Green Smoke

By Nic

As we all filed into the end zone, Diana directed me to ‘the camera on the right’ but I didn’t really know what she wanted me to do.. I was in awe at being on the field in front of 80,000 fans and as the dance music pumped out loud, I just looked at it and started jumping & dancing. The others in my group followed suit and before long a section of the crowd were doing the same with us, we were also featured on the big screens, it was a moment of a lifetime and far from that London lad who wondered what the Hell that sport was that was playing on TV when he was younger.

It’s 1985 and there’s a group of us pottering around in the west London housing estate we lived in, Dean asked if we’d seen the American football highlights on Channel 4, and that Sunday evening together we watched Nicky Horne take us through the show and decided to pick teams. I liked green and loved the look of Mark Gastineau, instantly I was hooked and decided I was a fan of the New York Football Jets. Those were the days before Sky TV and the internet and all we had around was a local store named Gridiron Sports who pointed us in the direction of publications First Down and the Ken Thomas annuals (an honourable mention here to Slick Willie’s in Kensington High Street too). Sometimes it was a sneaky listen late at night to long wave armed forces radio where a vital moment would always cut out at crucial points to which I’d vocalise my frustration, leading to my mum telling me off as I had school in the morning.

Fast forward to 2014 and the Raiders are coming over to play a home game at Wembley against Miami, I was intrigued as I’d not been to one of the International Series games, nor open days in the UK’s capital and in actual fact I’d lost a bit of interest in the sport as I had nobody to chat to about it following a move from the estate I’d grew up in. Sure, I followed the team, the players and the scores, but not the game, which led to me not learning the intricacies of the sport and this is still something I ‘suffer’ from today, and bizarrely, despite being a gamer, I’ve never played Madden either. I met my girlfriend Kim in Piccadilly Circus having previously tried to convince her to become a fan of Gang Green, but failed miserably when I compared them to Premier League team Everton, a facepalm moment as when she met the likes of Crusader Raider and Señor Raider and many others, she decided she’d align to the Silver & Black just like my good friend Andy and his wife did. To my chagrin she was not to be a Jetta but she was getting into NFL and that was fine by me, Sundays on Sky TV became a regular feature and the following year we went to Oakland, followed by a trip down to Wembley.

October 2015 and the Jets came to London, I couldn’t visit the Admiralty pub in Trafalgar Square on the days proceeding the game due to work and missed meeting fellow fans from both sides of the pond (including Fireman Ed). And the day at the stadium was magnificent, especially as we won against a divisional rival. I was filled with excitement and wanted to soak it all up, I met fellow Jets fans and time seemed to fly by, I wished I could’ve repeated that whole day again.

I then threw myself into the events of the NFL UK community and met so many great people (hello to NFL Girl Liz, Chris & Willie (and Hugh) at National Vintage League, Allan Knowles, Paul Brown, Stewart Love, Jim and the gang at The Final Down Podcast and so many others, sorry if I’ve not mentioned you here) and it was good that the likes of Neil Reynolds & Sky, along with NFL UK would hold regular roadshows (and still do) where fans of all teams could meet up and see players and displays from all 32 teams. Peter King is still legendary in my opinion, chatting to fans up-close & personal at halftime at a roadshow and beers together afterwards… *raises pint*

When 2019 came around it was another opportunity to go out to the USA and watch the Raiders, albeit this time it was at the MetLife in New Jersey and one of us was going to come away happy. It was I, as the Jets won with a resounding victory 34-3.

A day to beat that one at Wembley, a home game that I could barely take in, with all the activities, chatter, camaraderie and so much more. Tailgating with Gotham City Crew is a must by the way, if you’re fortunate to go out there, then ensure you hang out with Claudio, Lou and the rest of the gang.

