INTERVIEW WITH ESPN MAGAZINE

Had a great deal of fun meeting Gary Hoenig, general manager and editor-in-chief of ESPN Publishing, and ESPN The Magazine Editor Gary Belsky on-air today at 12:40pm on Sirius/XM satellite radio, broadcasting from the ESPN Zone in Times Square, New York City.

It was a lot of fun and I'm eternally grateful for those guys taking the time to hear me out and catch the vibe of what we're up to this year, and how, quite simply, we're taking action to help our team win a damn championship.

It was funny cause while Hoenig is a Jet fan, Belsky is not (Cardinals) and asked me, "Who ARE you? What are you DOING here?", which is a valid question indeed. It was great to get a chance to explain what we're up to.

Which quite simply is this: WHY AM I A JET FAN? Why are ANY of us Jet fans? No championships, no legends since Namath - OVER FORTY YEARS AGO - and despite exciting flashes of brilliance, which give us hope for the future, they've mastered the art of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Some say boo-hoo. Lots of teams in the NFL suck, and moreso historically than the Jets. At least we've got a Superbowl appearance/win to hang our helmet on.

But the following is a fact about the New York Jets that is different than ANY other team in the Union.

New York is the ONLY city with two football teams. Other cities with one team, THAT'S your team. Good or bad, you're stuck with'm. Or you root for another city. New York fans? We have an OPTION of who to root for. But I'm with the green and white.

WHY?

I was born into a Jet family. Again, boo-hoo. The Giants have won THREE Superbowls in my lifetime. All I've had to do is jump on board the Big Blue bus. But I haven't. I have my reasons.

My family. My dad. My brothers. The hours and hours we've spent on chilly autumn Sundays hoping against all hope the Jets would be the best. World Champions. Then the DEFENDING Superbowl champions. And the heartache with each failure. Hope springing eternal with each victory and upset of better teams (before the wheels fall off against lesser teams).

I admit last year I was done. After last year's collapse I said enough. This is bullsh*t. I've been a fool and been taken for one by this organization. We all have. And maybe we still are. So long as they turn a profit every year, which I guess the Jets do, the team is just one part of their portfolio.

But then with Sanchez and Ryan and my dad getting season tickets, like Al Pacino in The Godfather III, I got sucked back in...

And so the wild ride continues. 2009. A year of new beginnings and many endings. I'm glad to be able to share it with so many amazing Jet fans I've met along the way.

Here's to breaking whatever negative energy they suffer from, and to celebrating an eventual championship and parade down the Canyon of Heroes...

GO JETS. BEAT BUFFALO.

Mark J. Williamson