Hey Woody, We’ll Take These, Thanks!
From time to time, we enjoy answering questions for Jets related public figures … it’s been a while since we did this, so since we’re rusty, we hope this is an enjoyable as it was for us to do. It probably won’t be …
Rich Cimini interviewed Woody in a two parter (1 & 2), we took some questions from the second part and had some fun.
Q: Let’s discuss some names and events, with quick impressions. Let’s start with Bill Parcells, who ran your football operation the first year.
WJ: Funny. Extremely opinionated. Great memory.
Bassett: Like everyone’s grandpa, he tells good jokes but just like grandpa, he’ll hold a grudge forever and always thinks he’s right.
[…]
Q: What about Al Groh, your first coach?
WJ: Another very intelligent human being. [It was] one year and out, but he filled a gap and he did a good job that year. He got us to 9-7.
Bassett: … which he parlayed into continued mediocrity at his Alma Mater.
Q: Herm Edwards, your second coach?
WJ: Herm is great on ESPN. He was probably the best speaker I’ve ever heard — brilliant, brilliant. A lot of enthusiasm. Kept himself in great shape.
Bassett: His coaching ability is inversely proportional to his telegenicity.
Q: Eric Mangini, coach No. 3?
WJ: Very, very smart guy. Very smart. He had the Mangini way. He was very rigid in the way he looked at building the team and coaching the team and disciplining the team.
Bassett: I think he’s wrongly focused on the “right” things. While I wasn’t a fan of the way he ran the team, I appreciate the talent he’s paid back to us in the past 13 months.
Q: Rex Ryan?
WJ: Rex is a leader among men. He’s a great leader. He leads through humor and expertise. He’s the best X’s-and-O’s guy I’ve ever had, but it’s not just X’s and O’s. It’s the desire to lead his team. This is a man’s sport. He’s unique.
Bassett: Finally, someone who knows what he’s doing.
Q: Another name from the past — Cablevision’s James Dolan, the leading opponent to your bid for a West Side Stadium.
WJ: I thank him for that. Not at the time, of course, but he was watching out for his own business [Madison Square Garden]. I don’t begrudge that at all.
Bassett: If fans are irate about the tailgating issue right now, imagine if we had a West Side Stadium, they’d be grilling hot dogs in freaking Times Square.
Q: Spygate?
WJ: That’s in the past. [Patriots owner] Bob Kraft and I have put that behind us.
Bassett: It wasn’t our fault, but he still hates me.
Q: Did it take a while?
WJ: It took a while, yeah, but that’s behind us. We’re competitors on the field and partners off the field.
Bassett: It wasn’t our fault, but he still hates me.
Q: Brett Favre?
WJ: Oh, just bigger than life. You can see why we got him after he did what he did last year. Incredible. Best year that he had.
Bassett: His 22 INTs proved to me he REALLY DOES play like a kid without a care in the world!
Q: No regrets on that trade?
WJ: No way. It was a privilege to have him in the building. What a great experience it was to have him here. I think he helped the franchise. What he gave to the locker room is still there.
Bassett: I got my first taste of Peter King quality hype, now I can’t live without it.
Q: Are you still ticked off by the commissioner’s secret coin flip, won by the Giants?
WJ: No.
Bassett: Yes
Q: How long did it take you to get over that?
WJ: A while. I’ve totally moved on. Roger and I, we’re way past that. It was just … just something we lived a while ago.
Bassett: Roger told me I need to move on.
Q: Some fans were happy because you stuck up for your team. Was that part of the motivation, to show fans they have a fiery owner?
WJ: Once again, I’ve answered all those things about it. It was in the past. I’m glad the fans like some of the moves we’re making.
Bassett: Please stop asking me about this, Roger is watching me right now via his magic cauldron.
32 Responses to Hey Woody, We’ll Take These, Thanks!
-
Harvlis says:
Q. Do you care at all about your fans.
W – Yes, of course.
Truth – Not at all. This is a business
Q. Did you build the stadium in a way that enables your fans to enjoy the games more.
W – Of course, our fans are our life blood.
Truth – No way. It’s a business. Yeah, we put in four big screens but, the PSL’s will easily cover those. We had to have those because, that is the only way the fans in the top tier will be able to see the game. Oh yeah, we are going to suck the money out of this baby. Wait until you see the prices on food and merchandise! And, the parking is going to make us a cool fortune also — what choice do the fans have, ha. I just can’t wait until we sell the name of the stadium. I would sell it to Tidy Bowl, if they pay us enough. I loves me my money.
.
Q. Are you the Jets biggest fan.W – Of course, I bleed green.
Truth – No it’s a business but, they are the color of money!
