I'm a BYU grad and former hater of the NY Jets. As of 8 days ago I'm a die-hard Jets fan:). Here's what I know (I'm a bit defensive about Zach/BYU so I had to give you some info about my team too):

[Maxman]

2 hours ago, Zach Made Me a Jets Fan said:

ON THE JETS:

1. The Jets have been my least favorite NFL team for my entire 43 years of existence. They simply have not been a fun team to watch, and to make them even less likeable they hired Adam Gase when the entire world knew it was an awful decision. It was crystal clear in Miami that he was a train wreck.   
2. The Jets have had crappy ownership with the Johnson family for a long time, and have only recently relinquished some control to their new GM Joe D.
3. Joe D has brought new life to the fan base due to his hiring and firing decisions, and this year's draft class (last year's was good because of Becton, but not great). I loved the first 4 picks this year. I think the last few rounds were dart throws at athleticism, which I can understand. Getting E. Moore and Carter in 2nd and 4th was awesome. Moore will be an NFL star in my opinion. I had him as the 2nd best WR next to Chase. Smith and Waddle are really good too, but I think Moore is more versatile.
4. Jets fans have tons of resources. I'm amazed at all the podcasts. I've been listening non stop. For a fan base that has dealt with absolute crap for so long (yeah I know about the two AFC championship appearances with Sanchez), there is massive love for the team and organization. I have huge respect for that and it's made it easy to convert to Jetsism.
5. Jets have lots of unknowns with the coaching staff this year, but the O Line should be quite a bit improved. The offense should be conducive to allowing a rookie QB to get comfortable since it relies heavily on the run game (Shanahan). The Jets will finally have a jet sweep weapon in Moore to really get the Shanahan offense moving. WR core is much better. RBs are meh, but Shanahan system doesn't need great RBs. Defensive backfield has lots of options after this draft to find better players. And the Lawson signing was HUGE.

ON ZACH WILSON:

1. National pundits have been really negative about Wilson, yet I haven't heard a single Jets analyst/journalist say anything negative. Sure, some preferred Fields but overall Jets fans seem pretty excited about Zach The Kid Wilson. So many pundits talking non stop about his competition, despite the next pick Trey Lance playing 12 total games in the last 4 years and against total garbage competition. BYU's competition was a product of Covid this year. Wilson beat some decent teams in Boise State (murdered them), USC, Tennessee on the road, San Diego State, UCF, Navy, etc. Trey Lance beat Nichols and Sam Houston.
2. I've seen every Wilson game for 3 years and every BYU game since they won a national championship the day I turned 7 years old. Our fans are everywhere around the country and our QB's face enormous pressure from our fan base. People don't realize this outside of Utah. Expectations are sky high for guys like Wilson, and the criticism is crippling for some (Zach and Taysom had to deal with major pressure from the fan base).
3. We've had 65k at every football since Jim McMahon's junior season in 1980 when our stadium opened. We often show up to road games with more fans than the home teams. We have massive pride in our program so it pisses the hell out of us when idiots like Mel Kiper talk trash about BYU. We love QB's and we know when we have a good one. During my lifetime we've had drafted: Gifford Nielsen, Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco, Ty Detmer, John Walsh, Steve Sarkisian, Brandon Doman, John Beck, Max Hall (UDFA who started for the Cardinals), Taysom Hill, and Zach Wilson.
4. Zach still looks 16 to me. It bugged me when he was a freshman and it still bugs me because its hard to imagine him leading huge linemen with that baby face, but they apparently don't mind so why should I? 
5. Zach is a better runner than you think. You know he's mobile, but he's more mobile than you currently think he is. For some reason people keep saying his athleticism is nothing like Fields'. Uh, what? I'd say he is very similar athletically to Fields. They haven't watched anything beyond Zach's highlights of his throws. 
6. Zach has one of the sweetest throwing motions and spirals you'll ever see. Like Aaron Rodger, you know you're watching a special passer when you watch him. His highlight footage just don't do him justice. The live game footage is much better for appreciating his passing. He throws a football like its a baseball, and he's insanely accurate.
7. Zach has a lot of mojo and you could see it in his first start as a true freshman. His sophomore year sucked because of his shoulder injury. I thought he was ruined and kinda hoped our back-up would replace him as the starter. I am stupid. He was so good this year that it is hard to understand unless you watched every game. I thought every single throw was going to be a completion. Don't remember ever watching a QB that felt that way since Ty Heisman Detmer. 

Thank you for your application. As is outlined in your welcome packet, we meet every Wednesday to discuss the new applications. 

I can not comment more at this time until the board decides if you are allowed on the bandwagon. Seats are filling up fast.

Who did you used to root for in the NFL? Thanks for signing up. Go Jets!

[RSJ]

Welcome to the Green.  A few thoughts. 
"The Jets have had crappy ownership with the Johnson family for a long time."
I agree.  It is a far cry from Leon Hess.  Patton's oil man with the 3d army.  Kept us supplied with an unheard of use of hoses.  He parlayed that knowledge to purchase WW II military surplus equipment to build his gasoline empire.  The current boys inherited the platinum spoon.  Sigh.  
On being a Jet fan.   When an old friend learned I had turned my nephew into a Jet fan, he remarked "you're going to hell.  You realize this."  True story.   
 
