THE NEW YORK JETS AND CHICAGO BEARS ANNOUNCE THE FIRST-EVER UK NFL FLAG LEAGUE FOR GIRLS

• Prominent voices from the NFL and the world of sport, including, Phoebe Schecter (NFL Flag), Afia Law (NFL UK), Chase Claypool (Chicago Bears), C.J. Uzomah (New York Jets), Celia Quansah (England Rugby) and Ugo Monye (England Rugby) participated in a panel to announce the launch of the league  
• tarting from the 20th of April, the league will engage London schools and girls between 12 and 14 across five weeks
• NFL Flag is the non-contact version of American Football, it is a fun, fast, and action-packed sport, that promotes body inclusivity, accessibility for all, and teamwork
• All girls participating in the league will receive kits provided by Nike 

March 8, 2023 – This International Women’s Day, the New York Jets and Chicago Bears, launched the inaugural Jets and Bears NFL Girls Flag league, the first UK all girls’ competition of its kind, to overcome barriers in activity and to increase access to sport for young girls.

Starting from the 20th of April, the inaugural league will see girls aged 12-14 compete in two conferences of six teams each (twelve teams total) across five weeks. The Jets and Bears will each run a conference in Ealing, with the winners going head-to-head in a Championship Event on May 22nd.

NFL Flag is one of the fastest growing sports globally, it is the non-contact version of American Football, it is a fun, fast, and action-packed sport that promotes accessibility for all, teamwork, and character development in youth.

At a Jets and Bears launch event, Sky Sports Presenter and panel host, Hannah Wilkes, engaged with prominent advocates in women’s sport, who spoke to the 100 girls competing in the league. This included Phoebe Schecter (Team GB NFL Flag player and NFL Global Flag Ambassador), Celia Quansah (England Rugby Sevens player), Afia Law (Head of Community & Grassroots Development at NFL UK), Chase Claypool (Chicago Bears wide receiver and NFL Global Flag Ambassador), C.J. Uzomah (New York Jets tight end) and Ugo Monye (Former England Rugby Union player & Women’s Sports Trust board member).

The panel discussed the barriers for girls to continue participating in sports throughout secondary school, whilst sharing their own personal experiences and highlighted how NFL Flag can help engage young girls in the future. Following the discussion, the girls received their official Nike and team branded kit and had a taster session of what’s to come with NFL UK coaches.

In a Sport England survey of 4,000 children between 11-18 years old, 50% of girls reported they don’t have the self confidence to play competitive sport.1 Significantly, 45% stated they do not have the right body shape, with the same percentage avoiding exercise completely due to feeling self-conscious and 61% highlighting they feel judged.

However, the same study found 76% of girls want to be more active, 64% of girls enjoy competitive sport and 66% of girls believe they are good at team sports. NFL Flag is a viable option to combat this as 47% of uninspired girls reported that they would be more inclined to be active if there was something more fun and adventurous to participate in.

Dr. Victor Thompson, Sports and Clinical Psychologist, has welcomed the introduction of the league after helping athletes of all ages and levels in sport for over 10 years. He understands the wider benefits of sport and how this new initiative can break down social and emotional barriers to girls’ participation.

He said: “NFL Flag is a fun and inclusive sport for all whilst providing pro-social settings. As a growing sport in the UK, and a new experience for most participants, girls can access Flag football without limiting expectations.”  

“The launch of this new league will help girls foster a can-do mindset within a supportive team environment and community. The game brings a great social atmosphere, where everyone works together to plan and execute winning plays, building outputs that include life-long psychological skills in strategy, communication, resilience, and can promote healthy mental wellbeing for the future.”

Both the Jets and the Bears have been instrumental in the growth of female flag football in the US. The Jets have grown from eight teams to over 110 in New York and New Jersey in just three years, while the Bears saw a 300% increase in just one year, with over 1,200 girls now participating in flag football leagues.

Afia Law (Head of Community & Grassroots Development at NFL UK), commented: “NFL UK is seeing great momentum in Flag Football participation across the country and initiatives like this are a fantastic way to engage young people to get active and involved. As a former player, I’m delighted to see an increase in opportunities for girls to play Flag, helping them to feel like they belong in a sport, and I am excited to see the growth of Flag Football nationwide in the coming years.”

New York Jets, stated: “The creation of our new league furthers our commitment to providing female athletes an equitable opportunity to play what we consider to be the greatest sport in the world. The collaboration between the Jets and Bears ensures the athletes will have a first class, professional experience. We are thrilled to continue cultivating meaningful relationships and expanding our fanbase throughout the United Kingdom.” 

