As a Canadian who has never been to a Jets home game, I have always wondered where the team stands in the entire scheme of things. I was exposed to the NHL since I was born and have been a Leafs fan my entire life, growing up in a hockey-obsessed country, so over the years you get a feel for the league and the other teams in it. I realise that the Leafs, Red Wings, Rangers, Canadiens, Flyers etc. are the "big name" or "premiere" teams in the league. Even though Carolina or Tampa may win a Stanley Cup, they never really take as high a profile as the "big name" teams like Toronto. The teams like Vancouver, New Jersey, Buffalo, Anaheim, and the rest will always be considered "periphery" or "extra" teams when looking at the league as a whole. In other words, they are not the teams that would come to mind if you asked someone to say what teams they think of when one says "NHL". Because I grew up in southern Ontario about 1.5 hrs from Buffalo, most people in my town are Bills fans, and as I grew up, we always had the Bills games on TV every week, but my dad has never been a big football fan, CFL or NFL, so he never exposed me to the game like he did with hockey. Since I have become a Jets fan, and maybe a fanatic according to my girlfriend (she doesn't like being around me on Sundays when we lose), I often wonder if and/or how that same NHL analogy applies to the Jets and the NFL. From listening to NFL radio in Sirius, you get people calling in from every part of North America and talking about certain teams, and then for other teams the fans are usually from the region where the team is located. I have also heard alot about big and small markets, teams that have waiting lists for tickets and teams that can't sell out. I have gotten a rough idea of what it's like, as teams like Buffalo, jacksonville and Arizona can't sell out, and teams like Green Bay, the Jets and Giants, and Dallas have crazy waiting lists. I hope I am making the question clear because it's sort of a hard concept for me to explain. I saw a thread that mentioned that the Giants waiting list is something like 60, 000. I didn't find info on that but the Jets site says the jets list is over 10, 000 and I will assume the info on the Giants is correct. To me this means there are more Giants fans than Jets fans. Is this true, and if so, why? Looking at the NFL, the way I understand it, those "periphery" teams would be teams like the Bills, Lions, Titans, and even the Seahawks maybe. And I don't mean to say these teams don't make money, but more that over the course of the NFL's life, I don't see them as premiere teams or the ones you'd automatically associate with the league. Would the Jets be in that group, or would they be up there with Dallas and Pittsburgh and Washington, or somewhere in between? Sorry about the length here guys but I have been meaning to ask this for a while, I just think it would help me to identify a bit more with where the team stands....
in my opinion i think the jets are in the middle of the pack ... the big ones that i can think of are the cowboys 49ners steelers bengals giants, bal/indy colts, bills, fins, packers n the vikes ... the rest are kinda in the middle
So the Bills would be considered one of those big ones? I really thought they'd be one of the lower repted teams, less than the Jets at least, cosidering that they always have seasons ticket available and don't have a top of the line stadium, and also considering that the Jets are (sort of) from New York City. So would you say the Jets are somewhat considered as one of the "other" teams in the league?
yea attendance wise all the big city teams are up there .. but team prestidge wise ... i think the bills are over the jets ... I forgot to add them Bears on the big ones too
Just trying to help the boys out. How about we judge it by fan loyality. Jets, Gaints, Packers, Redskins, Bears, and help me out here
NYMick... I think the top 10 for fan loyalty would be (in no particular order): Jets, Browns, Steelers, Chiefs, Raiders, Eagles, Packers, Seahawks, Cowboys, and Broncos... but, if you ask anyone I am sure their favorite team would be in their and their rivals would not, so we will really never know anyways... the jets may not be the most prestigious teams in the NFL but they are in the top 10 for fan loyalty, national popularity, attendance, etc... lets also not forget that the jets are one of the single most important teams to the NFL---it was our win in SB III that basically made the merge between the AFL and NFL happen
I would say the Jets are a top third team in notoriety, but toward the bottom of that top third. The big market they're in and the die hard fan base is what puts them up there. If they had a consistent history or another Super Bowl, it would definitely be higher. If you look at hockey, what puts them at the top of NHL notoriety? I'd say it's large markets and history. The Leafs, Rangers, Red Wings, Canadiens, Bruins, and Blackhawks are the original six and are in good size markets. it wouldn't be hockey without them. you could make a case for the Oilers or Islanders due to franchise success, but they're still not as recognizable as those others. In football, Steelers, Cowboys, Redskins, Raiders, possibly the Dolphins, Giants and some others would qualify. The Jets are almost at the level too, but need some success to make them stand out more. Good thing about the NFL is that the Packers are definitely there, and they are a small market. Browns would qualify too, and obviously it wouldn't be football without them as the NFL made it point to bring them right back. Hopefully that comparison helps to shed some light on it for you.
Hey thanks alot, well put. This is pretty much what I was getting at. Notoriety was the word I was basically looking for. And the thing was that from where I live I am not exposed to the atmosphere the way I am with hockey so that makes it tough to get a feel for it. Good post, thanks.
exit 117: ur absolutely correct, Stram and KC don't get nearly enough credit... as well as Al Davis, who was actually the AFL commish at the time of the merger Althought I HATE the raiders, without Davis the merger may not have happened, and many policies and rules that he helped establish while commish may not be part of the NFL today (such as the 2pt conversion, players names on the back of their jerseys, etc)
The Jets are a team people love to hate. I know a few Eagles fans who hate the Jets even though the Jets are in a different division and conference. If we can get over 10 wins regularly then we'd be more well liked or atleast more respected. It seems every commercial involving the Jets has them being portrayed as a joke, like the Diet Pepsi commercial. We don't have many we'll know players like Curtis Martin, but I can see Vilma getting us some attention.
Also the Eagles would be up there but absolutely not the Panthers. They are the biggest fair weather fans I've ever seen.
it might have been a mistype but did Dblitzer say the Bengals....well there is no way the bengals are a prestigious franchise in NFL history. You cant name half the league as those prestigious teams. I would say that it is a short simple list of teams that would be considered the NFL Prestigious franchises and they would be Cowboys, 49ers, Packers, and i would say that the steelers may be there too....then the next level down would be the giants, raiders, bears, and borderline Browns and Redskins.
Raiders wouldnt be in there. they couldnt sell out all of their games meaning they have NO waiting list for season tickets. and they have one of the smallest staduims believe it or not they are one of the lowest. Believe it or not the Redskins have the highest revenue generated for all of the NFL teams. so they are number 1. The Jets are in the low 20's for revenue generated. I think 21 I will try to find the site someone posted it here when the labor garbage was going on. I dont know the top 10(there are correct reports everywhere) but these are the definites. I know 5 on top of my head from the article. Redskins, Patriots, Houston, Philly, Dallas, bottom 10 are the definites and this doesnt reflect team history believe it or not Indy, Jax, Bills, Minn, Oak, Cards, Siants, Chargers, Raiders(yes they are in the bottom 10 I was suprised also)
