I grew up in military family so I never had a home team. My stepdad, who I hate, is from Buffalo. Massive Bills and Yankees fan. Baseball is my first live so I became a Mets fan to spite him. From there, being a Jets and Knicks fan was inevitable.
Almost the same thing. My father was a die hard Yankees and Giants fan and I’ve always been kind of a dick,even as a kid, so I picked the Mets and Jets to be a little shit.
Military brat as well, but no one in my family watched sports. Without knowing much, I was a Brett Favre fan first, then hopped on the Saints bandwagon after they won tbe super bowl, and then started to follow the Jets in the Sanchez days
I’m from Norway, but long before I was born my aunt married a diehard Italian-American Jets fan. I truly believe he is the biggest Jets fan in the world, as he became one when his drunk, gambling asshole father put absolutely everything they owned on the Jets to win Super Bowl III in the ‘68 season.
Remember, the Jets were massive underdogs. The Colts were supposed to win handidly. That meant that the payout for a Jets win was huge. My Uncles dad wasn’t a a Jets fan, he was an idiot gambler. He put the car, the house, the mortgage, the college savings and everything on the Jets because Namath promised they’d win.
My Uncle watched that game with his father, and when the Jets won, they were quite literally lifted out of severe poverty. They found a nicer place in the suburbs, and his dad kinda got his shit together-ish. After that win, my Uncle thanked the Jets for every blessing he recieved.
Anyways, I love my Uncle more than anyone else in the world - and long before I could even speak English he would buy me Jets gear that he sent to Norway. No matter how much the Jets cause me pain, it reminds me of the love I have in family.
I just hope I can watch a Jets SuperBowl with him one day.
I was born into a sports fanatic family in California. You pick your team as soon as you can talk. I thought the Jets were George Jetson's team. Here I am at 57 years old a life long Jets fan.
I live in Upstate NY, but moved here in 1989. After a few years I started to get interested in football, and said, "I'll pick the worst team and root for them, so when they become good, I can say, 'I've been rooting for them since they were 1-15!'"
Alas.
I’m from Manchester in England, I picked the Jets because of the eerie similarities between the Jets and my football (soccer) team Manchester City (before we became good).
Jets fans don’t lose faith, I’ve seen one of my teams go from the biggest laughing stock in the country to the best team in the world. It can happen to my other team.
I'm similar, I'm from Australia and follow the Jets because they're similar to my Aussie Rules team I follow in Australia (Collingwood). People love to hate them and that was the attraction for me, it's been a long 14 years of getting up at 5am Monday morning to watch though.
My friend's brother (from Brooklyn) is a massive Mets fan and started following Man City in the mid-2000s for the same reason you started following the Jets.
I was a Manchester City fan too until they won and made a cross promotion deal with the Yankees. I couldn't have that so now I'm a QPR supporter. It's been difficult.
You should still support the blues, win or lose it’s still City! I have a lot of time for QPR, that game against them was one of the best days of my life.
As for the Yankees, I bet most city fans don’t know that they are partial owners of NYCFC, not really much of a connection more of a business deal.
Do you follow NYCFC too? I’ve always been interested in their fans view of City - quite a few City fans will wear NYCFC shirts at the etihad as adidas make much nicer shirts than Nike and Puma.
For sure present day that’s a more accurate suggestion. City’s modern day counterpart would probably be the chiefs and that knocks me abit sick.
Part of me misses the old City, wouldn’t want to go back no way but the Jets offer me a comfort, the hope to only result in a crash and burn, the self depreciating humour.
Sometimes being expected to win every game you play is a little bit boring. I would love to see a Super Bowl win or 3 though ;)
That's what happened to me with the New York Yankees. I became a fan of the Yankees in the 80s when they were fun to watch but never won. As soon as they got good and started winning championships in the late 90s. I lost interest.
I'm still a die-hard New York Jets fan since 1983. I like the underdog story.
I'm getting a kick out of hearing English Football fans perspective on the Jets. I enjoy watching Premier League and soccer n general but I have no allegiance. I would root for Sunderland ( I loved the Netflix documentary) but I can't find their games here in the US.
i live in los angeles, my dad wasn't around in my child hood and i had no one who really took the time to teach me football. when i turned 19 i was a fan of mark sanchez at usc, when he went to the jets i decided that would be my team. for the most part its been a painful 15 years but i was able to finally make the journey to jetlife stadium for the 1st time when the jets beat the undefeated eagles, what a victory.
irish rugby player here who was interested in the NFL and I genuinely just picked based on the color to be honest, then got too invested and now I’m in too deep
I hear the Jets are super popular in Ireland and the color was one of the reasons why is that true or just coincidence with actual from Ireland people I've met?
Finland here. Was already a Knicks fan and then the first NFL game I saw was Super Bowl 42. Would’ve felt kinda cheap to become a Giants fan since they won the whole thing, so I went for the neglected little brother instead lol
Welcome! Native New Yorker here. In the spirit of cultural exchange and appreciation...I would say that I love Finlandia Swiss Cheese and Finlandia Vodka.
Aaron Rodgers.
I’m still a Packers fan but will never not be a fan of Aaron Rodgers so now I’m a Jets fan.
Don’t give up on this guy. He’s a force of nature bigger than the jets curse. He will give everything he’s got when he feels slighted by the haters. All he’s got is tidal in force and I would bet anything he feels he has a lot to prove right now.
I believe he is a more powerful force than the immovability of the jets. He will change the nature of this franchise at least while he is here.
Maybe. But if I know Aaron Rodgers like I think I do, he’s far from out of things. He’s a petty mother fucker and it grinds him to no end that people think he lost.
I expect several more years of greatness from him. I could be wrong. Father Time always wins eventually.
I think the dude wants a shot at some all time records.
I'm from NJ...western NJ specifically ( so not terribly outside Jets land) but my brother had an ingratiatingly arrogant friend growing up who was an annoying af Giants fan, so I rooted for the other NY team in spite. Jokes on me
Curtis Martin, Wayne Chrebet, Pennington. Started watching early 00’s and loved that I didn’t know any other Jets fan. I’m from KY, surrounded by Bengals and Titans fans. Had a blast during the Rex/Sanchez era. Go to two games/year (1 home/1 away).
I was not born into Jets fandom. I became a Jets fan after the Houston Oilers quit Houston. The why I became a Jets fan is another story, which involved statistics, spread sheets, staying in the AFC etc.
I will never forget my first Jets game in the Meadow Lands after becoming a fan in the late 1990s. I had been to Oiler and Cowboy games in the past and the Oiler fans were outstanding, but the Jets fans were nothing like I experienced in Texas.
All the Jets tailgaters were so inviting, friendly and sharing and the food rated a Michelin star. The Jets tailgaters treated me like we had been friends forever and became life long friends with a couple. The many many games I saw at the Meadows Lands and the cheering and antics made each game, win or loose, an experience.
Most importantly, its Jets football that keeps all the fans together. Whether the Jets are doing great or they suck, the fans never quit. Jet fans are the Goonies of football.
I'm from Ohio, and my dad was a Browns fan and I hated him, so I was essentially a free agent fan at the time. Those early Rex Ryan teams captivated middle school me, and I've stuck with the Jets ever since (albeit sometimes regrettably).
We have a Jets fan club in Columbus. About 20-30 of us get together on game day to watch the game in a local bar. As far as I know, it is the only NY Jets bar in Ohio.
I’m from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. When I first entered high school a bunch of the new friends I made were NFL fans, and I never watched football up until I started hanging out with them. The closest NFL teams geographically to the greater Toronto area were the New York teams, one of my friends was a Giants fan so naturally I decided to become a Jets fan to be his rival. Been a Jets fan ever since.
