“J-E-T-S! Jets! Jets! Jets!”
Whether or not you identify with Gang Green fans, you have almost certainly heard their signature chant.
And though the chant will live on, the fan who created it will not. Ed Anzalone — better known to Jets fans as “Fireman Ed” — hung up his fireman’s helmet after leaving before halftime during the Jets’ crushing Thanksgiving Day defeat to the Patriots.
Anzalone wrote a guest column for Metro New York explaining his character’s retirement. The 4-7 Jets’ poor play this season did not drive him out. During his fandom, which stretches back to 1975, Anzalone has witnessed 10 seasons in which New York amassed four wins or fewer for the entire campaign, and 15 losing seasons in total. One more losing season was unlikely to break the camel’s back.
Anzalone blamed his departure on the rest of the Jets’ faithful, saying confrontations with other fans “have become more common.”
He believes much of the heat directed his way stems from his support of quarterback Mark Sanchez, who many Jets fans feel isn’t the right choice for the franchise. Anzalone wrote that because he wears a Sanchez jersey and supports the former USC quarterback, other fans think he is “on the [Jets’] payroll.”
Anzalone said he will still attend games — just not dressed as Fireman Ed.
Fireman Ed’s retirement reflects the unfortunate evolution of today’s fans and raises questions about their proper role in sports. There have always been “superfans” — supporters who voice their opinions louder than the rest, who wear their hearts on the sleeve of their team apparel — but their hard-core fandom was often noticeable only to friends, people who sat near them in the stadium and those who religiously tuned into sports-talk radio shows.
With the emergence of social media, more and more fans are using technology to spread their opinions more pervasively. Although many of these fans are doing so to support their squads, we’ve witnessed a spike in negative talk as well.
Facebook and Twitter allow everyone to get online and say something about their favorite, or least favorite, teams and players. The Internet’s anonymity makes many of these fans feel empowered to issue increasingly bold statements about the teams and players in question.
Sometimes this extremism spills into real-life behavior. When LeBron James spurned his “hometown” Cleveland Cavaliers to sign with the Miami Heat, not only did Cavaliers fans rip James’ decision on Twitter, some of those same fans were also captured by TV cameras burning his jersey out of hatred.
Burning a jersey is a relatively harmless act, resulting mainly in a waste of money, but such behavior can cross the line into inappropriate territory. Players receive death threats if a mistake costs the team a crucial game. Fans make obscene signs to heckle players, like the Utah State students who mocked Brigham Young forward Brandon Davies’ suspension for violating the Mormon university’s honor-code standard preventing premarital sex.
Some fans riot in the streets, damaging property. Weirdly, this typically happens after a team wins a championship. In Europe, soccer fans resort to fanatical hooliganism and have even murdered others during games.
In the United States, the most recent low point came when Chiefs fans mockingly cheered quarterback Matt Cassel’s concussion as he left the game. Whatever you think about Cassel’s football skill or his ability to lead a team to victory in the NFL, this behavior is despicable.
Fans should undoubtedly be allowed to voice their beliefs about their teams. If you pay for tickets or merchandise or invest your time and emotions in a team, you are entitled to your opinion. But fans should not need Chiefs tackle Eric Winston to decry their reaction as “sickening.” They should still have the common sense to respect basic human decency. Even the most fanatical supporters shouldn’t wish for opposing players to get injured, much less their own team’s players.
In the case of Fireman Ed, the fans who confronted him are entitled to think that Sanchez isn’t the answer for the Jets. They overlooked, however, that Anzalone was entitled to hold the opposite opinion.
Fans should support their teams and fans should call their teams out when things aren’t going right. When fans do this the right way, they become a manifestation of sports’ power to unite people in support of a common cause. But when fans personally attack players or other fans, they take things too far.
By all means, wear your logoed apparel, and wear your heart on your sleeve. Just remember that, as Winston said, the athletes who you cheer or boo — and the management that puts those teams together — are people too.
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