “just” for the Jets given the cost and that they’ll likely be playing in London in the coming years as one of the UK connected teams. Brexit / covid / Tory party moan - it’s very expensive in NY for us Brits right now, hopefully the £ fights back against the $ before a return trip!