Chicago Bears, stated: “As part of our core mission, the Chicago Bears look to inspire young people to participate in sports and increase access to organised sports. With our fanbase in the UK growing, we wanted to showcase that there were opportunities for everyone in this sport. Our hope with this partnership is to create greater access for younger girls in sports and to give them a space to participate and stand out in flag football.”

Ugo Monye (Former England Rugby Union player), said: “As an NFL fan and a parent to two young girls, I am excited to be a part of the Jets and Bears making history with the first ever UK NFL Flag League for girls. I’m looking forward to seeing some great games and hopefully some future players in the sport.”

The ambition of this tournament is to expand to other UK cities and age groups in future years to provide more opportunities for young girls. Competitors will be able to benefit with transferable skills that will stay with them from life with both teams providing bespoke coaching sessions throughout from a qualified NFL Flag coach.

To find out more about the inaugural NFL Girls Flag League, please visit, www.chicagobears.com and nyjetsinuk.com/girls-flag. To find out more about NFL Flag in the UK, please visit, https://www.nfl.com/uk/nfl-flag.

END

References

• 1 Sport England & Women in Sport: Reframing Sport for Teenage Girls – March 2022

About New York Jets

The New York Jets were founded in 1959 as the New York Titans, an original member of the American Football League (AFL). The Jets won Super Bowl III, defeating the NFL’s Baltimore Colts in 1969. In 1970, the franchise joined the National Football League in the historic AFL–NFL merger that set the foundation for today’s league. As part of a commitment to its fan base through innovation and experiences, the team has created initiatives such as, its trailblazing Jets Rewards program, a state-of-the-art mobile app, and Jets 360 Productions, a comprehensive content platform that gives fans greater access to the team across all digital and social platforms. The organization takes great pride in a long-standing, year-round commitment to their community. These programs are funded by the New York Jets Foundation and look to positively influence the lives of young men and women particularly in disadvantaged communities. The organization supports the efforts of the Lupus Research Alliance, youth football and numerous established charitable organizations and causes sponsored by the NFL. The New York Jets play in MetLife Stadium, which opened in 2010, and are headquartered at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, New Jersey. For more information about the New York Jets visit newyorkjets.com.

About Chicago Bears

One of the founding franchises of the National Football League, the Chicago Bears were established in 1920 as the Decatur Staleys by legendary player, coach and owner, George S. Halas. The team moved to Chicago in 1921. In 1922, Halas changed the team’s name from the Staleys to the Bears and the team has gone on to win nine NFL Championships, including one Super Bowl. The Bears 30 Hall of Famers are the most of any team in the NFL. A pillar in the community for more than a century, the Bears strive to be civic leaders throughout Chicago and its suburbs by supporting initiatives focused on social justice, youth and high school football, the military, health equity, education, volunteerism and civic involvement.

NEW YORK JETS AND CHICAGO BEARS UNVEIL UK FLAG LEAGUE FOR GIRLS

By Sky Sports NFL Presenter Neil Reynolds

The offseason is a time for many intriguing storylines and one has me both interested and delighted in equal measure. Two NFL teams, the New York Jets and the Chicago Bears, will be running a girls flag football league in London throughout this spring.

NFL UK has already enjoyed tremendous success with their Flag Football program as 476 schools are participating in the non-contact version of American football. More than 28,000 primary and secondary school boys and girls are now playing flag football across 26 regions of the United Kingdom.

And now, the Jets and Bears are committed to growing the sport of American football in the UK, running a 12-team tournament of West London schools featuring girls aged 12 to 14. And while this will be a fun and rewarding experience for all involved, bragging rights will also be at stake; the league will be split into two conferences with six teams representing the Jets and six, the Bears.

I love watching young children playing flag football. It is a great entry point for the sport and one my own son, George, took by playing for the Kent Exiles when he was 13 years old. He went from playing quarterback in flag to the kitted version of the game; representing Great Britain and going on to play for the NFL Academy, which helped him win a sports scholarship [BD1] to the University of Ottawa in Canada.

Every year, I attend the NFL’s Flag Championship and find the whole event to be thoroughly enjoyable and a great way to bring new fans to the sport we all love. The winners of last summer’s tournament – Little Ealing Primary School – went on to represent the UK at the Pro Bowl Games in Las Vegas. But every child and every team seemed to have fun, even though there could be just one champion to emerge from Loughborough.

And now, thanks to the Jets and Bears, more girls are going to be introduced to playing American football and gain the insights and benefits the sport has to offer. The women’s game is blossoming in this country with the Great Britain national team winning a silver medal at last summer’s world championships. More and more girls playing the sport can only be a good thing at all levels of the game.

