Green Smoke

By Alasdair Mackay

I have been to Tottenham Hotspur’s Stadium a few times to watch Premier League matches. It is one of those grounds that is a bit out of the way—a long walk from a tube station; passed Irish pubs, Turkish kebab shops, and Polish-run DIY emporiums (all the things that make north-east London what it is), but in 2021 that long walk had a different feel to it. It was painted green with a sea of Jets fans from as far afield as Germany, Sweden, and South Croydon. It made the long walk much better for a lonely UK-based Jets fan to see so many other like-minded fools descend on this particular pocket of the capital. In October, we get to do it all again, but with a few key differences.

Firstly, we are a much better football team. In 2021, we had a rookie quarterback. This year, we have a future hall-of-famer under center. Our defense was always good, but the 2024 Jets are coming off the back of a season where they werethe best unit in the NFL, and we have added a pass rusher who has led the league in sacks since the Jets were last in town. We also have two shiny new wideouts and two former rookies of the year (one on each side of the ball). Things are looking up on the field for fans of Gang Green.

Then there is our opponent. In 2021, we expected to lose to Atlanta, who had Matt Ryan playing for them and the exciting rookie tight end, Kyle Pitts. We weren’t ready for that Falcons team. In 2024, however, the tables are turned somewhat. We will come up against a Vikings team with their own rookie QB and a team really just starting a rebuild. It is not arrogant to expect a Jets win, especially coming off two straight games against teams also starting rookies at QB in the Patriots and the Broncos. 

Finally, and most importantly, the Jets fanbases across the UK have become much more organised in the last 3 years, and that in itself will make for a much better weekend, regardless of the result. Much of that development is thanks to the 2021 game, where the small pockets of internet warriors finally got to put faces to names. Friendships were built, and bonds were formed. Now we have GreenSmoke, a dedicated London-themed Jets community; Hippodrome Jets, a watch party turned podcast where we talk all things Jets; and, of course, Gang Green UK, who had one of their founder members actually read out one of the Jets’ draft picks from the stage in Detroit earlier this year as he was named the inaugural International Fan of the Year.

The Jets are coming in 2024, and London is ready for them.

So what will actually be going down?

Last time, there were meet-ups over the course of the entire weekend. Each NFL team was assigned a home pub somewhere in central London. We were based at London Bridge, where the Barrowboy and Banker was decked out with Jets banners and filled to standing room only with fans from all over the world. Drinking was optional, chanting was encouraged, and many a lost tourist will have stepped off a train and wondered if they had arrived in the wrong country had they walked into that particular pub on that particular day. And that was just on the Saturday.

On the day of the game itself, there were meet-ups closer to the stadium before fans broke into their smaller groups of 2s and 3s and found their seats. This year, Gang Green UK is hoping to secure blocks so bigger groups of fans can sit together. Hippodrome Jets will probably have a group of 30 people, all sitting together and hoping to make a big enough noise to get themselves seen on the big screen. Maybe we can get a wave out of Garrett Wilson or Sauce Gardner. 

The fun doesn’t end when the game does, though. Once the Jets have dispatched their opponent, we will all head down to the casino in Leicester Square to take in the rest of that day’s games.

Before and after the weekend of festivities, there will absolutely be some special podcast episodes to listen out for, and by the time of the home game against the Bills nine days later, every single UK Jets community will be bubbling with excitement for the rest of the 2024 season. The Jets themselves, I am sure, will all be excited about their next internationalroad trip, and if any of the players need a good Turkish kebab shop recommendation, I know just the place.