The Sanchez Effect on Jets Fanbase?
Sunday afternoon, I stood outside in the Manhattan dusk stretching my legs and getting some fresh air at the press door on 51st Street with the security guards of Radio City Music Hall. I stood there for a few minutes, and one of the guards, Angel (no, not our Angel N.) asked me what I thought about Mark Sanchez as a Jet. Angel and I had already talked about an hour before, that time I had passed Mark Sanchez walking across 6th Ave. from the SNY Studios and I warned Angel that “the new prince of New York” was heading this way to his door so to be on his toes (not that he already wasn’t) we laughed and I ducked back inside to get back to work.
Now outside again in my second conversation with Angel, I thought about his question on Sanchez, the Jets, and how Sanchez projected as a pro. I answered Angel that I just didn’t know. He hadn’t played enough in college, but when he did play he played well. I told Angel that I hoped he was good, but I just didn’t know for sure. By this time, two other security guards were inching into the conversation and they all agreed with Angel that they were excited about Sanchez playing in New York. All were Hispanic and I asked if all were traditionally Jets fans. One was a bona fide Jets fan, but the other two seemed newer (say within the past 24 hours) to Gang Green.
As we stood talking, I then thought about a conversation in a cab that morning with my cabbie (who was a longtime big Jets fan) on the way to Radio City (who was also Hispanic) about Sanchez and wanted to talk about the new QB. As I stood there on 51st Street laughing and talking with the guards, it dawned on me what Mark Sanchez might mean to the NFL and Hispanics in New York.
I tucked that little vignette under my cap, but have been thinking about what Sanchez means to adding to our fanbase ever since. Then I this article on Fifth Down and saw this article from M.A. Mehta in the Star-Ledger and it cemented what I thought, this is going to be a big, big deal … and I can’t be happier for it. (Via Fifth Down)
Where Sánchez ends up could be a game-changer for a team in need of wins. At the same time, the team that signs Sánchez could end up with a bonus asset. Sánchez is viewed as highly admired Latino athlete with a huge Hispanic fan base. This could spur a team to launch a marketing plan specifically designed to convert Sánchez fans into aficionados of his forthcoming team.
And from the Star-Ledger.
“The dynamic is already in place for Mark,” Higgins said. “It doesn’t have to be contrived on our part. He’s already got a deep following in the Hispanic community. Now that he’s on the national stage in the capital of the world, that’s only to grow.”
I love the fact that Sanchez could open the fanbase to a wider group of people that might not be as passionate about football in New York … yet. The bigger the fanbase, the happier I am.
Now to be clear, Rex Ryan has gone on the record to say that when he met Sanchez in March at the Owners’ Meetings in Dana Point, he knew he was “our guy” and that he wanted him to be a Jet. I don’t think that racial demographics of fanbases factored much into Ryan’s reasoning, Coach Rex just wanted a reliable Quarterback who loved football, and who was a capable player and leader.
Still, this whole phenomenon is going to be an interesting byproduct, to be sure …
Filed under: Main Page, News, Opinion
I hope he makes the Hispanic fan base proud but, right now, he has to make the team.
Just win games and bring in Braylon if at all possible.
Everyone laughed when I started up my sombrero and fake mustache business last year. Now I’m laughing.
I’m also guessing that those security cards didn’t need any badges.
thats great. jets need an increase in fanbase, especially with giants fans popping up almost everywhere
Fanbase grows with winning…. The more we win the biggere the fanbase gets….And then “real” Jet fans like us will be annoyed
The sombrero is going to catch on….and it is going to be hilarious….
I can see it now….. #6 Sanchez jerseys wearing huge Sombrero’s cheering on our new Prince of NY
Bassett,
As a long time Mexican Jet fan I really appreicated this post because I can’t even tell you how many calls I’ve gotten from family that live there, excited about the aquisition, interested in the team, buying jerseys and hats. Mexicans are passionate sports fans and there happens to be a huge NFL following that up to this point has been mainly a Dallas Cowboys fans. Woody Johnson is no dummy, he knows this is a huge demographic in NY and it will bring a new energy and passion (aka money) to the stadium. Say what you want about his experience and his skills (which are top notch anyway), but Sanchez is a stand up guy, a model athelte, and a good person on and off the field. He is family oriented and has been vocal about his desire to play for the Jets since before they even drafted him. THATS the type of QB i want, not some Brett Favre a hole whos doing us a favor by wearing the uniform. Passion is everything and this kids got it. It will definitly work out and we need everyone to support him because like it or not, he is the future of this team and the growth of the sport.