Such commitment to Girls Flag is nothing new for the Jets and they should be applauded for their commitment to growing the game on both sides of the Atlantic. The Jets have their own Girls Flag program in New Jersey that was launched in 2021 and has expanded to Long Island and Upstate New York and  features more than 100 schools. Additionally, they have sponsored a league in Manhattan that has grown to 62 teams – more than the boys tackle programs.

The Jets and Bears NFL Girls Flag tournament will run from April 17 to May 22 and whoever comes out on top, I know this… everyone who participates is going to have a great deal of fun and will become NFL fans along the way.

Good luck to all involved and I cannot wait to see how the action on the field unfolds in the coming weeks!

It didn’t take long for The Shrine to come to The Island.

The Island needs no introduction to Jets fans. He’s Darrelle Revis, the Green & White’s uber-cornerback from 2007-12 and then for an encore in 2015-16.

And The Shrine is short for the Canton Shrine, a.k.a. the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which wasted no time in welcoming Revis as a new member — in his first year of eligibility — on Thursday night in Phoenix during the 12th annual NFL Honors telecast.

“I’m a big fan of everybody here,” Revis said during a group interview for the Class of ’23 shortly after the show conlcuded. “I think we’re all GOATs. Everybody has a special skillset here. I think everyone worked very hard and was very passionate to get to this point to be Hall of Famers. And now it’s time to say thanks to everybody who helped you along the way.”

Jets CEO Robert Wood Johnson was among the many fans who had words of congratulation and high praise for Revis upon his striding into the Hall.

“Tonight, Darrelle earned the games highest honor — first-ballot election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Johnson said in a statement. “Early in his career, we witnessed the strength of character, dedication to the game and special football acumen that made him into an elite competitor. We look forward to seeing his bust enshrined forever with the other titans of the game in Canton, Ohio.”

Thus Revis, as well as Jets defensive lineman Joe Klecko as a seniors finalist, become the 19th and 20th NFL members with Jets connections and the seventh and eighth “primary” Jets to be selected for Hall of Fame membership after the Hall’s 49-person Selection Committee voted in the days before Super Bowl LVII is played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ.

Also, Revis becomes the first primary Jets player to be named a first-ballot Hall of Famer, in his first year of eligibility after his retirement five seasons earlier. Neither Joe Namath (in his third year of eligibility), Weeb Ewbank (third), Don Maynard (eighth), Curtis Martin (second) or any other player who played the majority of his career with the J-E-T-S made it to the big stage in his first year of eligibility.

Further, Revis is the only primary Jets cornerback to be inducted into pro football’s temple located in eastern Ohio, an hour south of Cleveland. Only one other CB with Jets ties, Ty Law, had previously been enshrined, in 2019. In fact, Law, who hails from Aliquippa, PA, just like Revis, introduced him as a newly minted Hall of Famer to the packed house at Phoenix’s Symphony Hall.

Ahead of the nationally televised announcement of his selection on the NFL Honors program, Revis told Jets reporters in November that the secret for winning awards — such as his four All-Pro first-team berths, three with the Jets, seven Pro Bowls, five with the Jets, and his Jets Ring of Honor induction during this past season’s game against the Bears — is about not thinking about winning awards.

“When you’re in it, you’re hyper-focused about winning games and contending and trying to be at the top of your conference or in the playoffs. The ultimate goal is winning championships,” said Revis, who that day sported a black baseball cap with the slogan “Chase Your Dreams.” “You’re just hyper-focused, and whatever accolades the team or any individual receives, it’s OK at that time, but at the same time, our ultimate goal has been to always win championships.”

Revis won a Super Bowl with New England in 2014 but never won one with the Jets, although he was a major force in helping them get to the 2009 and ’10 AFC Championship Games. Along the way he had a number of Fame-ous accomplishments that are familiar to longtime fans of the Green & White:

• He had 29 career regular-season interceptions plus three more in the playoffs, with 25 of the regular-season thefts and two of the playoff picks coming as the Jets’ left corner.
• He had 112 pass defenses as a Jet, with his 31 PDs in 2009 the most by any NFL player in any season since the statistic first started to be tracked in 1991.
• He had three INT returns for touchdowns, all as a Jet, with his last, the 100-yard return at home vs. Miami in 2011, tying the mark for the longest defensive return in franchise history — in a solid victory on Monday Night Football, no less.

