Jets season ticket holder town hall meeting- Recap

On Wednesday, May 21, the New York Jets hosted a town hall meeting for season ticket holders. Jets fanatics piled into the Ziegfeld Theater in Manhattan, to listen to what the Jets’ brass had to say about the organization.

Bob Wischusen, the radio voice of the Jets, gave the opening remarks to kick off the night, while introducing Owner Woody Johnson, General Manager John Idzik, Coach Rex Ryan, and President Neil Glat.

To engage the fans, the Jets showed a video that highlighted the best moments of the 2013 season, ending with the locker room video of Woody and Idzik announcing that the Jets would be retaining Rex (with players ecstatic.) The theater applauded, and Jets fans were certainly happy that the team was keeping Ryan.

Next, Owner Woody Johnson spoke. He touched on how last year was a step in the right direction, and the team is looking to continue making improvements.

Johnson discussed the decision to keep Rex, again with the crowd giving a positive reaction. He also emphasized how the team beat the Dolphins in the last game of the year, even with nothing to play for, because they did it for their coach.

When he said they had “no reason to win that game,” a fan from the back screamed “**** the Dolphins!” Woody, unfazed, simply smiled and said, “Exactly.” The theater bursted out in laughter.

Neil Glat was the next man to stand up at the podium. He discussed some upcoming events that the Jets will be hosting.

His goal is to take the season ticket holders and make them as involved with the team as possible. This involves events such as the Town Hall Meeting, Draft Party, and the Jets Walk—players walk through fans into the stadium, before every home game. The Jets are really trying to engage with the fans, which can help to energize the fanbase.

GM John Idzik was then introduced.

John Idzik

Idzik stood in front of a large screen, which had film of various players. First, he discussed the nine key free agents that the Jets brought back from last year, with film on each. These players included Nick Folk, Leger Douzable, Calvin Pace, Jeff Cumberland, and others.

He then introduced the five new key players that the Jets signed in free agency, including Eric Decker, Michael Vick, Chris Johnson, and Breno Giacomini.

One word that kept popping up during his film session of free agents? Speed.

During Jacoby Ford’s ‘highlight reel’, Idzik had to assure the crowd that he was not showing the video in fast forward. When discussing Erik Decker, Idzik read off some of mind-boggling stats that Decker produced in Denver. He smiled, as he said, “he did that in four different systems with four different quarterbacks.” Again, the theater burst out in laughter.

Idzik then went on to discuss each of the Jets twelve draft picks and what they bring to the table. The crowd was filled with ‘oohs and ahhs’ as he was showing first round pick Calvin Pryor’s highlights. He appeared as a huge-hitter, and the crowd loved what they saw.

After going through each rookie, it was time for Rex Ryan to speak.

Rex Ryan

Ryan decided to show the fans what a defensive meeting looked like. He put up one defensive formation on the screen, a Firezone, and explained one play within the formation. Then he would change one word to tweak the play a little, and he would do it again and again.

Ryan’s point was that his defense is extremely flexible. He can come up with so many different plays from just one set, which makes his defense hard to beat.

Rex then went on to speak about the crowd. He recalled a story from early in his career, when the Jets beat the Patriots at home. He said that it was the only time that he felt the ground shake, because of the crowd.

Ryan told the fans that nobody was beating them that day, because the crowd gave the team such an emotional advantage.

In the end, the Town Hall meeting was a great event. Fans were able to get a first-hand look at what happens behind the scenes of the New York Jets.

The Jets are trying to engage the fans with the team more, and this Town Hall meeting was a great example.

The Jets are certainly headed in the right direction with some of the moves they’ve been making, and the fans seem excited to watch it all unfold.