-
Harvlis. Yeah, he doesn’t care about us so he keeps pouring money into free agents every offseason and is about to shell out over $200 million in new contracts.
And yes, this is a business. The Rooney’s, the owners that everyone wishes they had, have PSLs also. Does anyone say they don’t care about their fans? People are always complaining, so I guess Woody will have to play QB to win a Superbowl himself for fans to finally let him live.
-
Jibes says:
Spends money on the team, fires coaches when they need to be fired, builds a new stadium that won’t carry the name “Giants” on it…I’ve got no beef with Woody.
-
AKA Jack says:
Harvlis-
I get that a lot of people are upset with Woody, a lot of it is misplaced in my opinion but so be it, but do you really think Woody doesn’t care about the fans? Even if, as you noted, this is a business, wouldn’t it make a lot of sense to do everything you can to make your product superior so you get fans and their money?
I really don’t get Jets fans sometimes. For years everyone moaned that the team sucked and the stadium was a dump and management took the fans for granted. Now, they have an elite team and a spanking new stadium and everyone is upset and surprised that these things cost money.
Robert Kraft bought the Pats, brought in a bunch of winning talent, built a new stadium with tickets that cost an arm and a leg and, horror of horrors, parking restrictions and they are ready to build a statue of him up here.
We are getting ready for one of the most exciting Jets season, ever, and people are freaking out over parking? Really?
-
reality jet fan says:
All these negative complainers . Drive me nuts right brendan
-
RJF,
You have every right to complain, and I know you’re going to regardless of what I say. But people are never happy, that’s how it’s always been and that’s how it will continue to be. The Tri-State area is even more demanding of its sports teams than the rest of the country, so the Jets organization has an even tougher job than most professional sports teams in keeping fans happy.
But people are making it seem as if Woody owns the team just so he can screw over the fans, which is untrue. Everyone talks about how Woody views this as a business, well, in what world is it good business to alienate your consumers? He knows the best way to make everyone quiet down is to win, which is why he cracks open the piggy bank every season to bring in new talent. He’s not perfect, I am not saying he is, but he’s a better owner than most.
-
Brendan,
It is a business. Wake up. If the Jets were not competitive, Woody makes less money. How do you think he would sell PSL’s, if he did not have a team that was appealing to the fans.
The stadium is huge. The top tier begins, at the level of Giants stadium’s last row — FACT. You think this is a good thing for fans.
The parking and the traffic problem will be worse than ever. Did he do anything positive here, for the fans?
Once a fan purchases a PSL, he can raise the ticket price and the parking price to whatever he wants. The fan has two choices — Sell the PSL or Pay Up. You don’t think he loves being in that position. Screw the fans.
Thousands of Jet fans, who were with this team since Shea, have been tossed aside, as if they haven’t invested a dime.
If you read the Q & A, he acutally knows nothing about the coaches that he has employed. He could barely make an intelligent comment on them. He is the owner and most Jet fans could have given better responses. Why is that? Because, this is a business to him. He is looking at dollars and that is all. Money is the name of his game.
1 – Kept the team in Jersey — “New York” Jets.
2 – Did not get us our own stadium – means nothing to him.
3 – Knows football as well as Charles Wang knows hockey.
4 – Plundered Jet fans with PSL’s and Parking nightmares.
5 – Built a stadium to reap the maximum amount of dollars from the fans — Period.I love football, the Jets, and our current team and coaches but — there will be no love for Woody. Sorry.
-
brian311 says:
i simply disagree with the notion of Woody looking at the Jets as a business and a business only. If you understood his background, nothing there suggests that he needs the jets to be profitable to survive. the guy has plenty of money, and probably gives away more of it than any ofther NFL owner. the obsession is just a way for fans to gripe
i have no idea how the sighlines will be at the new buiding. but i expect traffic to be much better. at least 25% of fans will take the train, there will be less cars and less traffic. for me, the train is one of the major selling points of the new stadium
-
Brendan great explanation but i was being sarcastic thought you would get a laugh
-
Harvlis,
Do I think it’s better for fans that the stadium is much, much bigger? Um….yes? Have you ever tried to exit Giants Stadium from the top tier, it’s a 1/2 hour process at least. Do I think it’s a bad thing I have a couple of extra inches of personal space? Of course not. Traffic is going to be much less with the assigned parking. Each area has designated exit routes.
“Once a fan purchases a PSL, he can raise the ticket price and the parking price to whatever he wants. The fan has two choices — Sell the PSL or Pay Up. You don’t think he loves being in that position. Screw the fans.”
…correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t that your choice every year? Pay up or say no thanks? So the only difference is you sell your PSL to get your money back? Sure you could lose money on your “investment” (I always thought anyone who believed that a PSL was an investment was a fool), but you knew that going in.
Haha you’re really fighting for things to gripe about, huh? Now his answers to an interview aren’t up to par? You want him to give each coach a 3 minute spot in the interview about how wonderful they were? He did fire them, mind you, so that could be a bit awkward. I agreed with everything he said about the coaches, so I don’t know what your issue is with those comments.
1- He didn’t move the team to New Jersey. And where in NY would he move them to, exactly?
2- Means nothing to him? Must be why he spent millions of his own money (that he doesn’t get back via PSLs or any other money-hungry scheme you think he’s pulling) to try and get approved plans in both Queens and the West Side. Had NOTHING to do with James Dolan blocking him out.
3- He’s a football owner. He’s not a football coach, or a Gm, or a scout. He’s an owner who let’s his personnel do what they’re paid to do. He’s not going to be Al Davis or Jerry Jones, and we should be happy about that. He’s an owner with a fat wallet who isn’t afraid to crack it open and give his Front Office the cash it needs to make the moves it deems necessary.
4- He’s one of many professional sports franchises to use PSLs, and by the time the rest of the older stadiums get replaced there will most likely be more PSL stadiums than non-PSL stadiums. It’s the way things are, he’s not in a unique situation for screwing the fans.
5- He should build a stadium that loses him money? That doesn’t maximize his profits? I never said this wasn’t a business and it’d be idiotic to not and try to maximize the value of a brand new stadium.You can hate Woody all you want. We can go back to the days of penny-pinching Leon Hess (the guy who moved the team to Jersey) if you like. Me? I’ll take the guy who cares about winning a Superbowl more than anything else (it’s true).
-
Hah oh I picked up on it. I just used the opportunity to express general feelings. I always know you’re 1/2 kidding with me in particular, so no worries.
-
BamBAM says:
Woody slammed Herm by saying nothing more than he’s a good speaker and he keeps himself in shape. He was relatively generous to ManDunbF***
-
You know i started on this site during the season last year? I didnt realize how bad this site makes you root for the season to come
-
Haha ohhh yes. It’s basically self-torture waiting for the season to actually start. Gotta keep ourselves busy somehow.
-
miketaliaferro says:
” What he gave to the locker room is still there.”
Eeeeeuuu….Thanks, Brett.
Ummm… Is there a lice problem at the Complex?
-
I’m glad you stadium guys have those four Jumbotron screens this year.
It’s getting more like our couch perspective there every day…
Just colder.
-
Brendan,
If Woody cracks his wallet — he expects a return on his investment. Pure and simpe.
What makes you think it will be any easier, getting out of a much bigger stadium. You make no sense. In addition, I had fifty yard line seats upstairs at the Meadowlands. I never had a problem getting up and down from that level. Between the one escalator it took to get down, and the walkway, it was never a problem. The parking lot was a different story. Horribly designed. Parking has gone from bad to worse. You take the train, I like tailgaiting.
The NEW YORK Jets should be in Queens, not the swamps of New Jersey.
The fans that were loyal to the team, from day one, shold have been treated better. Thanks for the consideration, Woody.
Just because other owners screw their fans, does not mean that Woody had to. PSL’s are sickening. They should be illegal. I’m glad you like them.
When the Mets built Citi Field, there were no PSL’s and the fans can view the game as well or better than they did at Shea. The idea is to make the game more enjoyable, while building a stadium that can make ownership more money. With Woody — Money is all there is. Screw the fan.
-
How do I make no sense? Concourses that are twice as wide? Wider aisles? Wider rows? More escalators and stairwells? How do all of these features not make the stadium easier to maneuver?
After the Jets/Pats game at the Meadowlands last year it took me FIFTY-FIVE minutes to get from my seat to the gate to leave. Fifty-five. So excuse me if I enjoy the idea of not spending an extra hour being herded like cattle towards an escalator that thousands of people all have to use.
I drive to the games, for the record. Occasionally take the train, but very rarely. I get there basically the minute I am allowed to be there, parking over by the race track (1A). The parking lot has always sucked, so now that’s somehow Woody’s fault? But, again, the traffic will be better leaving the stadium with the new traffic patterns (certain lots only exiting in certain directions).
Woody didn’t give the fans’ wishes consideration? Again he sunk millions of dollars into proposals that were blocked again and again. A man can only be so patient. If you were bleeding money trying to move somewhere, and had endless obstacles and opposition, you’d abandon and find another idea too.
