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God , I miss those practices at Hofstra


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54 minutes ago, joewilly12 said:

I used to drive up from Central Jersey leave 5am in the morning, kids were small had a blast up there we used to meet players outside where they ate lunch I forgot the name of the place. Good times......

It was a dormitory complex that had cafeteria facilities. Back then they had mostly 2 a days. Lots of opportunity for fan interaction. Players seemed to enjoy it as much as the fans. 

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2 minutes ago, Bocajetfan said:

It was a dormitory complex that had cafeteria facilities. Back then they had mostly 2 a days. Lots of opportunity for fan interaction. Players seemed to enjoy it as much as the fans. 

Yes I know but the cafeteria had a name it was on a busy 4 lane street.  

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I remember going every year for the "family night" as they called it.  then came 2008.  a certain QB named Favre joined the Jets.  not sure if it was because of him or not, but it was on Sunday morning that year.  Place was friggin' packed man!  everyone just trying to catch a glimpse of our savior!!

11 years later and still waiting for that "savior".  Hoping Sam's the man....

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33 minutes ago, ASH1962 said:

Totally agree 10000%. I remember taking off from my office on a Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon in early August to go lean on that red fence to watch practice cutting my elbows up lol, but who cared? Now you need to make an appointment to go to practice - one of the easiest things we used to be able to do now once again, has become intolerably difficult. When I was really young, the players used to wander right by us into the parking lot and sign autographs, take pictures with us. Those days were great.

The players were so more accessible like you said in the parking lot at the lunch hall, autographs and pictures were easy to get and every time we went never left disappointed. 

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2 hours ago, joewilly12 said:

I used to drive up from Central Jersey leave 5am in the morning, kids were small had a blast up there we used to meet players outside where they ate lunch I forgot the name of the place. Good times......

Did you ever stop at the Vince Lombardi Rest Stop on the way home 

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1 minute ago, T0mShane said:

Did you ever stop at the Vince Lombardi Rest Stop on the way home 

No my children and their friends were great travelers and my wife prepared all the snacks and made sure they used the restroom facilities before we left. 

Would I have ran into you in one of the bathroom stalls or saw your panel van parked way in the back lot if I did. 

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no tickets ; no bullspit ; just drive up and sit by the fence ; CHANGE IS BAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My first training camp was a Ronnie Lott year... Pulled up .. parked ... Sat on a fence .... 20 other fans .... Spent 20 minutes with players after practice .... The good ol days

 

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1 hour ago, Bless you....Thank you said:

No post has ever resonated with me

more than this one. I used to LOVE that I could roll right up to my favorite teams practice. a friend of mine was a huge jets fan and used to work Hofstra security. Think he snagged a john hall and Curtis Martin jersey one summer

Free tickets.  Free NFL jerseys.  Give me free stuff or watch me complain.

Jets fans are so cheap.

SAR I

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Those Hofstra practices created great memories and lifetime Jet fans.  Not sure who advises current management, but keeping players from fans in today's training camps actually  hurts the product in the long run.  I don't want to hear about parking at FP either.  A well run company would find a way to make it work so the fans / young kids could meet these players and get and autograph or picture.  1 night at Rutgers is not what the real fans that love his team are looking for.   They want the up close and personal of a regular practice .They should take a lesson from the Packers.  The interaction between the kids on bicycles and their fans is incredible.  And creates the next generation of die hard Pack fans.  It's a shame it has developed into this, but enjoy it while it lasts.  It will probably become even more restrictive in the future .

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19 hours ago, joewilly12 said:

The players were so more accessible like you said in the parking lot at the lunch hall, autographs and pictures were easy to get and every time we went never left disappointed. 

Oh man, I have a photo with Joe Namath taken at Hofstra when he was playing. I actually went back with the photo after I had it developed and printed, and he signed it for me. Great guy, and back then, things were so much more innocent and simple.

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I use to go with my brother, my son & nephews every summer. Great time. I remember Curtis Martin bending the corner coming right at us & Mo Lewis had a bead on him & they sounded like horses hoofs pounding the grass Mo laid him out, Curtis was like 3 feet off the ground after Mo hit him & he landed with a huge thud & rolled a couple of times & jumped up right next to the fence.

They were so freaking close it scared the sh*t out of the kids, they ran for cover, lol. And Parcells was pissed because he didn't want anyone getting hurt. Freaking cool though & just the speed & power that we got to witness up close & personal. 

Another time Wayne Crebet walked by & my nephew had 1 of those Chrebet action figures & he held it up & said hey Wayne it's you. He walked over to get a closer look & says to my nephew, "that's freaky". Kids got a kick out of it.

I use to give blood on donation days & they would give you autographed photos as a thank you, I think the last 1 I got was Jeff Lageman. Just recently gave all my collectibles to my nephew for his son who's always in Jet gear. 

I had all of the Franklin Mint die cast stuff. The Plane, the Bus, The Mustang, the Pick up, sh*t was cool. Kids room is gonna be awesome.

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I used to take my son to Hofstra. Great times included snagging autographs by the red fence and watching Herm call Captain Jet out of the stands to run with a play. Years later my son and his wife met up with CJ at Met Life stadium and they took pics together.

Although I’ve not been to the new modern facilities, the feedback I hear has little to do with money and more to do with access to players and a family atmosphere.

Is there a good reason (like maybe architecture) that we cannot replicate these kind of fan/player emotional bonds at the new facility? Just asking...