The 2009-11 seasons were the peak of No. 24’s rule on Revis Island. In ’09 alone he added to his 31 PDs a total of six interceptions, one for a TD, while putting the cover-corner kibosh on some of the best wideouts of that season — Randy Moss (4 catches, 24 yards at home, 5-34 at the Patriots), Terrell Owens (3-13 at MetLife, 3-31 at the Bills), Andre Johnson (4-35 at the Texans), Reggie Wayne (3-33 at the Colts) and Chad Ochocinco (no catches for the Bengals in Game 16, 2-28 in the AFC Wild Card Game).

“I had to cover some of the greatest Hall of Fame receivers, and for me it was just being the best prepared that I could be,” Revis said. “If a practice squad wide receiver had to be Randy Moss or Chad Ochocinco that week, then I know where you’re supposed to line up, what routes you’re running in this formation. I was just making sure I wasn’t letting my team down in any way.”

Now Revis is a Hall of Famer along with those wideouts he covered like a wave crashing on the shores of his own private island. And as fellow Hall of Famer Charles Woodson, enshrined in 2009, told newyorkjets.com’s Eric Allen this week in Phoenix about what made Revis so dominant:

“I think it was his patience, man. Playing man-to-man, you’ve got to have a certain level of patience. I think if you ask the guys that played against him, at the line of scrimmage he was that patient player. There weren’t too many times you were going to get away from him. And he had that dog in him, he had that mentality. You put those two things together, you’re going to have a pretty good player.”

Joe Klecko, unlike Tom Petty, has said the waiting hasn’t been the hardest part. In Klecko’s case it was waiting to hear from the Pro Football Hall of Fame that he was going to be enshrined in Canton.

“It really is kind of easy for me,” Klecko, the Jets’ construction-site-tough defensive line legend, said in August at Jets training camp. “Until the check’s in the bank, I’m going to maintain my civility about this and live my normal life.”

But word arrived that month that Klecko, as a Seniors candidate, had made it to the final round of the 2023 Hall of Fame voting. And that set the stage for Thursday night, when Klecko — and Jets Nation and the NFL universe — learned during the NFL Honors telecast that he has been named a member of the Class of ’23 for induction into Canton this summer.

No more having his hopes raised, then dashed. No more waiting civilly one more year. Thirty-six years after his last game as a Jet, 35 years after he retired as a player, Joe Klecko is in the Hall of Fame.

“I don’t think it’s hit me yet, as far as total acceptance,” he said shortly after the awards show ended. “After 30 years, you get the call and you’re grateful. But it’s still sinking in.”

Jets CEO Robert Wood Johnson was among those who were pleased to hear that the big D-lineman’s wait was now over.

“Congratulations, Joe, on being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” Johnson said in a statement. “You were one of the greatest players to ever wear the Jets uniform. You played every position on the defensive line and took no prisoners. Your impact on the history of the New York Jets was huge and I’m so happy you’ve gotten this honor that you richly deserve.”

The message of Klecko’s ascendancy into football’s pantheon was even delivered in person by Joe Namath, Hall of Famer, Class of 1985, from the stage of Phoenix’s Symphony Hall. Shortly after the two Joes hugged, Klecko took his place with six other members of this year’s nine-member class, which included, along with Revis, Ronde Barber, Joe Thomas, Zach Thomas, DeMarcus Ware, and Seniors candidate Chuck Howley. Two other Hall of Fame selectees, Senior Ken Riley and coach Don Coryell, were recognized posthumously.

Not only did Namath introduce Klecko on Thursday, but the iconic Jets QB went to Klecko’s house with a Hall of Fame camera crew and was the first person to tell Klecko he made it to Canton

“Honestly, it was exhilarating,” Klecko told newyorkjets.com’s Eric Allen late Thursday night. “The best part of it was Joe, it really was. I give Joe every accolade. He’s one of the greatest people for the NFL, he’s just an icon. For him to come to my house — what a great feeling. It was a cheerful, glorious time when it happened.”

But the ball actually began moving back in August, when Klecko first found out he would be one of three Seniors candidate finalists in this year’s balloting.

“The announcement from the Hall, without a doubt, was one of the most exhilarating things,” Klecko said of word that he was a finalist, which was not quite a guarantee yet was a very strong sign for any Seniors candidate that he would receive the 80 percent of the vote from the HOF Selection Committee and be inducted right before the Super Bowl. “I was very excited. It’s been a whirlwind.”

The next six months should be a blast as well as Klecko, as well as franchise mate Darrelle Revis, who was named to the Class of ’23 as a Modern-Era Candidate, enjoys the time in the limelight from being named to the Hall to being officially inducted in Canton on Aug. 5 during Enshrinement Week.

