New York Jets fans are sick and tired of being sick and tired. One of the most prominent Jets fans of all took to X (formerly Twitter) to express the thoughts and demands of the team’s long-suffering supporters.
Craig Carton, currently the host of the FOX Sports show “Breakfast Ball” and formerly the host of the “Carton & Roberts” show on WFAN, had this to say to Jets owner Woody Johnson.
“Hey @woodyjohnson4 perhaps it’s time to take the best offer, pocket $8 Billion and move to London and give Jets fans the hope that a new owner would change things,” Carton wrote. “We deserve so much better than this and maybe roll back those ticket price increases for next year as well.”
Jets fans clearly agreed with this sentiment at halftime of the Texans game when they chanted en masse, “Sell the team.” The thrilling second half temporarily silenced those calls, but they are back in full force after the Jets were embarrassed, 31-6, in Arizona.
Johnson bought the Jets in 2000 for $635 million. Through the first 11 years of his ownership, they posted a winning record seven times, making the playoffs in six of those seasons (2001-02, 2004, 2006, 2009-10) and reaching the AFC championship game twice.
However, in the last 14 seasons, the Jets have not made the playoffs and have posted a winning record just once (2015). They have the longest active playoff drought in the four major American sports.
Their soon-to-be 14th consecutive season without making the playoffs is at least five years longer than the next-closest NFL team (Broncos, 2015). Since 2014, they have won five or fewer games seven times.
When a team goes through head coaching change after head coaching change, brings in general manager after general manager, seemingly gets both of those hires right (the Robert Saleh and Joe Douglas were widely lauded), gets the quarterback, loads up the roster with talent, and is still a disaster, questions naturally arise about the root of the issue.
Since the common thread is the ownership, Johnson is the most likely target for blame.
It was certainly a bad look for the Jets to raise their ticket prices exorbitantly for next season despite their lack of success. Carton referenced that in his post.
After the election, many Jets fans have speculated that Johnson could resume his previous post as the United States ambassador to the United Kingdom. That is why Carton talked about Johnson relocating to England.
During Johnson’s first stint there, his brother Christopher took over the main team operations. It was Christopher who hired both Douglas and Saleh.
Carton’s sentiments are permeating throughout Jets fandom. They are the natural conclusion to draw after this season’s debacle. Considering how sensitive Woody Johnson is to fans’ temperature on X, maybe expressing anger that way can be effective.
However, the ultimate way to talk to a big businessman is through his wallet. If Jets fans want Johnson to sell the team, they must truly make it not worth his while to keep it. More than grumbling on X, that kind of collusion could actually make a difference.
Until then, Jets fans must hope that one of the Johnsons, at least, can get the right people in place to figure it out. Otherwise, there will be many more angry Craig Carton X posts in Woody Johnson’s immediate future.