We all then went through that strange period where COVID-19 struck and we tried to enjoy sports, but whether it be Premier League football or the NFL games, it was difficult and I am glad we’re on the other side now. In 2021 it was announced that the Jets would once again be playing in London at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a fully functional NFL arena where the playing field lay underneath the soccer pitch (it’s okay to say soccer, right?). I wasn’t missing a beat at this one and took time off work to make sure nothing interfered with my time around that game. Friday before it, and I’m in the Barrow Boy & Banker, the designated pub for Jets fans and I see Dan Hall and recognised him from social media. Kim and I had already secured a table for the day, I walked over to him and so began the game of the weekend.. “are you [insert name] from Twitter?”. As fellow fans would arrive in green & white we’d see if we recognised them from socials and even if we didn’t, we invited them over. One table became two, became three, became four and there were fans there from Hull, Liverpool, Brighton, France, Scotland, Ireland, Gang Green Germany turned up along with those from Gang Green UK too and it was brilliant. A shout out to Chris from National Vintage League and Will Gavin from Gridiron Magazine & Talksport who took time to hang with us too, and when Nick Mangold turned up, the weekend’s festivities had definitely begun. Sadly COVID was still having an impact and many fans from the USA had not, or couldn’t make the trip this time but us European supporters still made ourselves heard.

Saturday morning was a meet & greet with Nick Mangold, an up-close-and-personal session organised by Gang Green UK, where he bought us drinks, posed for photos and happily signed autographs. The man is an absolute legend. Then back to the Barrow Boy where more Jets fans from all over were turning up. The Jets chants rung loud, the media interviewed us and anyone who went can tell you how good it was, the party went on well into the evening and when the morning arrived, it was off to O’Neil’s in Kings Cross for ‘Matt from Twitter’s famous pregame brekkie’ (BTW, you have to pay £1 to his charity every time you say Matt from Twitter, but it’s money well spent), this was quickly followed by a brief stop off at The Elbow Room pub for The Official UK & Ireland Jets’ pregame party.

It’s now 2022 and I’ve walked back off the field at the MetLife for the third time (pregame access, participating in a guard of honour for Darrell Revis’ Ring of Honor enshrinement and the dance in the endzone) and we’ve beaten the Bears, I finally got to meet Fireman Ed and now I’m standing in the presence of another Jets legend, Wayne Chrebet. It’s one of the many things that Gotham City Crew organise for the fan experience, this is a meet-and-greet after the game. I stand there somewhat starstruck in front of the man that Arnold Schwarzenegger named and backed one Monday night when everybody else was thinking of leaving the building …but then he does something so unexpected, he hands me his actual ring of honor that he received in 2014. I wear it for the photo, he autographs both my mini helmet and the jersey I was wearing, I thank him and sit back down to reflect the day. I stare at the mini helmet for a minute or so and then look over toward Anth of Gang Green UK, I put my hands together and say thank you, for it was him and solely him that arranged this whole trip and it’s been the trip of a lifetime, and I’m not entirely sure I’ll ever get to participate in something so amazing ever again.

2022 was a brilliant year, with the Jets holding the first international draft party in London and the UK Jets fan community grew so much too. East of Scotland NY Supporters Club up north and my own community forum on Twitter helped grow it bigger every month, the regular watch parties at The Hippodrome were a massive success (big thanks to Alasdair and Jon for being there week-in-week-out) and of course Green Smoke, the london-based fandom dedicated to highlighting the Jets’ activities in the capital is now recognised as the place to go to for news of Gang Green in London.

But what about the future? It was expected that the Jets would return for a home game in Tottenham as part of their commitment to the IHMA initiative, but as of the time of writing this it is not to be, with the Jags, Bills and Titans taking up the mantle in 2023. Me? I’ll definitely be going to watch the team in Vegas against the Raiders and with a bit of luck, before that will be another official draft party in London.

Thinking back to that time in west London, that young lad who saw No.99 dance after a sack, who got in trouble for listening to long wave radio for news of touchdowns and built up a thick skin due to the many, many friends who ridiculed him for backing this franchise, I don’t regret a single day of it. This season just gone (22/23) was one where, for a time, I wore the colours with pride but it soon went back to wearing them out of defiance. But I’m sure that time is coming, and it’s just around the corner. A time when the Jets will dominate and Tiffany will once again be ours, and by hook or by crook, I will be at that Super Bowl to watch them lift it.