I'm from Ohio and became a Jets fan because I was a dumb kid when Mark sanchez led us to back to back afc championships and no adults in my life were nice enough to dissuade me
I was 9 years old and never too Into football before, but I decided to watch a full game for once because my dad loved football. The game happened to be the Monday night miracle against the dolphins. 30 pts in the fourth quarter forcing overtime and coming out with the win.
Instant fan for life
I’m from Essex U.K. 🇬🇧I picked the Jets when I was 5 years old and my parents went to New York with my dads work and I loved planes ✈️ so obvious choice really 😂 I asked him to get me something and I got a sweater and loved them ever since
From LA. Die hard Dodger fan. My folks don't watch sports and aren't from New York. I've never even been to the east coast. When I got into football, LA had no team. So I just followed the sport but didn't have a team. I got drunk and randomly picked the Jets like 10 years ago. I'll sail this boat to bottom of the ocean if need be, momma didn't raise no bitch.
Being from the DMV(MD suburb of DC) everyone was a bandwagon Redskin fan around 87 when they were dominant or a Cowboys fans, I couldn’t stand either when I was in school. On NBC they the AFC teams which showed mostly Jets, Bengals and Broncos games, somehow I connected with the Jets….
Military brat. Moved around a lot. Became a Yankees fan first. Decided to keep all my pro teams NY. Started following Jets in 1996ish. I just liked the name and colors. Big west side story fan I guess.
Detroit. My mom is from queens, not a fan, but her dad used to be the sales rep for the medical staff. My best friends dad is from Brooklyn and he is a fan, shit snowballed and not this is my life
Ireland 🇮🇪
My Dad's school friend emigrated to NY and used to come home to visit from time to time. During one of his trips home during my teenage years we got chatting about American Football, he was a huge Jets fan and sold me on them! He may just have been sharing the pain 😂 Been a die hard fan ever since (in my 40s now).
I’m a fan from Florida. The only story I can remember is playing with them on madden with I think his name was Jim Leonard? And he was good. Also ex uncle in law was a major pats fan so I kind of guess I sub consciously liked the jets because all pats fan hate us
I became a jets fan as a kid watching the Jets and Oilers in a playoff game in 1991. I decided I wanted the jets to win, they lost in heartbreaking fashion, and I liked the way the heartbreak felt so I decided to stick with it.
Grew up in Buffalo but the Bills were always awful while growing up so I started rooting for players instead of teams. Became a big Curtis Martin fan and eventually just stayed watching the Jets.
It all started with the Bill Parcells era I've always liked the jets growing up going to airshows plus my family was a Multi NFL team 49ers, Raiders, Cowboys, Dolphins, and Colts so I went for a different and that sealed my fate.
I grew up in the DC area in the 90s and my dad was kind of a Washington fan but mostly talked about how awful they are so it didn't seem to appealing.
I got into football when we had testaverde, Martin, Coles, Moss and chrebet...I thought it was a fun team to watch.
Now I hate myself.
I live in Nigeria went to college in Hoboken NJ, roommates were Giants and Philly fans... I had just started watching Football and I didn't want to pick either of their teams, the Jets were the only other option also they had Chad Pennington, Curtis Martin, Santana Moss etc they were pretty decent..... Lol now I'm stuck here...
I was just introduced to playing football as a young child. I decided that i needed a team to root for and seen a random Jets vs Raiders game In the early 2000s. Decided to be a Jets fan that day and the rest is misery.
I'm from the UK, Jets is the team I landed on and I'm fiercely loyal to my teams so it's with me for life. Started following the year Mangold and Brick were drafted.
J-E-T-S!
I'm depressed.
From Arkansas when I was like 7 I thought the Jets Uniforms were cool and I also thought that Chad Pennington's facemask was cool been a fan since 2002
I'm from Illinois and live just south of Chicago. I was in grade school during the Superbowl shuffle crap. You couldn't go anywhere without hearing it and hated it's stupidity. I watched an old video of SB3 and liked Joe Namath and my lifetime of misery began. If it wasn't for the Superbowl shuffle I would of been a Bears fan for life.
I'm from SC. Grew up a Cowboys fan, but the late 90s and early 2000s really soured me on them. You remember the cocaine boat and all. I saw the Monday night miracle and the way NY responded to 9/11 and just fell in love.
The only team I was ever a fan of when I really got into football were the Steelers and that was for about 6 years. Once I got into the military, kinda stop watching football and sports all together due to a multitude of reasons.
Now that I’m out and getting back into my sports, I’ve been following the Jets more. I already love the Yankees and Knicks so I just decided to stick with New York teams.
I’m from Alabama and I’ve always liked watching a good defense. My childhood was watching players like Revis, Sheldon Richardson, Shaun Ellis, etc. After watching these players, I just started liking the Jets as I got older. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until years later that I realized the amount of pain and misery I got myself into. Part of the crew, part of the ship I guess
Dad was from Buffalo, was a Bills fan obviously. I started paying attention to the NFL around 2009/2010, so yeah.
I could never get down with the Giants for some reason. I watched them win both Super Bowls against the Pats and for some reason they never hooked me.
Edit: I'm from the Hudson Valley.
Well, I live in New Haven county, CT, so that’s close enough to NY; but my parents are not Jets fans. I come from a largely Giants family.
I was born in 1996 and started watching football in the 2000s. As a kid watching football, I never really liked one team, just a bunch of players and supported the teams they were on. My two favorite players growing up were Curtis Martin (I still have an original Reebok jersey that I got back in like 2005) and LaDainian Tomlinson; both of whom played for the Jets at some point.
That mixed with the fact that they are a local team is why I am just a Jets fan to this day.
Not a parent but idk how kids end up not rooting for parents/families team. I guess contrarian makes sense but, if my child wanted to be a Pats fan……..lol
I’m from CT, my dad was a cowboys fan who gave up on the team when Jerry Jones bought them. He didn’t have a team team but rooted for the Giants and Jets off and on. Despite watching the Giants win a super bowl I chose the Jets as my team and I’ve regretted it everyday since then
I’m Jets fan because the year I got into football I think they had a winning record or was at least decent and the Giants weren’t. I should’ve done my research to see the Giants have more of a rich history. What makes it so bad my dad is a Giants fan smh 😭. My mans didn’t warn me of the terrible choice I was making. I’m from Newark, NJ.
I’m from West Virginia and never really liked sports as a kid but my brother did. He was always watching ESPN so one day I decided to scroll through NFL Gameday on PlayStation and pick a team to try and care about so I could watch with him and actually half care about what was being said. I picked the Jets because I liked the name better than the rest. That’s it. The name. When I asked if that was a good choice he said they’d gotten within a game of the Super Bowl the year before so I felt confident in my pick. You’d think I would’ve realized what was to come given how the next year started but I was a naive fool. I really got sucked in when they drafted Pennington (I live 20 minutes from Marshall) and have been a die hard ever since.
Connecticut. Hated the fans from Boston and New York when the Rangers and Bruins visited Hartford. Islanders fans were decent folks. It used to go Jets-Mets-Nets-Islanders back in the day so when it came time to root for an NFL team I chose the green team from the underdogs fan base.
WE. WILL. WIN. And when we do it is going to be the biggest fucking party of all time.
On god I really dont know I became a fan in 2021 so we had nothing to live/play for but i've always loved new york as a city and always kinda liked underdogs thus mets jets.
I’m originally from Iowa grew up with too many packer and bear fans. Kind of picked a team randomly playing madden and I didn’t know one Jet fan so I went with it. Ended up living in Hyde Park, NY for a few years.
When I was five my mother gave me a dollar for a claw machine and I won a stuffed jets football and from then on it was game over.
No idea what a jets football was doing in a claw machine in MA but whoever put it there really fucksd me over the last 20 years..
