The fanbase is all across the tri state area, the Jets have a huge fanbase in NJ, the WSS made it convenient for all to get to the Stadium. I would have been taking trains and avoided sitting in traffic.
The Manning/Brady boxing gif would be very hard to beat, but I found this very amusing as well: [YOUTUBE]FsH1IjcaaTI[/YOUTUBE]
The core of the Jets fanbase and their biggest advantage vis a vis Giants fans is in Queens/Brooklyn/Staten Island and Long Island. I don't know how old you are, but the Jets built a loyal fan base in Long Island over 40+ years.....they probably outnumber Giants fans there 3:1. Nowhere else do they have such an overwhelming advantage. I lived there in the late-1980's but gave up my season tickets because of the long ride. Many other fans felt the same way and a trip to Queens/LI that is 1/2 the length and doesn't involve 2 bridge crossings into/out of Manhattan would greatly expand the pool of season and PSL buyers.
I understand but the majority of season ticket holders come from NJ at this point. we aren't a LI team, we may have a ton of fans out there but there are tons in CT, Westchester, NJ, the City, etc... Queens is a terrible location b/c tailgating would still be illegal but we wouldn't have the bars/restaurants and other stuff around the Stadium nor the same mass transit options.
Tailgating is illegal in Queens? There aren't subways in Queens or more bars/restaurant options present than East Rutherford? I don't understand any of these arguments. Most season ticket holders come from NJ at this point, as it is a pain in ass to get there unless you are from NJ. The Jets really missed out on a opportunity to establish themselves the team of NYC, and the opportunity to reconnect with their fan base in waiting. Woody went all in the WSS, which would've been weird with no tailgating, but much better than sharing E Rutherford with the Giants. But when that fell thru, his next option was NJ, as that is where he lives. He never really considered another borough. One thing i can say for sure, the Mara's were also definitely meddling in the WSS. No way they wanted to front all the money for a new stadium in NJ, while the Jets got much more valuable real estate, while also establishing themselves as the team of NYC. Over a generation or so, the Giants would have been the football team of NJ, like the Devils in hockey. East of the Hudson would be Jets territory. Leaving Queens was the most disappointing moment for me as a Jets fan, but there weren't many options for the team at that point. Woody building a new stadium with the Giants in NJ, might actually have been worse, as it was by choice.
Can't have open containers, if people can't get drunk at a tailgate what is the point? we were discussing WSS vs. Queens not Meadowlands. If we got the WSS the Giants were going to come w/ us. The Jets definitely missed a huge opportunity to stay in NYC. It would have made a huge difference w/ fans but they blew it.
Agreed, they completely missed a huge opportunity. very disappointing. in terms of the tailgating, i think it comes down to who owns the land/parking lot, and what the particular teams policy is. In the case of Citi Field, NYC technically owns the parking lot, and is administered by the Parks dept. Additionally, the Mets have an official no alcohol policy for the lot (the Yankees do not). I don't think that would have been a problem for the Jets in terms of a Queens stadium. Why do you think the Giants would have come to the WSS as well? They were already underway in talks with NJ on building a new stadium. From what i read at the time, they were going to try to fast track the NJ stadium, as to be available before the WSS and Brooklyn arenas, and not have to compete for sales at the same time. I don't recall any indication they had anything do do with the WSS. that is why i'm speculating they were trying to kill this arena behind the scenes. A Manhattan stadium for the Jets would have been a tremendous blow to the Giants franchise.
The West Side would have been a horrible place for the fans, even those coming from only a few miles away in New Jersey when you consider traffic, parking and tailgating. The only fans who would have had it easy were those in the city itself. The shell of Shea would have been a far better solution than either the West Side or Metlife but the soul of the Jets died over the last few decades as the Jersey owners sucked away its unique identity. Citifield got built and the Shea structure should have been rebuilt into a premier football venue instead of being razed. The parking problem could have been solved with multilevel structures in some places and the buyout of Chop Shop City. Maybe in another thirty years.
there were rumblings about the Giants eventually coming on board w/ us in the WSS. I found this link, though the link to the original article is dead. http://gothamist.com/2005/03/10/giants_may_enter_west_side_stadium_fray.php
I don't live in the City and I would have loved it. Would have taken train in, never having to worry about traffic, parking ,etc... I don't like tailgating, only do it b/c I can't show up at 12:50 for a 1PM game, you have to get in the lot early to make it in on time. I'd prefer it in Queens just to be in NY but as far as location the meadowlands is better for me living in Westchester.
There is an interesting NY Times article linked off the site you listed. Seems the WSS was potentially a fall back plan for the Giants, if talks with NJ failed. What bothered me about Woody at the time, was our backup plan was E Rutherford. Never considered a different location in NY, meaning to me he missed the point of differentiating his team in this market.
"Some New Jersey officials suggested that the 15-acre Queens proposal was merely an effort to gain leverage in negotiations with New Jersey over a 75-acre stadium project and to force the Giants to comply with the Jets' plans." No shit.
Not to this fan. I'm a PSLer and have been a season ticketholder since 2001. And I live in Northern Bergen County. I would have given anything to have a stadium on the West Side--don't care about traffic, tailgating, parking none of it. Still pissed that didn't happen. Would have been one of the great great great stadiums in the country. _
Design, location, roof, etc... we would have got a SB every 5 years or so along w/ final fours and other big events.
Design looked good, location sucked for anybody trying to get there except by using mass transit. Football should be played outside, in the weather. When creating a FOOTBALL stadium, these other events don't matter to me, but I have tried to watch a basketball game in a football stadium - I won't again. Three "greats"? No way.
the design blew away the tin can we have now. I'd much rather take a train than spend all that time in traffic after a game. basketball in football stadiums suck but that's the way they do it at the FF and we'd have one every few years if we got that Stadium.
Schedules don't work so great for most people, and not at all for others. Friends went from eastern Long Island to Miami for a night game and were back in under eleven hours. Yeah, they went by private plane, but they would have struggled to make a roundtrip to Dreadlife in the same time.