As many fans of the Jets and the NFL know and Johnson and Namath alluded to, one of Klecko’s claims to fame is that he is one of only three players to have been voted to the Pro Bowl at three different positions — defensive end for the ’81 Pro Bowl, D-tackle for the ’83 and ’84 games, and nose in 1985. He was also named NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1981 by the Pro Football Writers. These honors were built on a number of impressive achievements, including:

• His sack total from 1982, when individual defensive sacks became official, through the 1987 season, his last as a Jet, is only 24. But including the sack research that has been done dating to 1960, Klecko’s regular-season total unofficially blooms to 78, which is second-most in franchise history, behind only Mark Gastineau’s 116.
• He unofficially had at least one full sack in each of his final six games as a rookie in 1977, then opened the ’78 campaign with four more games of at least one full sack. The streak of 10 consecutive games with a full sack is a franchise mark, and had sacks been official in the second half of the Seventies, it’s believed he would’ve set an NFL mark that would have remained tied for the most in league history until the Chiefs’ Chris Jones assembled an 11-game sack streak in 2018.
• His philosophy of “I don’t care what you do” regarding where his coaches played him extended to special teams, specifically the kick-block unit. He had five blocked kicks (one punt, two FGs, two XPs) over the years, equaling the franchise record for most blocks in a career established by Paul Crane in 1971, a few years before Klecko got started.

As rough and tough and friendly as Joe remains all these years later, he also is humbled by this elusive prize that is finally his. Asked about what he remembered most about his playing days, his first thought was the New York Sack Exchange — Mark Gastineau, Marty Lyons, Abdul Salaam and him — that scared opposing QBs and offenses to the tune of a team-record 66 sacks in 1981. A second thought was how great Jets fans were and are.

And he reluctantly compared his style of play to two current NFL D-line stars in the Rams’ Aaron Donald and the Steelers’ Cameron Heyward.

“There’s two guys I would say that play a lot like I did,” he said. “Heyward, the way he plays with his strength, running people over a lot, and Donald, who plays with his quickness. I had both those things on my side. Once I got a guy worried about running over him and he’d hunker down and try to sit down on me, I’d go right around, I’d bang their hands and stuff like that. Those two guys, they remind me of what I did.”

Among the many well-wishers for Klecko in Phoenix was another Pittsburgh player of note. Terry Bradshaw was sacked by Klecko in Game 3 of Joe’s 10-game sack streak in ’77 and again in ’81, in between the two performing in the 1981 Burt Reynolds movie The Cannonball Run and before Bradshaw went on to fame and fortune as a Fox football talking head.

“I love Joe Klecko,” Bradshaw said along the Super Bowl’s Radio Row this week. “He was tough. You had to always build your offense around him. First you had to protect yourself against him. Then you had to trap him, you had to try to neutralize him. If you didn’t, he was so disruptive.

“Tell him I said congratulations, well-deserved.”

We’ll do that, Terry, but we won’t be the only ones. After all, the wait is over for Joe and the dam of Jets fans’ well wishes for No. 73 in green and white has broken.

Happy Fan Friday folks!

Four of our New York Jets stars are in Vegas this week, taking part in the Pro Bowl Games which come to a conclusion on Sunday.

Make sure to follow along on our social channels for all of the news, photos and videos from those events, as we’re just one week away from the Super Bowl and the official start of the NFL offseason 🙁

We are also looking for more contributors for our Fan Friday series – if you’re interested in answering a few of our questions and being featured then send us a DM or an email at the address at the bottom of the page!

This week, we’re profiling Dylan, a Jets fan from Swansea!

• Name: Dylan Owens
• Twitter handle: @DylanOwens_24
• Location in UK: Swansea
• Jets fan since: 2009
• First Jets memory: AFC Championship game loss to the Colts in 2010.
• Favourite Jets memory: The 2015 victory over the Patriots at MetLife on Eric Decker’s last minute touchdown
• Ever visited MetLife? If so, what’s the story?: Yes, I went out to see the Cleveland Browns game on Monday Night Football in 2019! Unfortunately we lost! All our stars were out injured after the first game against the Bills! Luke Falk entered the game at QB!
• Favourite current Jet (and why?): Sauce Gardner! Love the cornerbacks. I play American Football over here and I play CB so it’s fun that we have a young superstar in that position!
• Favourite all-time Jet (and why?): Darrelle Revis! He’s just the GOAT! I really wish he got his ring with us! But I’m happy that he got it and came back home!

Thanks to Dylan for taking the time to answer our questions and for his loyal support of the Jets!

