A friend of mine (the guy in the Sheffield jersey in the second video) recently attended the Chargers/Jets playoff game last weekend.  Now, this friend is actually a rabid Buffalo Bills fan…..so, needless to say, he was not cheering for the Jets.  That being said though, once again, he was blown away by the overwhelming support Jets fans showed their team.  Even in San Diego…..Jets Nation was strongly represented and, as my friend stated:

“Jets fans are crazy…by far the best fans to party with at a tailgaiter!”.

Although Fireman Ed was not in attendance, it is rumored that he was there in spirit and has been cheering on his beloved Jets back in New York.  I can honestly say that throughout our travels, the spirit of Jets fans can only be rivaled by the spirit of our own Saskatchewan Roughrider fans.  They are both “Green” at heart and hard-working, blue collar in nature.  Exactly how you would envision a football fan.

NY Jets Photos – http://www.flickr.com/photos/42340245@N02/sets/72157622575665005/

Saskatchewan Roughrider photos – http://www.flickr.com/photos/greycupfanconnect/sets/72157622907460298/

Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts will be a tough test for the surging Jets this Sunday, but I can only imagine that the Jets faithful will be out in full force and Rider Nation will be cheering along with you!!!!  GO GREEN!!!!!!!

J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets!!!!!!!!!!!

NY Jets Experience & Social Media

Considering that the focus of our tour is to profile the connection between Sports and their Fans, I don’t believe we could have found a better example of this than the connection between the NY Jets football team, Fireman Ed and the faithful NY Jets fans.  Fireman Ed went from being a loyal fan like many of the other fans in the parking lot that day, to an icon that truly represents the connection between the team and their fans.

In fact, just a few days earlier on September 25th, Fireman Ed was presented the game ball on behalf of the NY Jets fans for their win over their division rival, the New England Patriots. The NY Jets head coach, Rex Ryan was quoted as saying:

“He wasn’t the only fan you would notice, but I don’t know the names of everybody else,” Ryan said. “I’m sure there was Fireman Joe and everybody else out there. It was great because they’re our fans and we decided it was a little token of our appreciation to give him a game ball.”

Ryan said Fireman Ed was “all fired up” during their meeting.

“He’s expecting a lot of wins, as are our fans, and he said this is only the start and our guys understand that,” Ryan said.

Referring to the rest of the team’s fans in an interview with the team’s web site, Fireman Ed said, “Their passion is as great as mine is. There’s no difference. I’m just blessed to be able to lead the orchestra, to get them crazy.”

Video footage of Coach Rex Ryan placing the game ball into their training facility display case can be seen here: http://www.facebook.com/Jets?v=app_2392950137#/video/video.php?v=103010843046316

It truly is a refereshing site to see how the New York Jets have acknowledged their fans as a major contributing factor to their success.  The idea that an average (although passionate) fan can essentially become a part of the team brand and exemplify the connection between the team and it’s fans is an amazing story.

The connection between Fireman Ed and the NY Jets has also been portrayed in promotional videos by the NFL on CBS and in a commercial for Budweiser.

We were fortunate to be two vehicles down from Fireman Ed in our pre-game and post-game celebrations and captured a very cool video of Fireman Ed and his friend leading the charge with one more J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets.  3 AND 0 BABY!!!!

By far, one of the highlights of our Sport Fan Connection Tour was the September 27th NFL game between the NY Jets and Tennessee Titans. The day began early as we made our way to the wet parking lot to partake in some pre-game tailgaiting.  We ran into a great group of guys from New Jersey that welcomed us under their canopy for some good eats and drinks.

NY Jets – Post-Game Tailgaiting

As per NFL rules, we were unable to take video footage within the stadium, but we did capture manage to capture some great footage in the parking lot after the game.  NY Jets fans are a passionate group and I am always overwhelmed with how friendly and inviting New Yorkers are.  In this video footage, we captured the thoughts of some NY Jets fans on Mobile applications (Blackberry, iPhone and Web Apps), online streaming video and Fireman Ed stopped by for some of New Jersey’s finest sausage and bread!

NY Jets & Social Media

We chatted with the Marketing and Communication department prior to our trip and had an overwhelming response to our project.  The NY Jets organization is really leading the charge among NFL teams when it comes to embracing social media. They have prominently displayed links on www.newyorkjets.com that help drive their fans to their Facebook Fan Page and Twitter Page.

Here are some examples of how the NY Jets are using social media:

Facebook Fan Page

The official New York Jets Facebook Fan page is a great example of how teams can use popular social networks to engage in a two way conversation with fans.  The Jets have created a “Welcome” page that helps inform fans of all the ways to connect with the team.  There is a quick opening video where current players Kerry Rhodes, Dustin Keller and D’Brickashaw Ferguson welcome fans to the Facebook Page. There are also quick links included that help direct fans to the videos and photo sections and an open invite to “write on the wall”.

The official NY Jets Facebook Fan page has just over 32,000 fans and it is evident that a number of them are quite active on the site contributing to the “Wall” conversations, participation in polls, uploading fan generated videos and photos.

The Jets also use their Facebook Fan page as a means to promote their team schedule, tickets sales, the “Jets Flight Crew” cheerleaders and upcoming events.

NY Jets Players on Twitter

One of the things that really stood out to me on the Facebook Fan Page was that they have a section promoting their players on Twitter.  This is a very proactive approach to embracing social media as a number of teams, leagues and conferences have outright banned their players from using Twitter.  The Jets are doing the exact opposite by embracing the fact that their players are an extension of their brand and are a major contributing factor to the overall success of the team – both on and off the field.  The NY Jets players profiled on Twitter include:

• Mark Sanchez
• Kerry Rhodes
• Nick Mangold
• Derrelle Reves
• Dustin Keller
• Bart Scott
• Braylon Edwards
• Jeff Feely
• James Ihedigbo
• D’Brickashaw Ferguson
• Damien Woody

NY Jets on Twitter

Official NY Jets Twitter Page

The Jets organization does a great job of using Twitter in a very open and engaging way.  They understand that the fans are not always going to be happy with the team.  After all, it’s pro-sports…..and you can’t win every game.

One thing that really stand out for me is the fact that the Jets do an exceptional job of responding to fan comments and questions. I constantly hear the question of whether or not a person/team with a large number of followers should follow all of those people back.  The NY Jets currently have almost 14000 followers and are following back 1600 of them.  I’m assuming they have chosen to engage with those fans that are providing quality comments and feedback as I don’t believe it is feasible to converse with 14000 fans.

The Jets also use their Twitter account to keep fans updated on game highlights with regular posting during Jets games.  Each contributor to their Twitter page uses their initials to keep fans informed on who is broadcasting the message.