Its their stadium, we are tenants. When we get our own, oh wait we blew that! But you guys are probably the same guys that were against the Manhattan stadium.
The Jets have never been doormats. We've been down for a number of reasons, but never doormats. And it's not inconceivable to see changes coming soon: (1) Woody looks like he may finally become the owner we all thrist for, the kind of owner who takes an active interest and wants to WIN. He did try to keep the Jets in NY. That endeavor failed not as a result of anything he did but because of what NY did to itself. With no other viable option left, Woody did what he had to do with the Giants. A applaud Woody for that. (2) Woody's realignment of the FO is a good example of his newfound committment: Mangini and Tannenbaum bring youth to their positions while keeping Bradway around for consultation is a smart move during the transition. Helping Herm find his way out the door... priceless. (3) Tannenbaum is already playing hardball and means business, far from the "doormat" you describe. And I hardly think Mangini fits the "dormat" scenario either. He'll make his mistakes, no question, but he brings the reputation of being a no-nonsense, hard-working guy to the table. (4) The joint venture in our stadium will bring prestige and sovereignty to the Jets, who haven't had their own home ever. Like the proverbial "Man Without A Country," if anything elevates the Jets from "doormat" status, having our own place will, even if we share it with the Giants. (5) The new stadium plus the construction of our brand new, world-class headquarters and training facitlity in Florham Park will attract quality athletes and talent and make the Jets a sought-after destination by free agents and draftees alike, not to mention a class place for up-and-coming coaches who want to live in an up-scale NY Metropolitan suburb and work in a modern, state-of-the-art facility. Doormats? Not for much longer.
It has nothing to do with being tenants... The NFL schedule is made by COMPUTER and then gently tweaked. Secondly, we ARE getting our own stadium, and THE GIANTS ARE NOT THE LANDLORD. Both teams rent from the same owner, the NJSEA. When the new stadium is build, they will be CO OWNERS.
Ahh. The good old days when the Jets had their "own" stadiium back where their roots were in Queens. Things were good back then. No sharing with the Giants, no home games until October, 55,000 seats with 35,000 in the end zone, no security, etc. Things were much beter then!!
Actually when they installed the temp seats after the BB season ended there was 60,000 seats available not 55,000 as you mentioned
:lol: :lol: Shea was the ultimate pitt. I worked for Harry M. Stevens selling Hot Dogs and Peanuts at Shea. I innitially took the Job to see the Mets WS in 69. Couldn't get tickets. I used to use my free pass to go to Jet games at Shea. I had to show up 3 hours before game time to get in. The place was hell on earth. A dark, cold concreate wind tunnel. The infield dirt used to kick up in swirls that looked like mini twisters during games. I remeber the first time I went to the Meadowlands I was floored on how nice it was compared to Shea. People have no historical perspective on the Jets reality in Queens. They were the ultimate second class citizen in the ultimate pitt of a stadium. The fact is NYC was never really the home of the Jets or the Giants. NJ has been the only real home for both teams.
What you posted Winny surely sums up Shea & echos my sentiments perfectly. It was a pig sty & at least in the upper deck there were not enough bathrooms to accomodate the fans. Ping against the walls & in the sinks was SOP until Hess himself paid for the portable potties.
Mostly uncovered seats were the order of the day. The wind in the Meadowlands is bad, but nowhere near as uninhibited as it is at Shea in Dec-Jan. Nor'-Easters come directly off the water with nothing to block them... not uncommon to sit there in open seats in freezing sleet. You could hardly see the action, it was so far away, then the snow and sleet blinds out the rest, so you get loaded and go home frozen and soaked right down to your socks. We'd make the trip from Jersey by car in the early days, but then found out there was no place to park unless you lived close and got there ridiculously early, so we took "mass transit," which was even more of a joke because it meant parking the car in Newark and catching the train in there, then transferring in the city and finally offloading at Shea. Coming home was worse because everyone left at the same time. Long lines at the trains, standing and waiting in line, then you stood up all the way home because there were no seats... soaking wet, mind you... steam coming off your clothes, stinking drunk because it was the only way to get through the discomfort of the ordeal. People smoking in your face, guys throwing up.... massive headache coming on... oh yeah... real fun day. Oh yes... the good old days when the Jets were "home" in New York. Too bad we can't go back to those days again, eh?
Hey, Winston, I also worked for Harry M. Stevens at Shea. I did baseball in 1971 - 1972, and some football in 1971. I'm impressed that you sold hot dogs - that was the prize for people under 18, and hard to get (for over 18 people, beer was the thing - remember, 18-year-olds could buy and sell alcohol back then). I sold souvenirs for baseball (hey, yearbooks, here), and hot chocolate for football. I went to a bunch of baseball games those years just the way you said - show up 3 hours early, and eventually end up in the grandstand, where the seats were unreserved. It was worth it - I saved $1.35 for the ticket that way! :lol: I could get to and from the game by bus and subway, buy a hot dog and a Coke, all for under $1.50.
The Beer vendors made serious bucks. You could sell a tray of beer out on a hot day in about 3 minutes. I sold peanuts in the upper deck during the WS, It was a blast. The worst were those crappy soda's with the stuck on saran. I got the Hot dog gig a couple of times. That was pretty good you basically sold out the tray in about 5 minutes without walking. I went to the Jets KC playoff game the year following the SB. I was in the stadium at 9:00AM. Coldest I have every been in my life. I was blue by the end of the first Quarter. I think I made $75.00 bucks during the 3 WS games which at the time for me was a total haul.
The first job I got there was soda, and I hated it - the trays were heavy, you'd get filthy and sticky, and you didn't make that much money. I also didn't like that you were restricted to one section. I immediately switched to souvenirs, where you could go anywhere in the stadium you wanted to. I would head up to the upper deck where few vendors wanted to go. My best day was when a Boy Scout troop was up there, and the scoutmaster bought yearbooks and souvenir baseballs for everyone - I made almost $40 that night!
