He was one of the Jets best representation of the any man in the history of the franchise. One of the guys. Man it’s so fucking sad. RIP again Nick 74.
Yeah, if there was ever a pro-athlete that I'd want to hang out and crush beers with it.... He just seemed like a legit dude.
After the season Fashanu should change his number. #74 should be up there with #90 as numbers that are very important to Jets fans
This really sucks. One of the best Centers ever in the NFL, many Pro Bowls... but this guy was no celebrity, just a regular dude, always down to earth according to every fan that ever met him, was a high school coach in Morristown after his playing days. Even that public outcry to see if he can get a donor was only at the very very end after all else has failed. And some were concerned he would get unfair "celebrity" treatment as compared to others in need. Well he didn't. Great player, great Jet, and a great man through and through. RIP.
Couldn't even begin to talk about this yesterday, still sucks typing today. Mangold was the exact type of player you want. Star on the field, star off the field, gave your franchise everything he had and called it quits, then stayed engaged with the team and the fanbase. Loser story time: I loved Mangold the second we drafted him. I'm a huge Dave Matthews Band fan and I saw him at a show towering over people. Immediately became my guy. He would engage on Twitter with me about DMB stuff, he even planned to come to a tailgate my wife and I were doing in Saratoga Springs before a show but it downpoured all day and we couldn't grill. I finally met him outside MetLife one day where I happened to be wearing his jersey, and so was my dad. He took pictures with us, signed our jerseys and when I explained who I was he acted like I was someone he had been waited years to meet. I knew he wasn't, but he definitely did a good job making me feel like he was. And then he did the NFL Films thing with Phish/Trey Anastasio and Bob Wischusen. You know how hard it is to be a fan of these jam bands and NOT feel like a total dweeb? But man, we had Nick Mangold on our side. So friggen cool. Fast forward to 2025... I work with the guy who directed that piece. Weird coincidences. Loser story part 2... my wife knew how much I loved Mangold and wanted to buy me a jersey for Christmas. I said please do not spend hundreds on a jersey for me. So she bought from China, and obviously it was the one time it didn't work out. Jersey never came, she got her money back, whatever. She ended up buying me a real one anyway months later before the start of the next season. The first day I wore it is the day I met Mangold outside the stadium and had him sign it. Thank god she didn't listen to me. I never understood it when people called celebrity deaths "devastating" which is probably a product of being 40 and most of my idols and influences still being alive. Now I get it. RIP 74
This really hits me hard. It's gotta be so tough on Rex, especially finding this out right before the broadcast started. Truly awful. RIP to a LEGEND!!!
Not saying they should or shouldn’t but given the size of NFL rosters, it’s hard to retire numbers. There are only so many available obviously over the course of time and a season. Especially considering teams generally suit up probably 65-70 players a year with injuries.
I agree with your point there and Im not a big retired numbers guy. For example 24 and 80 should be in circulation here and I dont think they are. 74 and 90 though should be kept off for lives lost too soon IMO
If Woody really wants to change things and tey to end this curse, we need to start truly honoring and representing our past players. The stadium is a barren gray dismal landscape with scant reminders of players completely overpowered by beer ads everywhere. You don’t feel any type of Jets heritage when you go to the game. If I was dropped in the halls of the stadium blindfolded I’m not sure I’d know what game it was. Go to PIT and walk through their stadium. You can’t look in any direction without seeing a massive billboard of a player or past moments for the Steelers. MetLife stadium does nothing to honor and preserve our heritage. Nick Mangold should be all over the stadium, as should all of our past heroes from this team. There should be no doubt in that stadium of how much the organization loves and values its past players. It’s at least a start.