I never said I like PSLs. They obviously are an unwanted cost. But they’re also the reality of the present-day stadium. It’s the system that’s broken, not Woody’s judgement.
As a Mets fan let me just tell you….no. You can’t use Citifield for multiple reasons. 1- All ticket prices were raised a lot more than the Jets have raised theres. 2- “fans can view the game as well or better than they did at Shea” HAHA! Are you kidding me? The ballpark-theme is nice in the sense you can watch the game from multiple vantage points while walking around, but there were…oh, i dunno….roughly 9 billion stories about obstructed views at Citifield. 3- (and most importantly, this also applies to Yankee stadium)….THEY HAD PUBLIC FUNDING. They didn’t pay for those stadiums by themselves. They didn’t self-finance. They used loans and state funds to build it. Woody paid out of pocket. Remember those “Tax-Payer field” jokes from last year? Yeah, that doesn’t happen unless the taxpayer is footing the bill. So Woody is keeping the costs of his stadium from reaching outside of his fan base, while the Mets let the entire state pay for their stadium. I love the Mets just like I love the Jets, but if you’re comparing owners than Woody wins in a landslide. Not even a question.
-
Brendan,
Bigger crowds, higher stadium = more time to get down, not less.
No, it’s my fault that the parking situation and the traffic situation will be an even worse mess. What did he do to improve it? Who’s happy about it — you.
New Jersey is helping out on the building of this stadium, taxes, etc… If not, the team wouldn’t be located in a swamp. Don’t be naive. States give tax breaks for corporations to stay there. The taxes and jobs that are generated by the businesses more than pay for the tax breaks and, in this case,the building of a stadium..
PSL’s should be illegal. They lock the fan into paying whatever ticket prices the team wants. What if you own a PSL and the Jets win the SB and they triple ticket prices, because they feel that enough fans and corporations would pay the price. What is to stop them. Now, you can’t afford the tickets and you have to sell your PSL and give up your seats. Would you be happy. They already got rid of thousands of their original ticket holders who couldn’t afford PSLs. What does Woody care. Money is what he lives for. Screw the fan — who’s got the money. Well, screw him.
-
SackDance99 says:
Harvlis,
Do you have season tickets or did you have them in the past? I got mine in the early 90s and I have to say that Woody improved the Jets fan experience at the Meadowlands. Yes, ticket prices went up (Woody did spend over $600 million for the Jets), but I believed we got more for our money. Maybe some fans thought it was cheesy, but I liked getting a “game ball” for the way we cheered during the Pats game last season. PSLs suck and they soak the fans. But, why single out Woody? How about the Maras and Tisches? Including the Jets and Giants, 15 teams will have PSLs, including the Steelers, the gold standard for franchise quality. The PSLs and Parking Gate are public relation nightmares, but villifying Woody because he cares more about money than the fans? As a fan, I care about the quality of the team on the field and, in that regard, Woody’s ownership period has been the best in Jets history. I agree that the Jets have to overcome the negative perception of the whole PSL fiasco, which has been exacerbated by the poor economy. But, once the PSLs are all sold and fans get used to the parking restrictions (that I think look worse on the maps than they really are), maybe we can evaluate Woody on the only criteria that counts: is he spending enough money and spending that money wisely in order to build a winning franchise. So far, Woody has only been a .500 owner. But, we are properly psyched about this team because for the first time in a long time the pieces put together appear to form the foundation of a very good team that is built to last (solid coaching staff, front office and players). I honestly believe that Woody desperately wants this team to win a Super Bowl, so do we all. Isn’t that all we want from an owner? It took the Rooneys over 40 years to build a perrenial winner with the Steelers. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait as long.
-
Eddie DiGio says:
Everytime I hear a baseless, ignorant “Woody Johnson is a bad owner” rant on this blog I think of the South Park episode with the goo-backs….THEY TOOK ER JOBS!!!!!!!!!!
Not a big fan of PSLs but I also realize that the milkman doesn’t come every morning to deliver milk anymore, they don’t make PF Flyers and Sody-Pop doesn’t cost 25cents at the Malt Shop…
This PSL business is standard operating procedure nowadays, and until you can come with a plan to keep the stadiums full, keep the team winning and return a profit, then you can trash Woody all you want…
Until then stop crying about how the everyman cant take all 16 of his kids to the game anymore…
-
Bent says: “TICK URR JIB!!!”
-
Sack,
I gave up my seats because, leaving the Meadowlands was a horror show. I have a good friend who has six seats and I currently go to a few key games, each season. Parking has been worse than ever and, their most recent plan is sickening.