Good looks Bassett!
AKA Drew, yea, winning increases fanbase, but you make it sound like its a WIN or DIE proposition. Winning is definitely the ultimate way to increase fanbase, but not the “only” way.
Just don’t try to speak spanish to him, hes not fluent in any language other than english.
Let’s just win – and then let the die hards like us kick the wagoneers off the bandwagon
why would you kick off the bandwagoners? how would you ever increase fan base? :X
Put me in the camp of “As long as he throws TDs and wins games, I could care less if he was a gay African-Dutch-Jew Bigfoot from Zeta Reticula.”
That being said, as my wife is half-Hispanic, she is actually interested in watching this guy play, as opposed to generally not paying attention at all to football. I don’t see how this is bad for anyone concerned … the more, the merrier!
TOON youre seriously ridiculous sometimes. You respond to every posting multiple times to try and prove you are the most hardcore jet fan, but any real fan of the team would appreciate an increase in its popularity. You consider yourself a die hard fan of a losing attitude and losing franchise. Why would you be against brining in fresh energy? You make no sense.
I like the Idea of more fans that means more TV time that’s Great, but I think Clemens is coming in this year with a huge chip on his shoulder, mark my words he is going to pull an Anderson, Sanchez will be the next Quinn, people are forgetting that Clemens has the skill set to be a good QB, but he is Mangini’s boy who is being put out to the cold, a guy that was first round talent placed into a bad situation, when KC was given the opportunity he was beat up because of a poor line not to mention the WR’s dropped everything, then he was replaced by a legend, in which Favre should have been replaced by KC toward the end of a season, Sanchez is no different or exception from any other QB, he will have his growing pains, one season of college play then being put into this mix we should expect a rough transition, I think his future will depend on the way in which Clemons plays this year, and I think he is going to try and make the Pro Bowl.
I would be the first to get annoyed when I start seeing grown men that 1 year ago couldnt pick Alan Faneca out of a linup now sporting their Jet hats and jerseys…
newguy….
I am a Yankees fan and growing up in the city all I saw were Mets hats in the mid 80’s while I was a kid
The the Yankees started winning and then all of a sudden the Met hats vanished and Yankee hats were everywhere while I was in college….
Now look arounf the city…..I see more Redsox hats than either of the NY teams…..
What a suprise….the Redsox arew winning lately
Winning builds a fan base….some will jump ship when times get rough but winning is the true way to build a base
i love the idea of expanding the fan base.
but i just dont buy the notion of sanchez selling PSLs. who, in their right mind, is going to fork out $20K on a PSL just because the jets drafted a prospect with 16 collegiate starts? that just does not make sense.
now, if farve was 5 years younger when we traded for him….then yeah, i could see this as a move to tell PSLs, because he is an established pro and his own cult following. but i dont see how this translates to a rookie.
will the jets sell a ton of sanchez jerseys? absolutely. but if the jets drafted stafford, i bet his jersey would have been the #1 seller on NFL shop. it is all relative
Jets Mex Mex Mex……(funny name by the way I like it)
I agree 10000% will TOON….Nothing worse then a bandwagon fan……. The worst part of the Yankee success was the “new fans” that appeared…
The true Jet fans has lived thru the wars of devastating losses….Some new fan jumps on board on the way up could never know what it feels like if we ever won the SB. Most life-long Jet fans like Toon will always say this…..
I wonder if any of our “new” 2008 Green Bay Packer fans are still with us after Favre left…..lol
I punch my 25 year card this September from my first game…..
AKA Drew.
I never disagreed with you, I just said that there are other ways to increase fanbase.
And just to play devil’s advocate, winning mustn’t be a “real” way to increase fan base if people are so willing to switch hats when their team starts losing.
By the way my first game in1984 I got to see D Marino throw 4 TD’s passes to crush my Jets……as an 8 year old!!!!!
I should have known what was going to happen from that moment on…..lol
Like I said new guy…..some will jump ship but if you win enough a lot will stay….
