{"id":27327,"date":"2014-12-18T13:44:05","date_gmt":"2014-12-18T17:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jetnation.com\/?p=27327"},"modified":"2022-04-01T03:16:07","modified_gmt":"2022-04-01T07:16:07","slug":"jetnation-sits-down-with-firejohnidzik-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/2014\/12\/18\/jetnation-sits-down-with-firejohnidzik-com\/","title":{"rendered":"JetNation Sits Down With FireJohnIdzik.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"firejohnidzik\"<\/a>If you’re a die-hard fan of the New York Jets and have been for multiple decades, how many times have you found yourself screaming or just simply staring at your television or radio in shock, anger, and disappointment?\u00a0 How many times have you argued with fans of other teams and defended one Jets blunder after another?\u00a0 Were you bewildered on April 26th, 1983 when the Jets drafted quarterback Ken O’ Brien over Dan Marino?\u00a0 Years later, when the Jets had the number one overall selection and consensus all-world franchise left tackle Orlando Pace was on the board, what did you think when the Jets traded out of that slot and selected linebacker James Farrior?\u00a0 Bryan Thomas over Ed Reed, Neil O’ Donnell the savior, the Bill Belichick snub, quarterback turned cornerback Vance Joseph “defending” Tim Brown and being embarrassed\u00a0on Monday Night Football for the whole world to see, trading for Boomer Esiason to appease Reggie White who would then turn around and sign with the Green Bay Packers…and the list goes on and on.\u00a0 One bumbling incident after another, each one seemingly worse than the last.\u00a0 How many times has this team driven you to the edge of your Jet fandom, and of those times, how often have you done something about it?\u00a0 Aside from skipping a few games or refusing to buy Jets memorabilia for a given period of time, most fans are unlikely to do much at all.\u00a0\u00a0More often than not, we grumble and complain\u00a0along with other\u00a0disheartened fans while we wait for the next\u00a0bad trade or blown draft pick\u00a0that we can spend years shaking our heads over.<\/p>\n

Well, whether you’re\u00a0 a die-hard, or\u00a0even just a fan with a mild interest in the Jets and you own a television, radio or computer, you know that the fed up Jets fans who started the\u00a0web site FireJohnIdzik.com have\u00a0taken their angst to another level.\u00a0 The foursome have gained unmatched notoriety in their attempt to pressure Jets owner Woody Johnson to replace\u00a0GM John Idzik.\u00a0 All in an effort to get the franchise turned around and bring it back from\u00a0depths it has not seen since Rick Kotite’s 1-15 embarrassment in\u00a01996.<\/p>\n

Glenn Naughton of JetNation.com had the opportunity to speak with two of the founders of FireJohnIdzik.com<\/a><\/strong> to find out what inspired their efforts, how they’ve handled criticism from fellow Jets fans, and the reaction from their supporters, of which there appears to be no shortage.<\/p>\n

Jason and Greg are two of the four season ticket holding Jets fans who started this grass-roots campaign that has now gained national attention in the sports world.\u00a0 Anyone who follows local and national media on twitter has likely seen updates on their efforts.\u00a0 From putting up billboards, holding up signs at home games, and generating thousands of “fire John Idzik” penalty flags for this week’s season finale.\u00a0 Their efforts have been tireless, but not without backlash from some of their fellow fans.<\/p>\n

The group is in somewhat of a no win situation according to Jason, who says that up to this point there have been two types of critics.\u00a0 There are those who say they’re cowards hiding behind their keyboards for not providing television interviews.\u00a0\u00a0Then of course, there is the other side of the coin that has fans accusing them of being reality show-type attention seekers if they do provide feedback to the\u00a0television\u00a0media.\u00a0 Greg puts it in perspective by saying, “We want to be the face of the movement, without actually being the ‘face’ of the movement”.<\/p>\n

As with most Jets fans, this season’s terrible start had Jason, Greg, Matt, and Jared (their additional founders)\u00a0feuding over who was to blame for the 2-8 start leading up to Idzik’s bye week press conference.\u00a0 It was that conference, according to the group, that drove them over the edge and onto the same page.\u00a0 Idzik’s comments were downright offensive to Jason who is\u00a0a business owner himself.\u00a0 “I’m the boss, and if customers are calling me up because I’m providing them with a garbage product, I can’t say ‘oh, but you should see how\u00a0hard my employees are working.\u00a0 They really want to do well’.\u00a0 Customers want to hear me say ‘we are going to get this fixed’ and not ‘everyone is great, my employees are great’ it’s just insulting.\u00a0 That conference, in my opinion, said Greg, “was a fireable offense in itself.\u00a0 He inspired no confidence and no accountability. To look for\u00a0fans to be happy because his team is trying?\u00a0 They’re professionals, they’re supposed to work hard”.<\/p>\n

Anyone questioning the dedication or passion shared by the group should look no further than the fact that when they, like many other loyal Jets fans were priced out of their old seats in Giants Stadium, found a way to keep coming back.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They reduced their total\u00a0number of seats and paid tens of thousands of dollars in PSL’s\u00a0fees and ticket prices.\u00a0 Tickets that they claim they’re prepared to give up if Idzik is retained\u00a0after this season.\u00a0These aren’t fair-weather fans offering nothing to the team while sitting back and complaining.\u00a0 These are paying customers with a legitimate concern and what many would consider to be\u00a0a reasonable request.\u00a0 “We’re not unrealistic here and expecting a super bowl championship every year.\u00a0 It’s not about the money, it’s about the feeling that our money is going to somebody who is competent and using our money wisely”.\u00a0 When I lived out-of-state I drove up for games from Virginia and from Philly.\u00a0 I’m a passionate fan but this season is just a slap in the face” says Jason.<\/p>\n