Woody had to go through a number of coaches and lots of early draft picks, before the team got better. He wouldn’t know how to build a little league team. As I mentioned to Brendan — Woody doesn’t spend money, if he doesn’t think he is going to make money on his money. .
Sorry, but I can’t root for a man who disregards his long time fans and is only in it for the money. Same as Charles Wang with the Islanders. Wang bought the Islanders for the real estate possibilities. I am happy that his RE plans fell through and he is losing his pants on the team.
As a society, we have to stand against the powers who escallate the price of the things we love, until they are monetarily out of reach. Woody is a great guy — go have a $9.00 Coors Light with him.
-
LOL Bent…ticker der!!!!
-
Harvlis
“Woody had to go through a number of coaches and lots of early draft picks, before the team got better. He wouldn’t know how to build a little league team. As I mentioned to Brendan — Woody doesn’t spend money, if he doesn’t think he is going to make money on his money.”
Every coach Woody hired took the team to the playoffs…it also didnt help having to deal with a budding dynasty with an immortal HOF HC and QB in New England…The Jets had good and bad seasons, but have been in the playoffs just about as often as any team in the NFL, or at least a lot more than teams like the Lions…its not Ford and Matt Millen running the Jets, spare us…suggesting that is and outright lie
Woody has been a decent owner…not great, not terrible…but remember he never owned a sports franchise before this, he was learning on the job… He is taking the steps now to become a pretty good owner.
But your axe grinding with Woody is just blaming him for a system that was headed down this very direction LONG before Woody ever took over the Jets…
-
Harvlis
If society stood up against sports owners every time ticket or concession prices went up….we’d be living with NO PRO sports team, all the athletes would train for the Olympics like Communist Russia
-
Eddie,
It’s called “The Law of Diminishing Returns”. They will keep raising the price of everything, until the masses say no. If people keep purchasing $9.00 Coors Light — next season it will be $9.50. If people stand up and lay off the Coors — next season it will be $8.50. Same with ticket prices. It is far from Communism, it is Economics 101.
Woody is the last person whose pocketbook I am worried about. With all of his money, he doesn’t have to plunder the fanbase. Yet, he does so, in every way that he can.
If the tickets, parking, food, and Jet merchandise was a fair price, Woody would still be profitable. I assure you. I realize that most stadiums and owners do the same thing. Of course, they are all looking for any way to make money.
We don’t have to make it easy for them.
If any of you are happy about $10K PSL’s, triple digit ticket prices, and $9.00 Coors swill — Woody loves you. I don’t.
-
I dont know Harvlis…just seems a little fruitless and counterproductive to me…just think your animosity is directed at the wrong person, just a player in the game, not the game itself…
Woody is turning out to be a pretty good owner, who makes decisions with his wallet in mind but also turns out a pretty darn good football team for us fans to come and watch…Im a Yankee fan as well and I pay the money I pay cause I watch my team win, the Yankees win because we pay the rest of baseball’s stimulus package
Like Ive said before, you have a lot to say about what’s wrong with the system, but no idea how to fix it…I own a small business and sometimes I have to make decisions I dont want to make to continue to operate in the world we live in…but unless someone can show me a better way, its just the way it is
-
Harvlis,
Sorry for some reason this did not go in the original post…
I do agree with you however that is some way, the system IS broken and does milk the fan…
Its just that I dont blame Woody as the inventor or “man behind the curtain” pushing all the buttons on it…
The PSLs suck, but its part of the NFL presently, but he has done things for the Jets to make the team that goes out on the field on Sunday or Monday an organization that is committed to winning a Super Bowl….which is my number 1 concern for any owner of a sports team I root for…do they do everything within reason to win a title…the answer for our current Jets organization is a resounding “yes”
-
Eddie,
There is one man ripping off Jet fans – Mr. Johnson.
The quality of our team does not give him a license to rob the fans. The way that we can fix it is, to not put up with it. if we give in to it, we lose. We live in a passive society, as compared to the sixties and seventies. We don’t complain enough.It;s the same thing, with gasoline prices. They raise the price and we pay it, without a whimper. Then, after giving the oil companies, hundreds of millions in tax breaks, they show us billions of dollars in profits, on their financial statements. .
How do we stop the exploitation and the spiralling costs — We don’t put up with them. Many fans here are just happy to have a winner. I love a winner — that doesn’t mean Woody should rip our eyeballs out on every cost associated with the Jets. That is a different issue.
-
rusty sanchez says:
harvlis
i disagree this country complains more than ever unfortunately about the wrong things or against the wrong people
Q: Are you still ticked off by the commissioner’s secret coin flip, won by the Giants?
WJ: No.
Bassett: Yes
By far the simplest and funniest line of the day….Well done BB!!