Jets Fans Reportedly Have Woody To Thank — Or Blame — For Thanksgiving Game
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Watching football on Thanksgiving Day is a time-honored tradition.
But would fans, drowsy after the day's mega meal -- or is it the tryptophan? -- want to trade the comfort of a couch for a seat at chilly MetLife Stadium?
Ticket-holders for Jets-Patriots this Thursday night will have to decide whether to trek out to East Rutherford. And for that they reportedly have Woody Johnson to thank -- or blame.
While the Giants requested the holiday off, the Jets owner asked the NFL for a matchup on Turkey Day, according to the New York Post.
It rubbed WFAN co-host Craig Carton the wrong way, and he wasn't alone. But there were plenty others happy to see their beloved green and white get a prime time tilt on Thanksgiving.
"You have your turkey around two o'clock, you kick everyone else out of your house and you go to the game," one caller told Carton and co-host Boomer Esiason on Tuesday. "Are you kidding me? How can you possibly -- Boomer, you guys should check Carton for a concussion."
Another caller said he has tickets -- and he's going. There were over 5,000 tickets available on StubHub.com as of Tuesday morning, with plenty in the $30 range.
"The first thing I did was I got all the boys lined up. Done," he said. "The second thing I did was, is I told the family I was going. My wife and I are going to my uncle's house and we're going to be leaving at a certain time to head down to the parking lot and party. I'm telling you, it's gonna be a great night."
Even former Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde weighed in. As a self-described "creature of habit," Testaverde said he'd rather stick to his routine of preparing for Sunday.
"If you win the game then you have a 10-day rest," Testaverde said, weighing the pros and cons. "But if you lose then it's 10 days of having to worry about, 'Hey we just lost the last (game).'"
Testaverde has been helping to train a turkey -- yeah, you read that right -- named Jimmy Junior, who on Tuesday will predict all three Thanksgiving matchups for Wild Turkey's Triple Barrel Challenge.
Jimmy Junior's choice in each matchup will be determined by which barrel he eats from. Wild Turkey has pledged to donate 81 turkeys to City Harvest, birds which will go to Superstorm Sandy victims.
"I was in town a few weeks ago working with the turkey," said Testaverde. "We hope the turkey picks New York."
As far as the Jets go, Testaverde said "up until last week" he thought Tim Tebow deserved a shot as starting quarterback. Despite Mark Sanchez's performance leading New York to a win in St. Louis, the former signal-caller sounded as if he was still in the backup's corner.
"Maybe to stop all the talk ... put (Tebow) in there," he said.
Would you support your team in person on Thanksgiving? Sound off in the comments below!