For anyone who would like to be featured, please get in contact with us via DM on Twitter or via the email address listed below! Have a great weekend!

It may be the dead of winter but we’re keeping the fire burning here in our Fan Friday series all year long.

The NFL playoffs reach their penultimate hurdle this weekend, with the Championship games, whilst four New York Jets will be in action in next week’s Pro Bowl Games – so stay tuned for that!

We are also looking for more contributors for our Fan Friday series – if you’re interested in answering a few of our questions and being featured then send us a DM or an email at the address at the bottom of the page!

Without further ado, let’s meet Rob!

• Name: Rob Galloway
• Twitter handle: @rghammer6
• Location in UK: Milton Keynes
• Jets fan since: October 2015. Prior to that I’d just followed the sport in a more casual way but attending a Jets game and already loving the city of New York, the Jets just made sense to commit to!
• First Jets memory: Taking my seat in Wembley and watching Chris Ivory and Brandon Marshall go to town on the Miami Dolphins at that game in 2015.
• Favourite Jets memory: It’s hard to choose a specific moment but probably seeing Mike White lead us to victory over the Bengals in 2021. However, a special shout out for any time I see a Jets hat on someone’s head in the UK. It always feels special for some reason.
• Ever visited MetLife? If so, what’s the story?: Yes! I’ve managed to get over twice, once in 2016 and once in 2018. A company I used to work for had an office based in New York and I was lucky enough to work over there for a bit. It was the first time I had experienced a proper tailgate and my UK Jets flag went down a treat with the locals.
• Favourite current Jet (and why?): It’s got to be Sauce. He brings a confidence, a swagger, and backs it up with excellent talent, which is the perfect combination.
• Favourite all-time Jet (and why?): Eric Decker. His was the first jersey I owned, so it’ll always hold a special place in my heart. It might not be the most glamorous choice, but it started it all!

Thanks to Rob for taking the time to answer our questions and for his support of the Jets – hope to see you rocking the jersey and flag at future events too!

For anyone who would like to be featured, please get in contact with us via DM on Twitter or via the email address listed below! Have a great weekend!

Happy Fan Friday Jets fans!

The first Sunday of a long offseason has been and gone, and you won’t be alone in counting down until September when we take back to the field…

Until then, we’ll keep you entertained as best we can here on the UK Digital Fan Hub – make sure to check out our site each Monday where you can vote on the 2022 Fan Awards, starting with the vote for Team MVP.

Please also reach out via social media or at the email address at the bottom of the webpage if you’re interested in being featured in our Fan Friday series in future!

Let’s meet Darren, a Jets fan from Surrey!

• Name: Darren Rogers
• Twitter handle: @darrenrogers71
• Location in UK: Surrey
• Jets fan since: Far too long! Early to mid 80’s maybe
• First Jets memory: Probably whatever Jets game C4 showed first, think we lost to Miami/Dan Marino via a trick play
• Favourite Jets memory: 2011 AFC Championship game. Ok, we lost, but my Dad is a Steelers fan so he was happy!
• Ever visited MetLife? If so, what’s the story?: Not yet
• Favourite current Jet (and why?): Sauce. Watched the draft and he was top of my ‘want’ list – was so happy he fell to us!
• Favourite all-time Jet (and why?): Mark Gastineau, #99, I loved the New York Sack Exchange back in the day!
• Other bits and bobs – I won a phone-in competition on Capital Radio and went to Super Bowl XXIII with my Dad. Had a lovely meal with Mick Luckhurst and all the UK journalists covering the game.

Before Channel 4 picked up the highlights package I would sit in my Dad’s car, on the front driveway, listening to games on the radio – Armed Forces Network, the reception was variable. In the middle of a crucial play you would get opera singing for thirty seconds… Today’s fans don’t know how lucky they are!

Back in the days of C4 showing week old games on Sunday evenings, I had a question read out by Mick Luckhurst. No idea what I asked though!

I have a Jets tattoo…and this is the best hoodie I will ever own – the Jets are in there somewhere!

Thanks to Darren for answering our questions and for his long-time support of the Jets – that is some serious dedication!

For anyone who would like to be featured in future weeks, please get in contact with us via DM on Twitter or via the email address listed below! Have a great weekend!

It’s a sad day Jets fans: our first Fan Friday of a long offseason.

The Jets ended their season last Sunday with a loss at the hands of the Miami Dolphins, ending the year at 7-10 after a disappointing six-game losing streak.

The NFL playoffs will kick off this weekend, with the Jets next involvement coming in the form of the Pro Bowl next month where four players will represent the Green and White.