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35 minutes ago, greengeek said:

Is there a good reason (like maybe architecture) that we cannot replicate these kind of fan/player emotional bonds at the new facility? Just asking...

p_ny_jets_main_aerial.jpg

Yes, architecture comes into play.

I've been fortunate to attend OTA's or TC practices at Florham Park for the last 5 years and it's different than Hofstra.  First off, it's much bigger, so there is more dead space between the fence and the fields, probably about 15 yards of grass.  Next, they built three fields side-by-side with a big tree in between two of them, so the middle field has no fans anywhere near the players except the endzones where they never are.  So unlike Hofstra which had a fence running around three sides of the primary practice field where fans could get really close, Florham Park is built differently.  Fans on the fence really can only see endzone stuff and not much happens there.

On the other hand, when you are invited, ah, whole different world, better than Hofstra was.  Because you're on a set of short bleachers, only about 50 in attendance, under a hospitality awning, and about 10 feet away from the players on the sidelines.  I was just there last month, I could hear them chatting, the works.

Attending an open practice at Florham Park is a bit of a downer if you're along the fence, it's really a waste of time.  If you're in the bleachers with 200 others its much better.  But it's the smaller 50 person VIP events that are really special.  I was at one once where it rained so they brought us all to the indoor facility, very cool.

SAR I

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Totally agree 10000%. I remember taking off from my office on a Tuesday or Wednesday afternoon in early August to go lean on that red fence to watch practice cutting my elbows up lol, but who cared? Now you need to make an appointment to go to practice - one of the easiest things we used to be able to do now once again, has become intolerably difficult. When I was really young, the players used to wander right by us into the parking lot and sign autographs, take pictures with us. Those days were great.


THANKS OBAMA!


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3 hours ago, SAM SAM HE'S OUR MAN said:

NOT EVEN CLOSE !!!!!!!!!!!

1-D53-D8-EB-FE79-4-DAF-8-ECB-4260-B83895

D0-C44-E21-7-C80-4-A0-F-86-B2-6-E6-F7924

C5-E2-E4-EE-0172-46-D1-BF16-7-F89-EF2-BF

C36-F8-E18-0-E60-4-C2-B-960-B-9-E227-B84

0-A333-B19-5-A55-4327-895-A-1-EC6-A86-FA

2-AF6237-A-B4-B1-4-FBB-B46-A-530-D760379

5-AE82-B33-F1-E3-4-F0-C-975-A-E7-C374-B3

98606-FC7-5-AF2-41-A4-994-D-177-BAAF184-

From the cheap seats, you have a point.

But I'm not in the cheap seat club so the boo-hoo view from the Florham Park endzone fence is of no concern to me.  I appreciated the lunch buffet, the shade tent, the complimentary new logo hat, and the I-don't-need-a-zoom-on-my-iPhone view.  Get PSL's.  It's a different world for us.

SAR I

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p_ny_jets_main_aerial.jpg&key=514b15e6280d056d401bc42f834a59ac3e67164cec0b78aa9bb84a4f1bf3f11c
Yes, architecture comes into play.
I've been fortunate to attend OTA's or TC practices at Florham Park for the last 5 years and it's different than Hofstra.  First off, it's much bigger, so there is more dead space between the fence and the fields, probably about 15 yards of grass.  Next, they built three fields side-by-side with a big tree in between two of them, so the middle field has no fans anywhere near the players except the endzones where they never are.  So unlike Hofstra which had a fence running around three sides of the primary practice field where fans could get really close, Florham Park is built differently.  Fans on the fence really can only see endzone stuff and not much happens there.
On the other hand, when you are invited, ah, whole different world, better than Hofstra was.  Because you're on a set of short bleachers, only about 50 in attendance, under a hospitality awning, and about 10 feet away from the players on the sidelines.  I was just there last month, I could hear them chatting, the works.
Attending an open practice at Florham Park is a bit of a downer if you're along the fence, it's really a waste of time.  If you're in the bleachers with 200 others its much better.  But it's the smaller 50 person VIP events that are really special.  I was at one once where it rained so they brought us all to the indoor facility, very cool.
SAR I

Thanks for the detailed explanation. It sounds like only a very limited number of people are selected for a more personal experience as compared to the large open admission crowds at Hofstra. Likely the fraction of people happy with the new digs is about 50/. Seems consistent with what I’m reading as being a small fraction.

With CJ being such an active owner of late, perhaps he could find creative ways to improve that fraction.


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Thanks for the detailed explanation. It sounds like only a very limited number of people are selected for a more personal experience as compared to the large open admission crowds at Hofstra. Likely the fraction of people happy with the new digs is about 50/. Seems consistent with what I’m reading as being a small fraction.

With CJ being such an active owner of late, perhaps he could find creative ways to improve that fraction.


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1 hour ago, greengeek said:


Thanks for the detailed explanation. It sounds like only a very limited number of people are selected for a more personal experience as compared to the large open admission crowds at Hofstra. Likely the fraction of people happy with the new digs is about 50/. Seems consistent with what I’m reading as being a small fraction.

With CJ being such an active owner of late, perhaps he could find creative ways to improve that fraction.

It’s a perk for season ticket holders that doesn’t need improvement.  You need to show the Jets your dedication by becoming a season ticket holder.  

SAR I

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7 hours ago, SAR I said:

It’s a perk for season ticket holders that doesn’t need improvement.  You need to show the Jets your dedication by becoming a season ticket holder.  

SAR I

That’s not how the business/customer relationship is supposed to work.

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