...than just being a football game. The Jets have always been more than just a team to me. Growing up, the Jets always meant bonding with my Dad. It meant something in common with him. It meant a shared passion. It meant family. The first game I vividly remember was the 1981 AFC Wild Card Playoff game between the Jets and the Bills. I was already playing pee wee football by then, so I know I watched games all the time before that, but that was the one where I realized it was more than a game to my Dad. I remember him yelling at Richard Todd. My Dad never yelled. I remember being heartbroken when the Jets comeback fell short. It was mostly because my Dad was so upset. He had season tix in the Pologrounds when they were the Titans. He had season tix at Shea. One of his first dates with my Mom was a Jets/Browns game at Shea. My Mom describes it as, "The coldest she's ever been." He was at the AFL Championship game when the Jets beat Oakland. I've heard the story of him watching Super Bowl III over and over. Through the years, I've watched and gone to tons of games with my Dad. When we can't be together, we talk about 50 times a game over the phone. We both have a lot of SOJ in us (sorry). We put blood, sweat, tears, passion and lots of $$ into being Jets fans. I wish I was with him tomorrow, but we can't be together. He's getting older and his health is slowly failing. He desperately wants to see the Jets win one more Championship. I desperately want to watch them win their first in my lifetime. He always says he wants to see them win for me. I want them to win for him. For us. I want to be able to share one title with him before fate dictates that we can't. The Jets are our Father and Son passion through good and bad. We get too high when they win and too low when they lose. Right or wrong, it's what we've always done. I'm being selfish right now. I want them to win tomorrow so I can talk to my Dad on the phone and say, "We did it." Go Jets. Let's go to the Super Bowl.
Great Post. I can totally identify 100% with everything you posted. I will probably be watching by myself tomorrow - but I won't be watching alone. My dad will be with me even though I lost him 2 yrs ago. I hope you get to scream "WE DID IT!" tomorrow w/your dad, and if you remember - Scream it again for me and my dad.
Wow man... If your father read that post right there, he'd be more proud of that, than a Jets SB victory. You can tell that your a great son, and he's been one hell of a dad. I'll think about you and your pops during the game tomorrow... Never read a story like that. Reminds me of me and my older brother. I'm 26 and he's 38. My brother has always been everything to me, couldn't have asked for a better role model. The Jets also bring us closer. I remember when I was just a kid, when Reggie killed the Knicks with 3's & steals to win the game. My bro was flipping out like never before, I always wanted to be like him, so I started yelling too. My mom walked in the living room & told me baby it's just a game. I still remember my brothers exact words...mom it's more than a game, it's for New York. Since 94-95 we've only missed no more than 6 Jet games together. We both have families now, we never get a chance to hang out during the week anymore, but we always know we'll BBQ & go crazy for the Jets on Sundays.
I'm sorry you lost your Dad. If we win, I promise to yell it twice. Once for us, and once for you and yours.
You know thats right! He'll always be with you. He's just another angel the Jets have on their side from up above! If you don't mind... I'd like to ask your dad for two favors tomorrow. I won't ask him to work too hard, he needs to enjoy the game as well, 2 favors is all I ask. 1) For the Steelers FG kicker to miss his 1st FG attempt. 2) For Nick Folk to make his 1st FG attempt. We all know how ugly the Pittsburgh skys have treated us during playoff games. If the Steelers kicker misses his 1st try, and Folk nails his.. You just KNOW your pops came through in the cluth. If none of the above happens... Don't worry, that just means he's waiting for a better time to make an impact play from up above!
Great story man. I can relate to the thing with my dad as well. I watch Jets games at home, never go to a bar, or a friends house, or anything like that, because there is no other person in the world I would rather watch a Jets game with, other than my father. He is the reason why I bleed green and white, and am so passionate about the Jets, and I wouldn't want it any other way. IF we win, I will say the same thing to my dad, "WE DID IT," and I will say it again for SJF, and AbdulSalaam.!
forget telling him "we did it" over the phone. go to him, fly or drive, and give him a best hug a son could give. Then say, "We did it!"
Spot on man. I will be at my dads house watching with him as I always have except for when I was away at school. He raised me a Jets fan and it has always been a strong bond between us. My first vivid memory of the Jets is the fake spike game. I didn't become a "real" fan until 2002 with Chad but that is mainly because I played hockey and usually had games on Sundays. One of my other vivid Jets memories is driving home from a hockey tournament during the AFCCG in 98/99 and listening to the Jets fall apart. I didn't have an appreciation for it then but I can't believe my dad managed to listen to that on the radio so he could bring his bratty ass kid to a hockey tournament in New Hampshire. When posting on here I make a big effort to not be overly emotional but during the games while watching with my dad it is definitely more than just a game. It is family, it is tradition, it is emotional.
My dad was over last week and might come tomorrow for a burger and the game, I hope so. Apparently we watched Super Bowl III together but I was too busy shitting my diaper to remember it. But he and Joe Namath are the reason I'm a Jet fan today.
Thank you guys so much for these. I was worried I might get sh*t on for being too sentimental and pouring my heart out. It's great to see how important the Jets can be to people and families.
I don't see how any Jets fan could shit on that post on the eve of the AFCCG. I would guess that a good majority of us inherited being Jets fans from our fathers.
That's a great story bro. I mean that. I was already gonna root hard for you guys tomorrow but now I'll do it with you and your pops in mind. Best of luck to you guys tomorrow. I hope the hell you smash em hard and then run the score up! I'd love to see that!
We all have stories... Sept 15, 1985 was my 1st game. My dad and uncles had season tickets and I was lucky enough to go along for most of the games. It was a family thing for us too. Little by little we started to separate, one uncle moved to Tampa, my dad to Arizona and the youngest one kept the tickets. All of the kids would go to the games with their dads so it was bonding time for me and my uncles and cousins. My dad was a banker on Wall Street and we lived down the shore so those games were some of the few hours of my childhood I got to spend with him. My brother somehow was a Cowboy fan but he passed away in 06 but I just keep telling myself that my brother is going to screw with me and make the Jets win the Super Bowl on his field. I don't think he'd have it any other way. He always rooted for the Jets because he knew how much it meant to all of us. I've talked to him a lot this week and I just have a feeling that he's going to pull some magic for me tomorrow.
I hope he puts in a good word for us. Sounds like a lot of us want/need this win for a lot of reasons.
Watching the game tomorrow with my dad. Didn't get to last season as it falls during the opening weeks of the spring semester. Wouldn't have been able to this season if I didn't get out of my shitty situation in Alabama. I'm so excited. He's been waiting since he was 7 to see the Jets in the superbowl again. I've been waiting my entire life. Now, it's time to watch us get there. :jets:
I can't wait until I can start watching Jets games with my boys. They are 8 and 5 at the moment and the games are usually on too late for them (with the five-hour time difference over here). I'm the only person I know who even knows what NFL stands for and my bond with my dad is over the England rugby team. I'm looking forward to building a bond with my boys over Jets football. That was a great post SufferingJetsFan - let's hope this works out for all of us!
Nice post. Funny how these huge games bring out the sentiment in us to illustrate how this team means so much more to us than just football.
Great post man. I'll admit I got a little choked up toward the end. I really hope that you and your Dad have something to celebrate after tonight. Unfortunately for me, my old man is a die-hard Pats fan (I live in NE so I'm the black sheep of the family!). I've always been on my own cheering for the Jets as I don't have any friends around here who aren't huge Masshole fans. Just the same, anyone who knows me well, knows that I live and die by this team. A win or a loss affects my overall mood for at least a day after the game. I can't defend that as rational adult behavior but it is what it is. The Jets are my team and always will be.