Thank you for all of your support over the course of the 2022 season – and remember to get in touch if you’d like to be featured in our Fan Friday series during the offseason!

Let’s meet Adam, a Jets fan from Nottingham!

Name: Adam Wrathall
Location in UK: Nottingham
Jets fan since: 2006
First Jets memory: Beating the Eagles in week four of the 2006 season
Favourite Jets memory: Winning the divisional playoff game against the San Diego Chargers in 2009
Ever visited MetLife? If so, what’s the story?: I have visited once and it was for Wrestlemania in 2019, it was a dream come true to visit MetLife but it wasn’t quite a Jets game!
Favourite current Jet (and why?): Sauce Gardner and why? Well the Browns game for one, the brilliance of the Cheesehead at the Packers game, his attitude of being a Jet he clearly loves it! And he’s one the best in the league ALREADY.
Favourite all-time Jet (and why?): Mark Sanchez. I absolutely loved him as a kid, so many honourable mentions I could say too but I’ll go with Mark Sanchez
Tell us about the trip to Seattle?!: So we set off on the Friday from London Heathrow, got to Seattle about midday after a 10 hour flight but Seattle is eight hours behind London so it was very tiring!

We had an early night Friday and on Saturday we did the Seattle tourist stuff, Pike Place Market, Art Museum, Space Needle, Aquarium, that kind of thing, although we did see a few Jets fans and we had some hellos to say!

Sunday was game day of course! An early but very nervous breakfast started our day but I was full of excitement and nerves right until kick off!  We went over to Lumen Field and we walked in and the atmosphere was amazing, such a loud and passionate fanbase but I knew how important this game was too for us and there were not many but a few Jets fans that made the trip over.

My wife came with me on the trip and it was her first NFL game ever! She really enjoyed the game and loved the relaxed atmosphere and that all fans sit together. I think I may have recruited another fan…

The game itself wasn’t what any of us wanted but the experience of being there at a Jets game was amazing. I spoke to a few Seahawks fans too and it was such a lovely experience to talk about the game with them too and get their perspective.

Overall it was a dream come true to be at a Jets game in the States, I went to the Falcons game last season in London and that was amazing but being in America watching my Team was almost tear provoking, I hope next season I can get over for a home game, that would be a lifelong dream and a moment I’ve waited for in itself for 16 years!

I love the Jets and this has only strengthened my love even if I’m still over 3,000 Miles away!

Thanks to Adam for answering our questions and for his amazing support travelling almost 5,000 miles to support the team in Seattle!

For anyone who would like to be featured in future weeks, please get in contact with us via DM on Twitter or via the email address listed below!

Home sweet home. There’s nothing quite like it. The New York Jets have called MetLife Stadium home since it was opened in 2010, and the New Jersey hub has now become synonymous not just with the Jets but with New York football.

One of only two stadiums in the NFL that is shared by two teams (SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, home of the Rams and Chargers being the other), the Jets and New York Giants embarked on the joint venture to create a permanent home in the mid-2000s, with ground first broken on the site in 2007.

Before MetLife, the Jets had shared a stadium with their cross-town rivals the Giants for several decades, often seeking a new permanent home to call their own. The eventual joint venture to create MetLife was the first of its kind in NFL history.

Able to hold 82,500 fans, it is the largest NFL stadium in terms of capacity, and was also the most expensive in league history at the time of its construction, at $1.6 billion.

MetLife has also frequently served as a venue for major concerts, from Bon Jovi in May 2010 to Elton John in May 2022. It has also been selected as a stadium for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup in USA, Canada and Mexico, having hosted a number of football matches since it was opened.

The Jets and Giants play each other annually in the preseason, with this Sunday marking the 2022 edition of the series. In regular season match-ups, the Jets are 2-1 against the Giants at MetLife, with the most recent victory coming in 2019 by a score of 34-27.

Nearby Meadowlands station serves as the primary public transit link, with ‘Meadowlands Stadium’ serving as the name for the first season of the stadium’s existence until MetLife came on board as naming partner in 2011.

The Jets will host nine games at MetLife over the course of the 2022 season, beginning week one against the Baltimore Ravens on 11 September and ending with the week 18 matchup against division rivals the Miami Dolphins in January.

With any luck, there may be a playoff game or two to follow as well…

The global engagement aspirations of the NFL have been expanding for some time now. From the first game played in the United Kingdom in modern history in October 2007 to others being staged in Mexico and Germany, the power of taking the League beyond its borders has never been stronger, especially amongst its teams. For the Jets, the global and cosmopolitan nature of New York – as a destination and business hub – has always had natural appeal to fans from around the world, and that appeal has grown exponentially each time the team has played games abroad (in 2015 against the Dolphins at Wembley Stadium and in 2021 against the Falcons at Tottenham).