 

Leon Hess was just as bad, if not worse of an owner.


Sent from my iPhone using JetNation.com mobile app

[Jetsfan80]

1 hour ago, jetstream23 said:

Welcome, and kudos for being pretty well informed about the Jets and reading up.  If you can translate your homerism for BYU into that for the Jets you'll find a few lifelong friends here. ? 

And don't worry what happened to @HelenOfTroy, @Zach Made Me a Jets Fan.  She was a thin-skinned USC fan.  Totally different mentality when compared to those tough, thick-skinned Mormon BYU supporters.

[HawkeyeJet]

Am I the only one astonished someone who isn't a Jets or AFCE rival fan would say the Jets are their least favorite team?  That's like me saying I hate the Seattle Mariners or Washington Wizards.  I didn't think the Jets were relevant enough for people to hate.

[HawkeyeJet]

9 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

And don't worry what happened to @HelenOfTroy, @Zach Made Me a Jets Fan.  She was a thin-skinned USC fan.  Totally different mentality when compared to those tough, thick-skinned Mormon BYU supporters.

Well that and @T0mShane broke her heart. 

[Jetsfan80]

9 minutes ago, HawkeyeJet said:

Well that and @T0mShane broke her heart. 

I heard @Pac scared her off but both could be true

[Jetsfan80]

12 minutes ago, HawkeyeJet said:

Am I the only one astonished someone who isn't a Jets or AFCE rival fan would say the Jets are their least favorite team?  That's like me saying I hate the Seattle Mariners or Washington Wizards.  I didn't think the Jets were relevant enough for people to hate.

2009-10 brought in plenty of hate, I must admit.  We were league darlings for a bit.  Gained a lot of media attention those years before it all fell apart.  So I suppose the haters came out of the woodwork thanks to all the attention.  Recall that we were getting lots of nationally televised games 2 years after 2010.  Not everyone got that kind of treatment across the league.  When the Jets are good, its a Jets town in the biggest media market in the nation.  That plays a significant role in attracting strong dislike.

[The Green Dude]

[Bronx]

"Mom, please put the tablet down"- Zach 

[jetophile]

2 hours ago, RutgersJetFan said:

The Tebow years brought some really bizarre people out of the woodwork. They always referred to him as Timmy and the posts always seemed laden with Freudian slips.

Tebots as they were often called. It was always a hilarious confliction amongst his groupies about how deeply Christian he was yet how wildly gay his lisp. When he got married they were all I toldja to the air and I was all told me what to the air, I'm probably gayer than all of us put together, I'm a Jets fan. Next.

[Augustiniak]

45 minutes ago, HawkeyeJet said:

Am I the only one astonished someone who isn't a Jets or AFCE rival fan would say the Jets are their least favorite team?  That's like me saying I hate the Seattle Mariners or Washington Wizards.  I didn't think the Jets were relevant enough for people to hate.

Usually pathetic franchises are pitied.  Somehow the jets manage to even circumvent that.

[Vudu]

Not sure you understand the term die hard but welcome

[T0mShane]

47 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

I heard @Pac scared her off but both could be true

I think it was @Klecko73isGod

[peebag]

3 hours ago, PS17 said:

BYU Wins Championships

Dollars to donuts, I really thought that was DWC posting this.

[Morrissey]

Imagine being an adult and willingly becoming a Jets fan?

Like doing heroin for the first time at 46 years old.

[Klecko73isGod]

13 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

I think it was @Klecko73isGod

Keep my name out of your punk ass mouth, Shane.

[Jetsfan80]

31 minutes ago, T0mShane said:

I think it was @Klecko73isGod

All dem ribbbbs

[Sammybighead]

1 hour ago, HawkeyeJet said:

Am I the only one astonished someone who isn't a Jets or AFCE rival fan would say the Jets are their least favorite team?  That's like me saying I hate the Seattle Mariners or Washington Wizards.  I didn't think the Jets were relevant enough for people to hate.

It's totally amazing. Not sure whether to be appalled or proud.

[the Claw]

Welcome, but you haven’t lived through a November as a Jet fan yet. Think long and hard about this. Maybe check back sometime in December. See how it feels before you go on this little ride. 

[bitonti]

1 hour ago, HawkeyeJet said:

Am I the only one astonished someone who isn't a Jets or AFCE rival fan would say the Jets are their least favorite team?  That's like me saying I hate the Seattle Mariners or Washington Wizards.  I didn't think the Jets were relevant enough for people to hate.

the Jets have been on a decade long heel stint but everyone's hoping ZW turns them into a babyface

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

I remember the Teblow fans here. Also that USC lady came over with Darnold. It’s a trend I guess.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MykePM]

3 hours ago, Jetsfan80 said:

2009-10 brought in plenty of hate, I must admit.  We were league darlings for a bit.  Gained a lot of media attention those years before it all fell apart.  So I suppose the haters came out of the woodwork thanks to all the attention.  Recall that we were getting lots of nationally televised games 2 years after 2010.  Not everyone got that kind of treatment across the league.  When the Jets are good, its a Jets town in the biggest media market in the nation.  That plays a significant role in attracting strong dislike.