Drew…kinda funny but i’m also a hardcore Yankees fan and I was at all four world series. I cant agree with you on the bandwagon thing though. Thats just a by-product of winning, but its more inspiring than annoying to be honest. Who cares if there are bandwagon fans? Do you know how many more bandwagon hot chicks will be at the jets games now because of Sanchez? We’ve sucked for 40 years… at this point ill gladly accept a championship and the bandwagon fans that come along with it. Come on guys… we cant ALWAYS look for the negative in something that overall is a pretty positive step
oh by the way, purely out of curiousity, how did you become a jets/yankees fan? considering the historical relationship between jets and mets.
dont take my question the wrong way, i’m not questioning alignment, just curious.
I don’t think that those of you who are against the “new Fan”, “Bandwagon jumpers”, are looking at the bigger picture. Whenever a team wins, or does something unique (ie sign a hipanic QB), there will be non traditional fans jumping aboard. What if the Dolphins got Mark Sanchez? How much worse would it be if we had to deal with all those new Dolphin fans around here? I’ll take the bandwagon jumpers to the Jets over that scenario any day.
I have followed the Jets for 12 years(I’m 20) and maybe I haven’t been through as much as my other fellow Jet fans have but I have seen enough mediocre QB’s playing with the Jets. I’m glad Sanchez is here and being of Mexican descent It makes me want to root for him even more…but I was a Jet fan before Sanchez got here and I will continue to be a Jet fan long after he’s gone.
New guy, I am also a Jet/ Yankee fan. Here’s how it happened:
I grew up in Queens. I am 45 years old. My father was a huge Yankee/ Mickey Mantle fan, and took us to 4 or 5 Yankee games a year. But my father was not big into football, other than betting on it. Now my older brother was 9 when the Jets won the SB, and he became a diehard Jets/ Namath fan, and I followed.
Pete57
Ah I see. That’s cool to know. I’m only 25 so it was before my time, but that puts it together pretty well.
I am a fan of the this team whether we win lose or tie. If you want to find those with a negative attitude scroll back through the posts after every loss since 2006 and target those who advocate firing XYZ constantly.
All I am saying is I do not want to get to the point where I see people in public wearing “the colors” and I say “hey, can you believe we came back and pulled that one out” and get a response of “I did not see the game, did we win?”
Anytime I see someone walking around with a Jets cap, jersey or any other gear, it makes me feel good. So, I would love to see the fan base increase as a result of the Sanchez effect and a rise in popularity due to a winning season or culture. It sure does beat the hell out of seeing more
Pete57 – my story is similar. Lived in Queens, my Dad grew up in the Bronx – needless to say, being a Met fan was not in my future. Giant tix were impossible to get, Dad’s best friend bought JETS tix 1st year at Shea (I would be born 2 years later). The rest is history – seats are still in the family – at least for one more year – my cousins and I are not paying the PSL fee – we are in the auction are Sec 111 row 28
JETS Mex Mex Mex – helluva a name btw, I love it.
I can guarantee that when I go to sports bars in San Diego on Sundays (a rarity as I have directtv, but sometimes I leave the bunker), there will be many green & white Sanchez jerseys due to 1) large USC fanbase 2) large population base of Americans with Mexican heritage. Should be nice to no longer be the only guy wearing the green & white!!!
Toon, hope you get the seats. I used to go to games at Shea. Then when the team moved to Jersey, and I was old enough, my brother and I had season tickets, for about 10 years. After marriage and children, etc., gave them up.
I grew up in Jackson Heights, what part of Queens?
all this means is that when he wins the super bowl. alot of women are going to be getting raped at the parade. just kidding. who wants fans just because a guy is a certain race. in essence they are rooting for him not the jets. if he leaves the jets in a few years, we will lose those fans. its about football, and him be the franchise, not him being hispanic. Lets go sanchez bring it home for us.
next year we should draft a chinese player from china, we will have over a billion fan next year. then each year after that we’ll draft some other ethnicity and take over the world with our fanbase. Sanchez is the man
TOON… cool man im pumped for you. Everyone should be pumped right now. Finally an amazing coach, a stud QB, a defense that will be nasty… LETS GOOOOOO!!!!!!
OH and can we PLEASE use our home run hitter properly this year???? LEON IS THE MAN!!!!
