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Let’s be honest, the Jets have almost no . . .
. . . home-field advantage.
Opposing quarterbacks have had no issue barking out signals at MetLife Stadium. It was like a home game for Cam Newton under center on Sunday.
It’s become like a neutral site – so many fans of the opposing team are buying tickets and filling up a lot of the seats.
Players like Jets safety Jamal Adams (LSU) and linebacker Darron Lee (Ohio State), used to amazing home field advantages in college, are constantly waving their arms trying to get the crowd louder, usually to no avail.
Guys like this must be thinking, “What the heck is going on here?”
A few issues at work here.
First of all, the stadium is too big, with 82,500 seats. With a stadium that big, it’s always challenge to fill all the seats, and it certainly affords more of an opportunity for non-Jets fans to buy tickets.
The New England Patriots stadium holds 65,878. That is certainly a more manageable number, and they obviously have had a lot more success than the Jets in recent years.
So the Jets really had no home-field advantage in their game against Carolina.
It was a combination of tons of empty seats and tons of Carolina fans mixed with the Jets fans.
At times during this game, the stadium was like a library.
Clearly a lot of Jets fans are staying away this year.
One reason for the Jets’ attendance problem, lack of home-field advantage problem, was making the upper-deck a non-PSL section. While it was a noble gesture at the time, it has come back to bite the Jets. If the Jets had made the upper deck a PSL section, like the Giants, they would have a bunch of people locked into those seats. By not making the upper-deck a PSL section, a lot of fans have bailed from their season tickets up there.
Some people will say the anthem kneeling has impacted attendance. Perhaps there are some fans staying away for this reason, but the Jets haven’t kneeled this year.
Aside from the stadium being too big, and some fans perhaps staying away for political reasons, there is something else at work here.
I think one problem was the false media narrative, spread throughout the spring and summer, claiming the Jets were tanking this season, in other words, not trying to win.
Would you buy tickets to games to see your team tank?
So the reporters who reported this untrue story-line certainly hurt the Jets at the gate.
Look, I’m not blaming the stadium or fans for the Jets 4-7 record. That would be foolish.
I’m just saying MetLife Stadium for the Jets this year is basically the antithesis of CenturyLink Field in Seattle, where the fans and stadium actually help the Seahawks win games.
The Jets even coaxed Fireman Ed out of head cheerleader retirement the last couple of games. He had very little impact on the crowd during the Carolina game.
November 27, 2017
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