Jets Fans Have Some Shopping to Do

Let’s say you are a successful business man. Do other businessmen wear black suits with your name on the back? I would hope not. That wouldn’t exactly be professional.

But what does this NFL columnist know about work attire and fashion? Everything.

Well, everything about the only kind of clothes that matter.

Honestly, I can think of a million reasons to love the spectacle of sports, especially because I know what it means to be a die-hard fan.

I understand the allure of being a barbaric supporter, one that screams at the top of his lungs, hangs onto every play for 17 weeks of a regular-season—and if you’re lucky enough, the postseason—and spends more money on tickets than the monthly mortgage rate.

The biggest, most interesting aspect of being a fan, however, has to be the fascination of collecting team merchandise and attire. Jerseys, hats, t-shorts, shorts, sneakers, posters, pennants, office decorations, kitchen utensils—they all fall under this category.

That’s the beauty of sports: all rules are broken. You can wear someone else’s work clothes and be embraced for it. In fact, you feel fully submerged in an unflappable fraternity for doing so.

With Saturday’s preseason contest against the New York Giants looming, the Jets have been busy. They named prized rookie Mark Sanchez the starting quarterback, continued to work toward getting in shape for the regular season and unveiled a new shade of jerseys.

On Thursday, the Jets showed off their new, white New York Titans uniforms, which they will wear on Oct. 25 at Oakland.

“I like ‘em. They pop,” Jerricho Cotchery said after a brief ceremony at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, according to the team’s web site. “You can’t do anything but just stare at them. They’re nice-looking jerseys. I think they complement the (gold) pants well. I like them better than the blue.”

The Jets have worn dark blue Titans jerseys at least once over the past couple of seasons, in honor of their AFL roots. It’s a fantastic idea. Quite frankly, it just got better.

“I like wearing the different jerseys. It makes you appreciate all the guys that were before us,” Cotchery said. “You see them around the league, but I love wearing our jerseys. It’s a completely different look than our regular jerseys.”

In addition to sporting the white uniforms for two games, the Jets will don the Titans’ blue tops on Sept. 27 against the Tennessee Titans, according to New York’s web site.

The Jets, who are celebrating their 50th season this year and will wear a patch on their uniforms all season, will also have an AFL patch on their three throwback weekends. Admit it—we’re all suckers for promotional gimmicks. This one we shouldn’t feel bad for taking part in.

It’s remarkable a simple upgrade to a team’s uniform can boost morale around the locker room, too.

“It’s a long time and we’ve won only one championship and we want to add to that this year,” Cotchery said.  “We want to make this year special. Fifty years is a long time.”

At least they’ve done it in style.

There is no denying it would be awesome if the Meadowlands’ seats were filled with fans dressed in the new, upbeat jerseys to create a white-out.

Come to think of it, where’s my credit card?