QB is a glamour position, New York is the media capital of the world and Sanchez has good looks and an Hispanic surname (something that Mexican-American and plain-faced Jim Plunkett didn’t have). “Hispanics” are already the largest minority group in the US and, because of immigration and birth rates, will approach near majority status in the next 25 years. Sanchez, as a 3rd generation Mexican-American, who doesn’t speak Spanish and is Americanized as can be, is a potential important role model because he represents the future for what the Hispanic immigrant progress in the US could be. Plus, like Tiger Woods, he plays a sport (and, especially, a position) that is not associated in the average fan’s mind as being one where people of his ethnicity generally excel. He has the potential, from a marketing standpoint, to be the next Joe Namath.
The only thing is that he has to produce to be a role model and I hope that all this talk doesn’t put added pressure on his shoulders…facing Bill Belichick’s defense twice a season and maybe a third time in the playoffs is pressure enough.
I love this move!
As a die hard Jet fan from NYC and of Puerto rican descent – I am overjoyed to see a latino QB for the Jets. Go Sanchez and bring a Super bowl to the NY Jets fans!
Mex Mex Mex
I grew up in Canarsise Brooklyn and my dad was a huge Jets fans (especially Broadway Joe) but could care less about baseball… but my uncle (my dads brother) had season tickets for the Yanks…..
All of my friends were Giants fans which was awful. I used to battle those SOB’s every day but everything was cool during baseball season..
Rockaway Beach ‘67-’77 Woodbury ‘77 – ‘89 Manhattan for a year; Great Neack for 1+ years. Have been in San Diego since ‘92.
The posts have gone from saying that he has never thrown a touchdown so lets relax to already being worried about the mass of bandwagoners!
Don’t put the band wagon before the horse ;-)
I have no problem adding new fans to the Jets that parts fine. As long as there not a fan of another team prior to it. But If you turn a non-football fan into a fan then Im all for it. Heres the problem I have and its not with Mark Sanchez,but with all the writers and TV host. Everyone keeps asking him about him being hispanic and how happy he is to be a hispanic QB in the NFL and you can clearly see its not that big of a deal to him. He usually responds the same way something to the affect of Im an American first and the fact that he can attract the hispanic fan is just a bonus. He was born in america speaks perfect english and is very Americanized. Heres my question. Why is no other athlete ever asked questions like this? If the quaterback was say irish american born in america and all that would they of asked him the same question? The answer is no they wouldnt. Why is it a story if the QB is Hispanic-american, but not it hes of any other heritage? it seems to me liek its something chalked up by the newspapapers to get hispanics to read the papaer, when in actuality I dont think anyone outside of hispanics cares about what his heritage is. the Jets fans want a good QB regardless, to most of us it doesnt matter if hes black/ white/ asain or whatever heritage he is. So if were all of a sudden gonna startbeing interested in a players heritage when the Jets Draft a Hispanic QB then I expect every player whether hes african american/hispanic-american/Irish-american/italian-american etc to be asked those same questions. I just wish people would be fair instead of just trying to profit based on the fact that the big recent boom in america is the hispanic american. Were all different people and all of our heritages are just as important.
Ryan,
I think it has mostly to do with the fact that hispanics aren’t known (sorry, im stereotyping) for being fans of American football. When you go to a hispanic person and say football, they think of a sport we call soccer. I believe mark was asian, he would get the same type of questions asked of him.
I’m a Jets fan and a Mets fan because I’m old enough to have gotten in on the ground floor with both teams. (As a kid I loved the idea of rooting for a brand new team. Or a new league in the Jets case.) Hell, I had NJ Generals season tix to go along with my Jets tix!
But my opinion of bandwagon fans is “bring ‘em on”.
After all, anything that helps sell PSLs helps the home games stay on TV. (Gave up my Jets tix after 20+years…priced out of the market.)
And it really isn’t bandwagon fans that are irritating, it’s bandwagon jumpers. I don’t care what STARTS someone for rooting for my team. But if losing makes them STOP, THAT pisses me off.
newguy,
you probably right about that, but i mean ive seen it even with K-Rod signing with the Mets, he was asked “is the fact that NY has a large Hispanic population and a Large hispanic fan base a factor in you deciding to sign with the Mets?” Its like they try to make more a deal about it than it really is. If a player wanted to play for a team just because of the heritage of its fan base than thats not a guy I want on my team.
Ryan,
well, you know reporters, they like to sizzle everything. :)
StvDoe,
good point. getting on the wagon is not the problem. its getting off.