However, the focus on building a consistent presence and fan base for the Jets was somewhat limited by the restrictions placed on clubs by the League. Through data collection and substantial anecdotal evidence, the team knew that fans abroad were engaged, but the contact and cultivation to grow that fan base had its limits that stopped at the shores of the Atlantic.

All that changed for the better earlier this year when the NFL began their International Home Marketing Area (IHMA) initiative, granting NFL clubs access to international territories for marketing, fan engagement, and commercialization. This is all part of an important, long-term, strategic effort to enable clubs to build their global brands while driving NFL fan growth internationally.

The Jets were awarded marketing rights for the United Kingdom and with that license came new opportunity, much of which will begin to play out this summer and into the fall, as the 2022 season takes shape.

“We would receive images and notes from fans who were either living abroad or had experienced a Jets game day when they were in the area visiting, but our ability to connect with them in a meaningful way was limited,” said Diana Berkovits, Jets Manager of Strategy. “With the expansion of social media, we saw even more robust and passionate fans create their own game day experiences, or follow, engage, and comment on our posts, with more and more regularity. Now we have the chance to amplify that fandom, in a way that is unique and authentic to a growing base of fans all year long.”

In the last year, the Jets launched a UK-specific Twitter feed, @NYJetsinUK, and Instagram account, @newyorkjetsinuk, to harness and augment the power of social sharing directly with a community of UK fans who share the experience of being a Jets fan abroad. Other efforts to engage directly with UK fans included a contest in partnership with Sky Sports, the NFL broadcast rights holder in the UK, that launched around the NFL Draft earlier this year. The VIP sweepstakes for UK Jets fans to win a trip to the 2022 home opener drew four to five times what a similar sweepstakes would draw in the US market in terms of fan engagement, which piqued the interest of team officials, and showed that the path forward to UK growth could be quite robust.

“We were really surprised by the interest level of the contest run through Sky Sports,” added Berkovits. “While we knew of the anecdotal interest, the proof is really in the numbers, and the numbers were stunning.”

The next step in the Jets fans’ UK fan engagement came over the weekend, with the launch of a very robust UK Jets fan-specific Digital Hub, nyjetsinuk.com, filled with expansive and targeted content including contests and promotions, on demand video, and player content. The content will be in addition to the stats, videos, and in-depth team coverage that every fan would expect year-round, making the new portal the virtual destination for anyone in the UK to engage with the team and other local fans.

“Our goal with the portal is not to just repurpose what fans are seeing elsewhere, it is to create original content after listening to our growing fan base that is authentic and specific to their interests,” added Eric Gelfand, Jets SVP Communications and Content. “This experience needs to be fun and unique for our fans, many of whom may be getting a deep dive into the team and the NFL for the first time. We want to provide a quality and engaging experience that will not only bring them back for more, but will make them fanatics of our team, our players, and our experience for decades to come, with the grand payoff of seeing the team in person, either at MetLife Stadium or when we next play abroad. We want to create new fans for life in a market we plan to continue to grow in.”

Just like our efforts to grow the fanbase in the UK is a full organization effort, the creation of this new digital hub was a multi-department collaboration with key support from the brand marketing team led by Vice President of Marketing, Tim Kemp and Director of Marketing, Jessica Blank as well as Director of Digital Operations, Tony Mancuso. And while the digital presence will be strong, the team will also be building out programs and opportunities on the ground in the UK, similar to the Draft events with Jets legend and UK Alumni Ambassador, Nick Mangold – the first ever UK Draft viewing party, youth flag football coaching, announcing the team’s 4th round pick live from London, and unique content filmed across the region. Additionally, the Jets will look to expand their youth flag football programs and develop as well as license Jets-specific broadcast content for weekly television shows and streaming content.

The Jets will also look to expand their sports marketing reach by working even more closely with Premier League clubs whose interest in cultivating fans in the New York area may mirror what the Jets are doing in the UK.

“Be it with European football or American football, fandom is universal, and the allegiances to clubs go far beyond borders now,” Berkovits added. “If we can help open a pathway to fan engagement with select English Premier League clubs here in the NYC area, while we get an increased understanding of sport fans in the UK through their engagement, it sets up a win for all, and we all grow together.”

Growth for fans beyond traditional borders, utilizing unique fan engagement methods, is what the Jets UK partnership will be all about. The potential to grow the fan base in the UK is limitless.