Idzik isn’t the only member of the front-office that’s in the crosshairs.\u00a0 They Jets need to “get rid of everybody”\u00a0according to\u00a0Jason.\u00a0 “The only thing you can do right now if you’re Woody Johnson is admit that they’ve hit rock bottom and it’s unacceptable.\u00a0 Scouts, coaches, even the drumline.\u00a0 Get rid of everybody and start a new culture.\u00a0 Are we supposed to do this again next year?\u00a0\u00a0Who wants to spend fifteen thousand dollars on a team that’s out of it by October?\u00a0 I feel\u00a0like I threw that money in the garbage this year.\u00a0 I have no problem spending the money if they’re heading in the right direction, but at this point it’s just incompetence everywhere”<\/p>\n

Their frustration with the Jets front office is palpable, and their willingness to put in the time and effort they have up to this point should be commended whether you agree with their message or not.\u00a0 These are\u00a0 fans who have given something a shot and stuck with it in the face of harsh criticism.\u00a0 Albeit the feedback they got from supporters likely\u00a0make it easier to stomach.<\/p>\n

The site was established on the evening of the Idzik press conference.\u00a0 “In a way, it was like taking a message board rant and turning it in to a web site” according to Jason.\u00a0 “We thought that maybe if we were lucky, we could put up one billboard at the end of the season” but the site did far more than any of them had anticipated.\u00a0 When they received their first donation of $25, one fan told them they’d be lucky to put up a billboard by the time the Jets win their next super bowl.\u00a0\u00a0A few hours later, the pot had grown to roughly $300, and by the end of day one, they hit the one thousand dollar mark.\u00a0 One of the top\u00a0 Jets beat writers, Kristian Dyer of MetroNewYork ran a story about\u00a0the site\u00a0and donations continued to pour in.\u00a0 Almost immediately following the story the donations hit $2,500.\u00a0 Criticism of their efforts grew, but\u00a0 not as fast as the bottom line.\u00a0 By day four, a web site that started as a spur of the moment method of venting, had hit their target of $10,000.\u00a0 One season ticket holder even offered to donate close to $5,000, but the group rebuffed his offer and made him\u00a0a deal.\u00a0 They wanted it to be as much of a group effort as possible, so taking a donation of that size would squeeze out other would-be donors.\u00a0 They did however, contact the season ticket holder when they got close to the $9,000 mark as they promised him they would, so that he could make the final contribution of just over $1,000 that would put them over the top.\u00a0 All of the money donated by fellow Jets fans, many of them season ticket holders, and it didn’t end there.\u00a0 “We said right there on the site that our goal was $10,000 but people kept giving”.\u00a0 When the total went just over $13,000, the group cut off the donations, a decision that clearly undercuts those who claim this is simply a money grab.\u00a0 Still, skeptics tried to pressure the group to use the money elsewhere.<\/p>\n

“It was crazy”\u00a0 said Jason, “People were saying we were wasting our time and that we should donate the money to a better cause.\u00a0 How do you explain to somebody that you can’t do that?\u00a0 We started a web site that promised to put up a billboard.\u00a0 If we used that money for any other cause,\u00a0 no matter what it was, that would be fraud.\u00a0 You can’t champion a cause to raise money and then tell all of your donors you’ve decided to use it for something else.\u00a0 That’s stealing, but people actually wanted us to essentially steal the funds\u00a0and use the money in\u00a0other than what we’d promised and we weren’t going to do that”<\/p>\n

With the money raised, the group got to work on fulfilling their goals.\u00a0 Not only did they manage to fund a billboard, but they launched four different billboards throughout New Jersey.\u00a0 They worked tirelessly, five\u00a0 nights without sleep, to send out “Fire John Idzik” T-shirts that were promised to anyone who donated.\u00a0 They weren’t a major company with a huge infrastructure.\u00a0 They were four fans with an obligation to meet and they worked to get it done.\u00a0 Over 500 shirts were sent out to Jets fans within a week.\u00a0 The donated funds also paid for the hundreds of dollars it cost to ship the shirts.\u00a0 Despite their goal being met, there was still a demand for the shirts so the group continued to sell\u00a0them on their site for a small fee that they hoped would cover shipping costs. When they found that there was an excess remaining from shirt sales, they re-invested the money in printing out “Fire John Idzik” banners that were carried by Jets fans when the Jets took on the Miami Dolphins at home, which consequently saw them and their fellow fans escorted out of the stadium by security.\u00a0 The reason given was that banners were prohibited, so the group has moved on from there.<\/p>\n

Having seen MetLife Stadium get invaded by Pittsburgh Steelers fans and their “terrible towels” earlier\u00a0 this season, they have countered with FireJohnIdzik.com “penalty flags”, because if the Jets are willing to let opposing fans wave towels in the Jets’ own stadium, surely they won’t eject Jets fans for doing the same?<\/p>\n

When the Jets take on the New England Patriots this Sunday, be sure to keep an eye out for any of the thousands of fans who will be carrying the towels.\u00a0 Thousands have already been ordered by ticket holders who will undoubtedly be providing them for those on hand at MetLife and willing to come out and watch the final home game of\u00a0a season that has spawned a fan-led movement that could very well contribute in some way, no matter how small, to the direction of the future of the franchise.<\/p>\n

You can visit FireJohnIdzik.com<\/a><\/strong> to find out where to get your own “penalty flag” for this Sunday’s game against the rival Patriots.<\/p>\n

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