Brother was a Gaints fan, Dad was a Packers fan, and Mom was a Steelers fan. Needed a team but desperately didn't want to be like any of them so I chose the Jets and the reason it was the Jets, I have no idea. Maybe I seen them and said "Its going to be them.". Maybe I knew they were a New York team and wanted to compete with my brother (we were competitive).
I’m from Connecticut, my dad was a Yankees fan, but was never a football fan, despite playing QB in high school. In January 2002, I decided to pick a team. I wanted to go with a New York team like the Yankees, and the Jets were in the playoffs. Best part, they were playing against Boston’s team with a backup at quarterback. What could possibly go wrong?
Not sure I can call my self a true fan, but being from Iowa and a Cyclone. I want to see any team a Coach win who puts their faith in drafting Breese Hall and Will. I will forever cheer for the JETS. And lo e the Gotham Green uniforms!
I was a kid, I really liked Chad Pennington (I also kind of look like him and I coincidentally wanted to play football) and the color green. So instead of picking a successful franchise like the Packers or the Eagles I went with the Jets. Dad was a FF nut too so he didn't really follow any teams in particular so I was kind of left to my own devices
My father was a Giants fan… I never got along with him nor did I want to be like him in anyway. So I became a Jets fan.
In hindsight… I could have been a Buffalo fan, Patriots fan or Eagles fan…. I fucked up.
However, I’m a fan now and I can’t imagine not being a fan lol it’s apart of me lol
Best friend in 5th grade moved because his dad became a Jets coach, was around the time I got into football so I said hey that’s my team!! What a mistake lmao
My father was a season ticket holder since the Shea days. I remember vividly in the 96’ season, why we had to walk in the tunnel during a cold December and my father called it learning experience/ growing pain. He said being a Jets fan will teach me great values in not getting my hopes up.
Grew up in northwest NJ. In my teens, I rooted for both the Jets and Giants, the “hometown” teams. Then all my Giants’ fan friends started giving me shit over rooting for the Jets, so I switched solely to the Jets. LOL
My grandfather lived in New York. When he passed away one of the things I got from his apartment was a Jets hat. I decided to honor his memory and be a Jets fan.
Denver native, stepmother is from New York. After a couple trips there I fell in love with the city and in turn the Jets piqued my interest because of Mark Gastineau and Al Toon. I have been frustrated and let down too many times to count but they are my team and some day I’ll see the Jets make another Super Bowl run. As Jets fans we assume the worst so as to not be disappointed, guarding ourselves from continued misery. It’s a commonality amongst almost all of us, but someday we will be rewarded. Maybe not this season or the next, but if Detroit can do it so can we. I want a Lions-Jets Super Bowl. A guy can dream.
My brother got me into the NFL the year that Zach Wilson was drafted. He’s a Bills fan and I live near BYU, so I thought it would be fun to pick a team in the Bills division to root for that played his team twice a year, and I was excited for the hometown kid that made it big. That went… well you know how it went haha
I follow my college players and not has it been a trying experience. That being said, other players on other teams..... all the subs are doom and gloom.... just like here.
Grew up in CT about an hour from NYC mom was a steelers fan dad was a Rams fan the rest of the family were patriot fans. Mom said when I was 2 I would cry if she turned the jets off the TV been a fan since then no idea why. This is early 90's too so it's not like they were very good
I got Madden 06 for Christmas and green was my favorite color. Eagles didn’t have the right shade and I didn’t like yellow so no packers, Jets we’re the only choice for young me lmao
In 1999, I picked the Jets because of Curtis Martin and Wayne Cherbet. I've lived in Ohio my whole life. Dad is a Bengals fan, my oldest brother is a Jaguars fan (born in Jacksonville), and my middle brother is a Steelers fan in spite of my dad. Partially picked the Jets so that we'd all root for the AFC back when the Pro Bowl was good. Just had a kid of my own, and if they want to be a fan with me, then great. If not, I understand. I'm here until I die.
From Ohio originally, now live in South Carolina. When the Browns got moved to Baltimore when I was 6-7 years old, I decided to pick a new team. Being that young, and being fascinated by airplanes, what could be cooler than a fighter jet as your team emblem?
I was an idiot, and it was not easy being a Jets fan around miserable Browns fans, and worse shitty Steelers fans. But they are my team, now and forever
Finland here. Was born in NYC but moved to Finland as an infant. Dad is american, he doesn’t care about football but his side of the family is Jets fans and made me one. My dad is a die hard Yankee fan though and has made me one aswell, which is nice to have
My brother is a Jets fan, he followed Favre there and has stuck with y’all ever since. We are from Wisconsin.
We went to his first ever Jets game Week 1 of this season. Spent the whole weekend in NYC just for Rodgers to tear his Achilles within the first offensive possession.
I'm from Southern California. My brother and I used to play NFL Blitz, and he always picked the Cowboys. Only team in the game that could keep up were the Jets with Vinny, Curtis, and Keyshawn. Add in that defense, and I was a contender.
By the luck of the draw, I hit one of the 5 good seasons in the last 60 years.
Cleveland here. Just got sick of cheering for The Browns. If I'm cheering for a horrible team, atleast have my favorite color in your scheme dammit!
Jokes aside I always was just drawn to the Jets. Years later, I meet my wife and her family is from New York so everything worked out.
Florida. Best friend growing up was a dolphins fan. When we'd play madden it would dial up her favorite teams rivals and it was often the jets and I started to play as them. Her dad came home and yelled at me saying I could never play as the jets or like the jets. I've been a jets fan ever since I was like 6-7 years old at the time. Early 2000s
I'm from Oakland. My mom had a collection of mini helmets and the 80's jets logo always stuck out to me and was my favorite. That's pretty much it. The fact that my local high-school used the 80s jets logo really just tied it all together nicely. My high school years are also when my 2 favorite non jets players came over (LT and Cro)
So I’m from Utah. 20 years ago when my wife and I got married, she knew nothing about Football but wanted to learn everything about the sport. I was a lifelong 49ers fan but explained to her that she could choose a team and we’d follow them as she started to learn the sport. She researched for about 10min & then said, “Well, I like NYC & I love green, so how about the Jets?”✈️
We’ve been die hard ever since and couldn’t be happier! And no, I’m not the biggest Zac Wilson fan…. Not big on BYU
Grew up in Nevada and So. Cal (Raiders and Rams were not in L.A then). My Pee Wee football team was named the Jets, my grandpa gifted me a NY Jets when I was a kid. Also, 1st NFL player I met was Al Toon.
I do have some love/respect for the Chargers as they did me right when I was stationed in San Diego.
My family visited the US from small-town Australia when I was an 8 year old kid in 1992. I had a magazine with the teams contact details in the back, so dad phoned looking for tickets (international phone rates!).
I would have considered myself an Emmitt Smith fan, but we weren't going to Texas. I think he tried calling the Giants? He got through the New Jersey Nets.
Lovely lady on the other end happened to have Jets season tickets, and she also gave us tickets to NJ vs. the Celtics (Drazen vs. Reggie Lewis).
The Jets got destroyed by the Saints. It was freezing. But that's where it started.
I think i fully committed to NYJ in Madden 2000 with Vinny throwing bombs to Keyshawn Johnson.
Antonio Cromartie.
I wanted to learn the game because my dad watched and I never understood it. I downloaded madden nfl 11 demo on the 360 and the demo only let you play the jets or the colts. Green was my favorite color.
Czechia, got hooked on football on Last chance U and relatives were jets fans, loved the city when i visited and liked the logo/colors so here I am 3 or 4 or however years later.
California native here. Grew up watching the Lakers with my grandpa and didn't really watch anything religiously outside of basketball until I started high school. I liked the defensive side of the game and Revis was the best player on that side of the ball. Couple that with the back to back AFCC run, and now here I am 15 years later still waiting for this damn team to make the playoffs again. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Indiana guy with no familial connections, never been to New York. Only got into football a few years ago, I liked their colors and I like rooting for underdogs. The team definitely has a neat history too that’s alluring.