You didn't mention the two words that were most responsible for the hate inspired by the 2009-2010 Jets: Rex Ryan.  Many (if not most) of us loved him during his first two seasons, because of the 2 AFC Championship Game berths and because he brought a swagger that can totally change a downtrodden franchise (and did, albeit temporarily).  My experience with people who weren't Jets fans was that they most commonly saw him as an obnoxious idiot and they were put off by his antics - particularly when the winning stopped and he lost the cachet that came with it - and that hate got projected onto the Jets as a whole.

I'm hoping that Coach Saleh can bring transformative juice that comes from high energy, intelligence, and positivism instead of macho buffoonery.  So far so good.

[freestater]

Geezus frickin christ. Merge.

[MykePM]

2 hours ago, Augustiniak said:

Usually pathetic franchises are pitied.  Somehow the jets manage to even circumvent that.

When someone realizes I'm a Jets fan, I do get some sympathy - but it's mostly from people who already know and like me.  In general, though, I don't think NFL fans are the pitying kind.  They love beating on teams that are perceived as losers - and their fans.  Look at how the Browns were treated until they started turning it around recently.  The franchises that escape this ridicule are the ones that are consistently bad without being complete laughingstocks (the Lions come to mind), and teams like the Jaguars that have a low profile.

[Dunnie]

4 hours ago, RutgersJetFan said:

The Tebow years brought some really bizarre people out of the woodwork. They always referred to him as Timmy and the posts always seemed laden with Freudian slips.

Much like "Sammy"

[SayNoToDMC]

You're making a huge mistake. Jets Fandom isn't a choice. It's mostly inherited 

[Jet_Engine1]

3 hours ago, Morrissey said:

Imagine being an adult and willingly becoming a Jets fan?

Like doing heroin for the first time at 46 years old.

 

2 hours ago, bitonti said:

the Jets have been on a decade long heel stint but everyone's hoping ZW turns them into a babyface

 

Jobber. The Jets are jobbers now. They were Heels back when Rex was here.

[Jet_Engine1]

55 minutes ago, Dunnie said:

Much like "Sammy"

I miss Sammy. 

 

Sammy, or Samantha, was my wife and I's cat when we first lived together. Tiny black cat who was funny as hell. Died of Feline Infectious Peritonitis at 4 years old. Her brother Luke, who will be 16 next month was never the same. 

 

Wait, what are we talking about?

[Jackie Treehorn]

4 hours ago, Maxman said:

I can not comment more at this time until the board decides if you are allowed on the bandwagon. Seats are filling up fast.

Who did you used to root for in the NFL? Thanks for signing up. Go Jets!

Oh yeah they tried to trick me with that too when I got in a few years ago. Did all kinds of unmentionable sh$t. But this is what it really looks like. 

[oatmeal]

6 hours ago, RutgersJetFan said:

The Tebow years brought some really bizarre people out of the woodwork. They always referred to him as Timmy and the posts always seemed laden with Freudian slips.

Sounds a lot like “Sammy” supporters 

[Dcat]

8 hours ago, Zach Made Me a Jets Fan said:

ON THE JETS:

1. The Jets have been my least favorite NFL team for my entire 43 years of existence. They simply have

..... and here they all come. 

BYU/Wilson fans who honestly believe they have become true Jets fans because their BYU QB was drafted by the Jets. 

We've seen this before with Darnold, Tebow and others.  None of them were Jets fans.  More importantly, none of them became Jets fans.  They were out of here even long before the player they loved so much was out of here (See @HelenOfTroy) in true band-wagonner form.

Welcome to the board.  Bear in mind that you are a Wilson fan.  If you think this makes you a Jets fan, then power to you Jets "brother"  

[Dcat]

7 hours ago, Pac said:

I imagine this fine gentleman expected a heros welcome and a flurry of questions about our new boy band qb after crafting that monologue and all he's been met with is snark. 

Well done Jets fans.

Introduced himself as a lifelong Jets hater with The Jets are his least favorite team in 43 years.  How endearing.  Why don't you pick him up at the airport and give him a tour?

[Dcat]

5 hours ago, Bronx said:

"Mom, please put the tablet down"- Zach 

literally POTY

[Dcat]

5 hours ago, DLJ said:

Not sure you understand the term die hard but welcome

How does being a BYU/Wilson fan make someone a "die-hard" Jets fan?  After "hating" the Jets for all 43 years of his life?

Sorry.  Total B.S.  Just say you are a die hard Wilson fan and are rooting for him.  I'd have more respect for the honesty.

[Defense Wins Championships]

Sorry. 

But I can't welcome a stranger with open arms who's hated my team. For no reason. 

From Utah? And um. He hated the Jets? 

The same Jets who've been embarrassed by N.E, Marino, Kelly for 40+ years?

The same underdog Jets who hasn't won a SB since my grandfather's golden days of Joe Namath 68/69?

People in Utah hate the underdog Jets?

For no reason?

You hated Gang Green more than the cheating Patriots?

Sorry. Thnx but no thnx. We can't be friends.