EA: For Fans, Buffalo Will Be Game Green

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Randy's Radar

EA: For Fans, Buffalo Will Be Game Green

Published: Wed, December 3, 2008 - 3:57pm EDT
Eric Allen

By Eric Allen

Allen is the senior managing editor of newyorkjets.com. He is in his seventh season with the Jets.


File Under: Buffalo Bills, Fan Appreciation Day, The Record, QB Challenge, Field Goal Challenge

12/03 — Are you feeling lucky and green?

When the Jets host the Buffalo Bills at the Meadowlands on Dec. 14, the organization will hold its first ever Fan Appreciation Day. In addition to a multitude of giveaways throughout the game and a reward-friendly QB Challenge at halftime, one fan chosen at random will have the opportunity to win $150,000.

In an unprecedented move, the Jets will deliver 30 team captain jerseys — that’s five apiece of Brett Favre, Alan Faneca, Shaun Ellis, Kerry Rhodes, Leon Washington and David Bowens — to the fans sitting in a lucky row, and those recipients will also receive SNY hats.

Fans attending the game will have extra incentive to hold onto their gameday publications next week. Ten people who have winning stickers inside their playbooks will be rewarded with team-signed balls courtesy of The Record.

An entire row of the Jets’ faithful will get a nice dose of Pepsi. The soft drink company will distribute coupons for a free case of soda.

And just in time for some holiday shopping, Modell’s is set to sweep in and deliver $10 gift cards to a pair of rows. Reebok and JetBlue will distribute T-shirts to a row apiece and Dunkin Donuts will present gift cards to an entire section.

We’ll find out who can handle the pressure when the Jets and the Bills exit the field at halftime. During the break, five QB contestants get a minute each to hit various targets and accumulate as many points as possible.

JetBlue will award the most accurate passer with two round-trip tickets, the runner-up will get a pair of suite tickets to the Jets' season finale against the Dolphins courtesy of The Record, and Gatorade will give the third-place winner a dufflebag filled with drinks, nutritional bars and other goodies. Fourth- and fifth-place finishers will receive $50 gift cards to Jets Shop, the official team store.

Then one person chosen at random is going to have a chance to boot himself/herself a load of cash during the Field Goal Challenge. Get your legs warmed up because one person will have an opportunity to kick a field goal and take home $150,000.

And while the Jets and their partners (Fan Appreciation Day is brought to you by SportsNet New York) have stepped up in a big way in regard to the prizes, they need your help to do something special, something that’s never happened at a Jets home game before.

They’re asking everyone in attendance to wear green and create a “Green Out.”

The significance of the game with the Bills should not be lost. The Jets, who will enter the contest in first place in the AFC East no matter what happens this weekend, have a 3-1 divisional mark and another win would help them inch closer to their first division title since 2002.

If they take the AFC East, they’re guaranteed at least one home game in the playoffs — and the Green & White have hosted just two postseason games since 1987. Anyone who attended either the Jets’ 34-24 divisional win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Jan. 10, 1998, or their 41-0 wild-card shellacking of the Indianapolis Colts on Jan. 4, 2002, can tell you that nothing compares with a playoff game in your own back yard.

This “Green Out” should not be a one-time thing. The players will get a charge from the fan frenzy, and it also sends a sign to the opponent than the faithful are serious and they’re going to make it as loud and as uncomfortable — and as green — as possible.

So you can consider next week a big thanks from the organization and its sponsors, but we’d appreciate it even more if you'd bring your green to the stadium. It’s your house and we just ask that you dress appropriately for the occasion.

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Fans Respond

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mike Said:

Sat, December 13, 2008 - 2:50pm EDT

"yea thats nice and all but how about you hand out some PSL's its not like you need to charge us anymore for these tickets right. "

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Bernard Said:

Sat, December 13, 2008 - 6:29pm EDT

"The organization is really trying to insult us fans more than usual. You are going to have something called fan appreciation day, and from reading what Randy has written, it seems not all fans will walk away with something on Dec. 14th. Next, you want to add PSL's to what are already the most expensive tickets in the NFL. Thanks a lot, Woody. We feel the love."

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MikeR Said:

Sun, December 14, 2008 - 10:03am EDT

"How about the fans showing some appreciation for your team by staying in the stadium until the end of the game! It seems that the so called fans seem to leave early to avoid the traffic whether the Jets are winning or losing. It especially drives me crazy when the Jets win and they only have half the stadium there to cheer them on."

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