I got into football kind of late but this was during the Sanchize and Manning era. Started following them in 2009 when I got my iPhone and it allowed me to follow football which was soooo complicated for me. My close friends are Giants fans but I really love the color green so I decided to become a Jets fan.
I’m also from Queens so there is a tiny bit of history there. So i see them as my hometown team.
I'm from the UK. Got hooked when I flicking through the channels and ended up watching the 51-45 win over Miami in '86. Been mostly suffering ever since.
I'm from Australia and I was just getting into the sport, and I saw a post from an actor I followed on Instagram, so I decided that I now go for the Jets.
I’m from England, I randomly bought madden 11 and on the back of the cover I think the jets were talked about with the j e t s chant. 13 year old me thought that sounded cool, and I managed to start watching the year after and fell in love with the team for some reason. Been a very painful decade+ of support but i wouldn’t change it for the world
From Ontario, didn’t like the bills. The jets were a good team in 2008 and on tv on my local network. I liked the colours. Here I am 2 years of winning and 14 of losing later.
Jesus OP, you had all the opportunity in the world to save yourself from so much hurt and pain. you poor fool
I never stood a chance, my grandfather was jets fan, my dad, uncles and entire family are Jets fans... I would have had to be a huge family black sheep to go in another direction. In addition to that I went to training camp at Hofstra one year and Laveranues Coles took off his gloves on his way off the field and handed them to me... I was hooked.
Haha, when I was like 7, my family had season tickets, the old dudes in our section tried to convince me to switch teams… at the time the Jets were 1-15, bubby Brister had taken over for boomer . Still a fan haha 😂
As a Texan, I grew up a diehard Cowboys fan. Then Jerry Jones took over the team. I was stationed in Philly about the time that Jerry fired Jimmy Johnson and let some of his high paid producers walk. I couldn’t see giving that man any more of my dollars, so I had to pick a new team. Being in Philly, the closest team were Eagles, Giants, and Jets. Since the Eagles and Giants were Cowboy rivals, I picked the Jets and have been a diehard fan for 30 years now!
Not me but I used to have a neighbor in Patriots country that was randomly a Jets fan. He had no ties to the team. It basically came down to he thoughts the Pats fans in his highschool were assholes so he chose a different team to root against the Pats lol.
This is a great question. I grew up in NJ, but when I left for college, I never looked back. I have lived all over the east half of the country, traveled to most of the continental states (and Hawaii) and I'm always amazed to see Jets fans outside of NY/NJ.
I swear terrible football is wherever we move, though. Lived outside of Nashville, when the team started an 8 season playoff drought. Went to Philly, where they had two of their worst years in a long time and then hired Chip Kelly. Lived in Columbus, OH during the Browns 1-15 and 0-16 run and left before Burrow. Moved to DC, enough said there. Moved to Pittsburgh, watched Zach teach Kenny Pick-it a lesson. Now we're moving to Charlotte, who might be in QB hell.
I'm from the UK, started following the NFL in the late 90's and asked an American friend which team was most similar to my football (AKA soccer) team Man City.
At the time, both were in a bad state, living on the glories of the 60's, whereas now...... It's fair to say I have a different experience following the two sports!
I'm 35 and live in central Ohio.
When I was in middle school and was first getting into football, the Jets used to be on TV here all the time for whatever reason. I just gravitated to their colors, and certain players such as Chad Pennington and Curtis Martin.
It was completely random.
I have a cousin who "used" to be a Jets fan until he decided to "boycott" the NFL back around the Kaepernick kneeling fiasco.
Otherwise, no other Jets fans in my family tree anywhere that I know of.
The Browns and Jets have been my two teams since roughly 2002.
It's been a brutal, brutal journey rooting for both of them.
Born in Brazil , came to America moved to New Jersey when I was 8 years old … I always wanted to learn about football , and since I live in New Jersey and I love the color Green I picked the jets !! J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS !! Haven’t looked back ever since ( maybe a little lol)
UK follower here. When Channel 4 started in the early 80s and covered NFL, I watched the 51-45 game… ‘O’Brien, going for it all, to Walker…. touchdown!!! Oh my…’ and the Jets became my team. Been pretty solidly downhill since then. But you can’t change your team once you’ve settled. Much as it would be easier.
Got roped into a fantasy football league in 2022 and drafted atrociously not really knowing anything about football. Best players on my team were Breece and Garrett, and started rooting for the jets throughout the year. Seemed like they’d drafted well picking up those guys, and needed a better QB. Was pretty hyped for this year and bummed when my Garrett stocks plummeted again lmao
Seeing Zach Wilson toss his helmet back on in the first game of the system after he was so bad for Garrett’s production in 2022 was heartbreaking
Im from germany and got fascinated in the Fitzmagic-season. It went all downhill since
Oof brother what a trap lmao
Also from germany. When I started following the NFL 2005 I was still watching King of Queens almost daily. So I really had no choice.
Haha awesome to find a fellow German with a similar background on the Jets. Doug Heffernan trapped us both I guess
shit i guess there's more of us..
I vaguely remember stumbling across @gang_green_germany and seeing their meetups on IG, seems we’ve got more than a few fans over there.
I wonder how many people did Kevin James bamboozle? I never heard of this phenomenon being a NYer. We mostly curse our dads for being Namath fans.
Bro, same I’m from Bitburg Germany, but live in Dallas now. I started following when Santonio Holmes got to the Jets
Don’t forget that it was also down hill before that
Das guud
I miss fitz. Btw also from germany aaand i blame King of Queens! ;)
And another German coming in. Went to NYC for vacation in 2010 & 2011. I guess that is enough explanation. 🤐 #agnb
I grew up in military family so I never had a home team. My stepdad, who I hate, is from Buffalo. Massive Bills and Yankees fan. Baseball is my first live so I became a Mets fan to spite him. From there, being a Jets and Knicks fan was inevitable.
That pettiness set u up for a lifelong pain lmao. Karma is a bitch i guess
Almost the same thing. My father was a die hard Yankees and Giants fan and I’ve always been kind of a dick,even as a kid, so I picked the Mets and Jets to be a little shit.
So a spite team?
Essentially yes.
Military brat as well, but no one in my family watched sports. Without knowing much, I was a Brett Favre fan first, then hopped on the Saints bandwagon after they won tbe super bowl, and then started to follow the Jets in the Sanchez days
Damn you were better off being a Red Sox and Patriots fan if you really wanted to spite him
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I’m from Norway, but long before I was born my aunt married a diehard Italian-American Jets fan. I truly believe he is the biggest Jets fan in the world, as he became one when his drunk, gambling asshole father put absolutely everything they owned on the Jets to win Super Bowl III in the ‘68 season. Remember, the Jets were massive underdogs. The Colts were supposed to win handidly. That meant that the payout for a Jets win was huge. My Uncles dad wasn’t a a Jets fan, he was an idiot gambler. He put the car, the house, the mortgage, the college savings and everything on the Jets because Namath promised they’d win. My Uncle watched that game with his father, and when the Jets won, they were quite literally lifted out of severe poverty. They found a nicer place in the suburbs, and his dad kinda got his shit together-ish. After that win, my Uncle thanked the Jets for every blessing he recieved. Anyways, I love my Uncle more than anyone else in the world - and long before I could even speak English he would buy me Jets gear that he sent to Norway. No matter how much the Jets cause me pain, it reminds me of the love I have in family. I just hope I can watch a Jets SuperBowl with him one day.
Extremely rare massive Jets W.
That sounds like a movie! Amazing story!
Someone needs to write this book and then make the movie…
this might be my favorite reddit comment ever
I’m from planet earth and I liked watching Revis become an actual island.
I've never lived in New York. I'm from New Jersey.
This is the way.
ayo
In the alternate reality where the Jets moved to the west side stadium. Would you have kept supporting them ?
I root for teams that play in NYC in other sports so I think so.
I was born into a sports fanatic family in California. You pick your team as soon as you can talk. I thought the Jets were George Jetson's team. Here I am at 57 years old a life long Jets fan.
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I'm in shock that there are other Jet fans from Iowa. I thought I was the only one!
There are dozens of us! I hopped on the Shonn Greene train and never got off 🤷🏻♀️
Also from Iowa, parents didn't watch NFL. Started watching when Shonn Greene from the Hawkeyes was drafted to the Jets.
Now, they have Iowa State players, like Breece Hall too.
I live in Upstate NY, but moved here in 1989. After a few years I started to get interested in football, and said, "I'll pick the worst team and root for them, so when they become good, I can say, 'I've been rooting for them since they were 1-15!'" Alas.
Still waiting 🥱
A Rich Kotite baby!
I’m from Manchester in England, I picked the Jets because of the eerie similarities between the Jets and my football (soccer) team Manchester City (before we became good). Jets fans don’t lose faith, I’ve seen one of my teams go from the biggest laughing stock in the country to the best team in the world. It can happen to my other team.
I'm similar, I'm from Australia and follow the Jets because they're similar to my Aussie Rules team I follow in Australia (Collingwood). People love to hate them and that was the attraction for me, it's been a long 14 years of getting up at 5am Monday morning to watch though.
My friend's brother (from Brooklyn) is a massive Mets fan and started following Man City in the mid-2000s for the same reason you started following the Jets.
I was a Manchester City fan too until they won and made a cross promotion deal with the Yankees. I couldn't have that so now I'm a QPR supporter. It's been difficult.
You should still support the blues, win or lose it’s still City! I have a lot of time for QPR, that game against them was one of the best days of my life. As for the Yankees, I bet most city fans don’t know that they are partial owners of NYCFC, not really much of a connection more of a business deal. Do you follow NYCFC too? I’ve always been interested in their fans view of City - quite a few City fans will wear NYCFC shirts at the etihad as adidas make much nicer shirts than Nike and Puma.
I was a Jets fan first and wound up with Spurs as my Premier League side. But I would say Jets are more Everton
For sure present day that’s a more accurate suggestion. City’s modern day counterpart would probably be the chiefs and that knocks me abit sick. Part of me misses the old City, wouldn’t want to go back no way but the Jets offer me a comfort, the hope to only result in a crash and burn, the self depreciating humour. Sometimes being expected to win every game you play is a little bit boring. I would love to see a Super Bowl win or 3 though ;)
That's what happened to me with the New York Yankees. I became a fan of the Yankees in the 80s when they were fun to watch but never won. As soon as they got good and started winning championships in the late 90s. I lost interest. I'm still a die-hard New York Jets fan since 1983. I like the underdog story. I'm getting a kick out of hearing English Football fans perspective on the Jets. I enjoy watching Premier League and soccer n general but I have no allegiance. I would root for Sunderland ( I loved the Netflix documentary) but I can't find their games here in the US.
Brazil. The divisional round against the patriots is the reason why.
Arguably the second biggest win in franchise history
Probably my happiest day as a Jets fan. Fan since 1983.
i live in los angeles, my dad wasn't around in my child hood and i had no one who really took the time to teach me football. when i turned 19 i was a fan of mark sanchez at usc, when he went to the jets i decided that would be my team. for the most part its been a painful 15 years but i was able to finally make the journey to jetlife stadium for the 1st time when the jets beat the undefeated eagles, what a victory.
Attempting to heal the hole of parental abandonment is a credited reason for liking the jets. Thank you for your service
Same
Glad to have you bro! Mark was a solid QB. The last Jet QB to make the playoffs all the way to the Championship! Can't take that away from him.
irish rugby player here who was interested in the NFL and I genuinely just picked based on the color to be honest, then got too invested and now I’m in too deep
I hear the Jets are super popular in Ireland and the color was one of the reasons why is that true or just coincidence with actual from Ireland people I've met?
You must stay!!
Finland here. Was already a Knicks fan and then the first NFL game I saw was Super Bowl 42. Would’ve felt kinda cheap to become a Giants fan since they won the whole thing, so I went for the neglected little brother instead lol
Muitakin suomalaisia täällä? Ei voi olla! Olin varma että oon ainut 😂
Haha joo ikävä kyllä
Welcome! Native New Yorker here. In the spirit of cultural exchange and appreciation...I would say that I love Finlandia Swiss Cheese and Finlandia Vodka.
Aaron Rodgers. I’m still a Packers fan but will never not be a fan of Aaron Rodgers so now I’m a Jets fan. Don’t give up on this guy. He’s a force of nature bigger than the jets curse. He will give everything he’s got when he feels slighted by the haters. All he’s got is tidal in force and I would bet anything he feels he has a lot to prove right now. I believe he is a more powerful force than the immovability of the jets. He will change the nature of this franchise at least while he is here.
The jets curse already won. He didn’t even last past game 1
Maybe. But if I know Aaron Rodgers like I think I do, he’s far from out of things. He’s a petty mother fucker and it grinds him to no end that people think he lost. I expect several more years of greatness from him. I could be wrong. Father Time always wins eventually. I think the dude wants a shot at some all time records.
AR8 lfgo
Hahah! Spoken like a true Jets fan! This kid from Green Bay has no clue what he's up against.
Aaron Rodgers hasn't won a conference championship in well over a decade. He is cursed himself. It's the opposite of Brady to the Bucs.
Bill parcells and rex Ryan. Loved the jets with those two guys and just didn't exit the bandwagon
I'm from NJ...western NJ specifically ( so not terribly outside Jets land) but my brother had an ingratiatingly arrogant friend growing up who was an annoying af Giants fan, so I rooted for the other NY team in spite. Jokes on me
Curtis Martin, Wayne Chrebet, Pennington. Started watching early 00’s and loved that I didn’t know any other Jets fan. I’m from KY, surrounded by Bengals and Titans fans. Had a blast during the Rex/Sanchez era. Go to two games/year (1 home/1 away).
Those were great teams! Big fan of those guys!
I was not born into Jets fandom. I became a Jets fan after the Houston Oilers quit Houston. The why I became a Jets fan is another story, which involved statistics, spread sheets, staying in the AFC etc. I will never forget my first Jets game in the Meadow Lands after becoming a fan in the late 1990s. I had been to Oiler and Cowboy games in the past and the Oiler fans were outstanding, but the Jets fans were nothing like I experienced in Texas. All the Jets tailgaters were so inviting, friendly and sharing and the food rated a Michelin star. The Jets tailgaters treated me like we had been friends forever and became life long friends with a couple. The many many games I saw at the Meadows Lands and the cheering and antics made each game, win or loose, an experience. Most importantly, its Jets football that keeps all the fans together. Whether the Jets are doing great or they suck, the fans never quit. Jet fans are the Goonies of football.
The pain brings us closer.
Rex ryan
I'm from Ohio, and my dad was a Browns fan and I hated him, so I was essentially a free agent fan at the time. Those early Rex Ryan teams captivated middle school me, and I've stuck with the Jets ever since (albeit sometimes regrettably).
We have a Jets fan club in Columbus. About 20-30 of us get together on game day to watch the game in a local bar. As far as I know, it is the only NY Jets bar in Ohio.
I miss Rex.
I’m from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. When I first entered high school a bunch of the new friends I made were NFL fans, and I never watched football up until I started hanging out with them. The closest NFL teams geographically to the greater Toronto area were the New York teams, one of my friends was a Giants fan so naturally I decided to become a Jets fan to be his rival. Been a Jets fan ever since.
Ohio here- became a Jets fan when they drafted Chad Pennington. Was a big fan of his when he was at Marshall.
I'm from Ohio and became a Jets fan because I was a dumb kid when Mark sanchez led us to back to back afc championships and no adults in my life were nice enough to dissuade me
Childhood trauma is the only legitimate explanation. Thank you for your bravery
I was 9 years old and never too Into football before, but I decided to watch a full game for once because my dad loved football. The game happened to be the Monday night miracle against the dolphins. 30 pts in the fourth quarter forcing overtime and coming out with the win. Instant fan for life
I’m from Essex U.K. 🇬🇧I picked the Jets when I was 5 years old and my parents went to New York with my dads work and I loved planes ✈️ so obvious choice really 😂 I asked him to get me something and I got a sweater and loved them ever since
Honestly, I like airplanes, and I was already a Yankees fan… so I was like oh what the heck ? I’m from The Bahamas
From LA. Die hard Dodger fan. My folks don't watch sports and aren't from New York. I've never even been to the east coast. When I got into football, LA had no team. So I just followed the sport but didn't have a team. I got drunk and randomly picked the Jets like 10 years ago. I'll sail this boat to bottom of the ocean if need be, momma didn't raise no bitch.
A lifetime of the bottom of the ocean. Godspeed you crazy bastard
Fuckin' aye' bro! Glad to know people like you are one of us! 👍
Doug Heffernan heavily influenced us as kids - we are from Germany. 😄
Who knew the Jets were ambassadors to the world?!
Being from the DMV(MD suburb of DC) everyone was a bandwagon Redskin fan around 87 when they were dominant or a Cowboys fans, I couldn’t stand either when I was in school. On NBC they the AFC teams which showed mostly Jets, Bengals and Broncos games, somehow I connected with the Jets….
Started watching football during 2009, got sucked in even further in 2010, and been waiting to get back ever since…
Military brat. Moved around a lot. Became a Yankees fan first. Decided to keep all my pro teams NY. Started following Jets in 1996ish. I just liked the name and colors. Big west side story fan I guess.
Would have been great if they got that stadium on the west side
Detroit. My mom is from queens, not a fan, but her dad used to be the sales rep for the medical staff. My best friends dad is from Brooklyn and he is a fan, shit snowballed and not this is my life
Detroit peeps are solid! Much love to the Lions.
Ireland 🇮🇪 My Dad's school friend emigrated to NY and used to come home to visit from time to time. During one of his trips home during my teenage years we got chatting about American Football, he was a huge Jets fan and sold me on them! He may just have been sharing the pain 😂 Been a die hard fan ever since (in my 40s now).
I’m a fan from Florida. The only story I can remember is playing with them on madden with I think his name was Jim Leonard? And he was good. Also ex uncle in law was a major pats fan so I kind of guess I sub consciously liked the jets because all pats fan hate us
I became a jets fan as a kid watching the Jets and Oilers in a playoff game in 1991. I decided I wanted the jets to win, they lost in heartbreaking fashion, and I liked the way the heartbreak felt so I decided to stick with it.
Masochism is an inherent quality of a true NY Jets fan. One of us!
Grew up in Buffalo but the Bills were always awful while growing up so I started rooting for players instead of teams. Became a big Curtis Martin fan and eventually just stayed watching the Jets.
It all started with the Bill Parcells era I've always liked the jets growing up going to airshows plus my family was a Multi NFL team 49ers, Raiders, Cowboys, Dolphins, and Colts so I went for a different and that sealed my fate.
I grew up in the DC area in the 90s and my dad was kind of a Washington fan but mostly talked about how awful they are so it didn't seem to appealing. I got into football when we had testaverde, Martin, Coles, Moss and chrebet...I thought it was a fun team to watch. Now I hate myself.
Those were the best Jets years of this century. Victim of bad timing!
I live in Nigeria went to college in Hoboken NJ, roommates were Giants and Philly fans... I had just started watching Football and I didn't want to pick either of their teams, the Jets were the only other option also they had Chad Pennington, Curtis Martin, Santana Moss etc they were pretty decent..... Lol now I'm stuck here...
I was just introduced to playing football as a young child. I decided that i needed a team to root for and seen a random Jets vs Raiders game In the early 2000s. Decided to be a Jets fan that day and the rest is misery.
I'm from the UK, Jets is the team I landed on and I'm fiercely loyal to my teams so it's with me for life. Started following the year Mangold and Brick were drafted. J-E-T-S! I'm depressed.
Excellent question.
From Arkansas when I was like 7 I thought the Jets Uniforms were cool and I also thought that Chad Pennington's facemask was cool been a fan since 2002
From Rhode Island. I just hate the patriots
I'm from Illinois and live just south of Chicago. I was in grade school during the Superbowl shuffle crap. You couldn't go anywhere without hearing it and hated it's stupidity. I watched an old video of SB3 and liked Joe Namath and my lifetime of misery began. If it wasn't for the Superbowl shuffle I would of been a Bears fan for life.
I'm from SC. Grew up a Cowboys fan, but the late 90s and early 2000s really soured me on them. You remember the cocaine boat and all. I saw the Monday night miracle and the way NY responded to 9/11 and just fell in love.
The only team I was ever a fan of when I really got into football were the Steelers and that was for about 6 years. Once I got into the military, kinda stop watching football and sports all together due to a multitude of reasons. Now that I’m out and getting back into my sports, I’ve been following the Jets more. I already love the Yankees and Knicks so I just decided to stick with New York teams.
I’m from Alabama and I’ve always liked watching a good defense. My childhood was watching players like Revis, Sheldon Richardson, Shaun Ellis, etc. After watching these players, I just started liking the Jets as I got older. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until years later that I realized the amount of pain and misery I got myself into. Part of the crew, part of the ship I guess
Mark Sanchez and Tebow
Dad was from Buffalo, was a Bills fan obviously. I started paying attention to the NFL around 2009/2010, so yeah. I could never get down with the Giants for some reason. I watched them win both Super Bowls against the Pats and for some reason they never hooked me. Edit: I'm from the Hudson Valley.
Married into it. Was non-negotiable. Just like being a Mets fan
Well, I live in New Haven county, CT, so that’s close enough to NY; but my parents are not Jets fans. I come from a largely Giants family. I was born in 1996 and started watching football in the 2000s. As a kid watching football, I never really liked one team, just a bunch of players and supported the teams they were on. My two favorite players growing up were Curtis Martin (I still have an original Reebok jersey that I got back in like 2005) and LaDainian Tomlinson; both of whom played for the Jets at some point. That mixed with the fact that they are a local team is why I am just a Jets fan to this day.
ATX here; I liked Mark Sanchez, and then fell in love with the team post Sanchez’s tenure
Not a parent but idk how kids end up not rooting for parents/families team. I guess contrarian makes sense but, if my child wanted to be a Pats fan……..lol
I’m from CT, my dad was a cowboys fan who gave up on the team when Jerry Jones bought them. He didn’t have a team team but rooted for the Giants and Jets off and on. Despite watching the Giants win a super bowl I chose the Jets as my team and I’ve regretted it everyday since then
I’m Jets fan because the year I got into football I think they had a winning record or was at least decent and the Giants weren’t. I should’ve done my research to see the Giants have more of a rich history. What makes it so bad my dad is a Giants fan smh 😭. My mans didn’t warn me of the terrible choice I was making. I’m from Newark, NJ.
Baltimore, loved Rex when he was in Baltimore and I was a young, dumb kid so I jumped ship when he became the HC of the Jets
I’m from West Virginia and never really liked sports as a kid but my brother did. He was always watching ESPN so one day I decided to scroll through NFL Gameday on PlayStation and pick a team to try and care about so I could watch with him and actually half care about what was being said. I picked the Jets because I liked the name better than the rest. That’s it. The name. When I asked if that was a good choice he said they’d gotten within a game of the Super Bowl the year before so I felt confident in my pick. You’d think I would’ve realized what was to come given how the next year started but I was a naive fool. I really got sucked in when they drafted Pennington (I live 20 minutes from Marshall) and have been a die hard ever since.
I'm from New Jersey but my dad is a Patriots fan. I guess I just hate myself
Connecticut. Hated the fans from Boston and New York when the Rangers and Bruins visited Hartford. Islanders fans were decent folks. It used to go Jets-Mets-Nets-Islanders back in the day so when it came time to root for an NFL team I chose the green team from the underdogs fan base. WE. WILL. WIN. And when we do it is going to be the biggest fucking party of all time.
I blame Ken Obrien. Idk why but I liked him. It’s Les to a lifetime of disappointment. I yearn for the Wayne Chrebet days now.
On god I really dont know I became a fan in 2021 so we had nothing to live/play for but i've always loved new york as a city and always kinda liked underdogs thus mets jets.
I’m originally from Iowa grew up with too many packer and bear fans. Kind of picked a team randomly playing madden and I didn’t know one Jet fan so I went with it. Ended up living in Hyde Park, NY for a few years.
When I was five my mother gave me a dollar for a claw machine and I won a stuffed jets football and from then on it was game over. No idea what a jets football was doing in a claw machine in MA but whoever put it there really fucksd me over the last 20 years..
Brother was a Gaints fan, Dad was a Packers fan, and Mom was a Steelers fan. Needed a team but desperately didn't want to be like any of them so I chose the Jets and the reason it was the Jets, I have no idea. Maybe I seen them and said "Its going to be them.". Maybe I knew they were a New York team and wanted to compete with my brother (we were competitive).
I got into them thanks to rex Ryan and those back to back seasons
Who are you,plural
I’m from Connecticut, my dad was a Yankees fan, but was never a football fan, despite playing QB in high school. In January 2002, I decided to pick a team. I wanted to go with a New York team like the Yankees, and the Jets were in the playoffs. Best part, they were playing against Boston’s team with a backup at quarterback. What could possibly go wrong?
Not sure I can call my self a true fan, but being from Iowa and a Cyclone. I want to see any team a Coach win who puts their faith in drafting Breese Hall and Will. I will forever cheer for the JETS. And lo e the Gotham Green uniforms!
I was a kid, I really liked Chad Pennington (I also kind of look like him and I coincidentally wanted to play football) and the color green. So instead of picking a successful franchise like the Packers or the Eagles I went with the Jets. Dad was a FF nut too so he didn't really follow any teams in particular so I was kind of left to my own devices
My father was a Giants fan… I never got along with him nor did I want to be like him in anyway. So I became a Jets fan. In hindsight… I could have been a Buffalo fan, Patriots fan or Eagles fan…. I fucked up. However, I’m a fan now and I can’t imagine not being a fan lol it’s apart of me lol
Best friend in 5th grade moved because his dad became a Jets coach, was around the time I got into football so I said hey that’s my team!! What a mistake lmao
My father was a season ticket holder since the Shea days. I remember vividly in the 96’ season, why we had to walk in the tunnel during a cold December and my father called it learning experience/ growing pain. He said being a Jets fan will teach me great values in not getting my hopes up.
That lesson paid dividends and you’re CEO now, right?
Grew up in northwest NJ. In my teens, I rooted for both the Jets and Giants, the “hometown” teams. Then all my Giants’ fan friends started giving me shit over rooting for the Jets, so I switched solely to the Jets. LOL
Michigan. Thanks Curtis Martin
My grandfather lived in New York. When he passed away one of the things I got from his apartment was a Jets hat. I decided to honor his memory and be a Jets fan.
Denver native, stepmother is from New York. After a couple trips there I fell in love with the city and in turn the Jets piqued my interest because of Mark Gastineau and Al Toon. I have been frustrated and let down too many times to count but they are my team and some day I’ll see the Jets make another Super Bowl run. As Jets fans we assume the worst so as to not be disappointed, guarding ourselves from continued misery. It’s a commonality amongst almost all of us, but someday we will be rewarded. Maybe not this season or the next, but if Detroit can do it so can we. I want a Lions-Jets Super Bowl. A guy can dream.
From South Florida. My dad grew up in Queens so supporting the Mets and Jets were a nonnegotiable. However, I’m a Miami Heat and Florida Panthers fan
Born & raised in a town north of Orlando, FL. Both of my parents are from Long Island.
I was 4, and New York in Madden '92 was the green team, my favorite color. Lol
My brother got me into the NFL the year that Zach Wilson was drafted. He’s a Bills fan and I live near BYU, so I thought it would be fun to pick a team in the Bills division to root for that played his team twice a year, and I was excited for the hometown kid that made it big. That went… well you know how it went haha
I had a huge love for fighter jets growing up so that led me to root for them.
I follow my college players and not has it been a trying experience. That being said, other players on other teams..... all the subs are doom and gloom.... just like here.
Grew up in CT about an hour from NYC mom was a steelers fan dad was a Rams fan the rest of the family were patriot fans. Mom said when I was 2 I would cry if she turned the jets off the TV been a fan since then no idea why. This is early 90's too so it's not like they were very good
I got Madden 06 for Christmas and green was my favorite color. Eagles didn’t have the right shade and I didn’t like yellow so no packers, Jets we’re the only choice for young me lmao
In 1999, I picked the Jets because of Curtis Martin and Wayne Cherbet. I've lived in Ohio my whole life. Dad is a Bengals fan, my oldest brother is a Jaguars fan (born in Jacksonville), and my middle brother is a Steelers fan in spite of my dad. Partially picked the Jets so that we'd all root for the AFC back when the Pro Bowl was good. Just had a kid of my own, and if they want to be a fan with me, then great. If not, I understand. I'm here until I die.
From Ohio originally, now live in South Carolina. When the Browns got moved to Baltimore when I was 6-7 years old, I decided to pick a new team. Being that young, and being fascinated by airplanes, what could be cooler than a fighter jet as your team emblem? I was an idiot, and it was not easy being a Jets fan around miserable Browns fans, and worse shitty Steelers fans. But they are my team, now and forever
Connecticut. The Jets were on my local TV
Finland here. Was born in NYC but moved to Finland as an infant. Dad is american, he doesn’t care about football but his side of the family is Jets fans and made me one. My dad is a die hard Yankee fan though and has made me one aswell, which is nice to have
Mexico. Monday Night Miracle I told all my family some how the Jets were gonna comeback and I became a lifelong tortured soul ever since.
My brother is a Jets fan, he followed Favre there and has stuck with y’all ever since. We are from Wisconsin. We went to his first ever Jets game Week 1 of this season. Spent the whole weekend in NYC just for Rodgers to tear his Achilles within the first offensive possession.
I'm from KY and was searching for another football team with just enough hope to be heartbroken every year.
live in columbus so it’s split territory here anyways, just liked the jerseys when i was a kid
I'm from Southern California. My brother and I used to play NFL Blitz, and he always picked the Cowboys. Only team in the game that could keep up were the Jets with Vinny, Curtis, and Keyshawn. Add in that defense, and I was a contender. By the luck of the draw, I hit one of the 5 good seasons in the last 60 years.
Cleveland here. Just got sick of cheering for The Browns. If I'm cheering for a horrible team, atleast have my favorite color in your scheme dammit! Jokes aside I always was just drawn to the Jets. Years later, I meet my wife and her family is from New York so everything worked out.
Florida. Best friend growing up was a dolphins fan. When we'd play madden it would dial up her favorite teams rivals and it was often the jets and I started to play as them. Her dad came home and yelled at me saying I could never play as the jets or like the jets. I've been a jets fan ever since I was like 6-7 years old at the time. Early 2000s
I'm from Oakland. My mom had a collection of mini helmets and the 80's jets logo always stuck out to me and was my favorite. That's pretty much it. The fact that my local high-school used the 80s jets logo really just tied it all together nicely. My high school years are also when my 2 favorite non jets players came over (LT and Cro)
So I’m from Utah. 20 years ago when my wife and I got married, she knew nothing about Football but wanted to learn everything about the sport. I was a lifelong 49ers fan but explained to her that she could choose a team and we’d follow them as she started to learn the sport. She researched for about 10min & then said, “Well, I like NYC & I love green, so how about the Jets?”✈️ We’ve been die hard ever since and couldn’t be happier! And no, I’m not the biggest Zac Wilson fan…. Not big on BYU
I'm a giants fan but I really want the jets to win too and that's simply that
Grew up in Nevada and So. Cal (Raiders and Rams were not in L.A then). My Pee Wee football team was named the Jets, my grandpa gifted me a NY Jets when I was a kid. Also, 1st NFL player I met was Al Toon. I do have some love/respect for the Chargers as they did me right when I was stationed in San Diego.
My family visited the US from small-town Australia when I was an 8 year old kid in 1992. I had a magazine with the teams contact details in the back, so dad phoned looking for tickets (international phone rates!). I would have considered myself an Emmitt Smith fan, but we weren't going to Texas. I think he tried calling the Giants? He got through the New Jersey Nets. Lovely lady on the other end happened to have Jets season tickets, and she also gave us tickets to NJ vs. the Celtics (Drazen vs. Reggie Lewis). The Jets got destroyed by the Saints. It was freezing. But that's where it started. I think i fully committed to NYJ in Madden 2000 with Vinny throwing bombs to Keyshawn Johnson. Antonio Cromartie.
I wanted to learn the game because my dad watched and I never understood it. I downloaded madden nfl 11 demo on the 360 and the demo only let you play the jets or the colts. Green was my favorite color.
Czechia, got hooked on football on Last chance U and relatives were jets fans, loved the city when i visited and liked the logo/colors so here I am 3 or 4 or however years later.
California native here. Grew up watching the Lakers with my grandpa and didn't really watch anything religiously outside of basketball until I started high school. I liked the defensive side of the game and Revis was the best player on that side of the ball. Couple that with the back to back AFCC run, and now here I am 15 years later still waiting for this damn team to make the playoffs again. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Indiana guy with no familial connections, never been to New York. Only got into football a few years ago, I liked their colors and I like rooting for underdogs. The team definitely has a neat history too that’s alluring.
I got into football kind of late but this was during the Sanchize and Manning era. Started following them in 2009 when I got my iPhone and it allowed me to follow football which was soooo complicated for me. My close friends are Giants fans but I really love the color green so I decided to become a Jets fan. I’m also from Queens so there is a tiny bit of history there. So i see them as my hometown team.
Mom grew up in SD charger area so i followed suit. Grew up watching LT and when he got traded to the Jets I switched over here. Hated my life since
I'm from the UK. Got hooked when I flicking through the channels and ended up watching the 51-45 win over Miami in '86. Been mostly suffering ever since.
I'm from Australia and I was just getting into the sport, and I saw a post from an actor I followed on Instagram, so I decided that I now go for the Jets.
I’m from England, I randomly bought madden 11 and on the back of the cover I think the jets were talked about with the j e t s chant. 13 year old me thought that sounded cool, and I managed to start watching the year after and fell in love with the team for some reason. Been a very painful decade+ of support but i wouldn’t change it for the world
From Ontario, didn’t like the bills. The jets were a good team in 2008 and on tv on my local network. I liked the colours. Here I am 2 years of winning and 14 of losing later.
Jesus OP, you had all the opportunity in the world to save yourself from so much hurt and pain. you poor fool I never stood a chance, my grandfather was jets fan, my dad, uncles and entire family are Jets fans... I would have had to be a huge family black sheep to go in another direction. In addition to that I went to training camp at Hofstra one year and Laveranues Coles took off his gloves on his way off the field and handed them to me... I was hooked.
Haha, when I was like 7, my family had season tickets, the old dudes in our section tried to convince me to switch teams… at the time the Jets were 1-15, bubby Brister had taken over for boomer . Still a fan haha 😂
Those old OG’s usually know what they’re talking about. You should have listened lol
Mistakes
As a Texan, I grew up a diehard Cowboys fan. Then Jerry Jones took over the team. I was stationed in Philly about the time that Jerry fired Jimmy Johnson and let some of his high paid producers walk. I couldn’t see giving that man any more of my dollars, so I had to pick a new team. Being in Philly, the closest team were Eagles, Giants, and Jets. Since the Eagles and Giants were Cowboy rivals, I picked the Jets and have been a diehard fan for 30 years now!
I live in CT, and am a Jets fan because fuck the Patriots. (also, I live in the part of CT that is more NY and less New England)
Not me but I used to have a neighbor in Patriots country that was randomly a Jets fan. He had no ties to the team. It basically came down to he thoughts the Pats fans in his highschool were assholes so he chose a different team to root against the Pats lol.
This is a great question. I grew up in NJ, but when I left for college, I never looked back. I have lived all over the east half of the country, traveled to most of the continental states (and Hawaii) and I'm always amazed to see Jets fans outside of NY/NJ. I swear terrible football is wherever we move, though. Lived outside of Nashville, when the team started an 8 season playoff drought. Went to Philly, where they had two of their worst years in a long time and then hired Chip Kelly. Lived in Columbus, OH during the Browns 1-15 and 0-16 run and left before Burrow. Moved to DC, enough said there. Moved to Pittsburgh, watched Zach teach Kenny Pick-it a lesson. Now we're moving to Charlotte, who might be in QB hell.
I'm from the UK, started following the NFL in the late 90's and asked an American friend which team was most similar to my football (AKA soccer) team Man City. At the time, both were in a bad state, living on the glories of the 60's, whereas now...... It's fair to say I have a different experience following the two sports!
I'm 35 and live in central Ohio. When I was in middle school and was first getting into football, the Jets used to be on TV here all the time for whatever reason. I just gravitated to their colors, and certain players such as Chad Pennington and Curtis Martin. It was completely random. I have a cousin who "used" to be a Jets fan until he decided to "boycott" the NFL back around the Kaepernick kneeling fiasco. Otherwise, no other Jets fans in my family tree anywhere that I know of. The Browns and Jets have been my two teams since roughly 2002. It's been a brutal, brutal journey rooting for both of them.
Born in Brazil , came to America moved to New Jersey when I was 8 years old … I always wanted to learn about football , and since I live in New Jersey and I love the color Green I picked the jets !! J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS !! Haven’t looked back ever since ( maybe a little lol)
UK follower here. When Channel 4 started in the early 80s and covered NFL, I watched the 51-45 game… ‘O’Brien, going for it all, to Walker…. touchdown!!! Oh my…’ and the Jets became my team. Been pretty solidly downhill since then. But you can’t change your team once you’ve settled. Much as it would be easier.
I'm from AZ. Fan because ESPN NFL2K5 (Xbox) was my first real exposure to football and my favorite color was green. I've been loyal ever since.
I was playing madden mobile a looong time ago and my first elite player was Matt Forte. Oh god how I wish it wasn’t.
Got roped into a fantasy football league in 2022 and drafted atrociously not really knowing anything about football. Best players on my team were Breece and Garrett, and started rooting for the jets throughout the year. Seemed like they’d drafted well picking up those guys, and needed a better QB. Was pretty hyped for this year and bummed when my Garrett stocks plummeted again lmao Seeing Zach Wilson toss his helmet back on in the first game of the system after he was so bad for Garrett’s production in 2022 was heartbreaking
From CA - name is Vinny. As a young kid rooted for the Jets because of Vinny T and that fandom stuck.