Fireman Ed Extinguishes Talk of Comeback

What can the New York Jets do to restore the mediocre franchise to past glory?

Bring back Joe Namath? Okay. Call the New York Sack Exchange back into session? Sure. Encourage a Curtis Martin comeback? Yeah. But bring back Fireman Ed?

The Jets not only lobbied the suddenly reclusive superfan to once again lead chants of “J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets,” they dined him in hopes he would rise again from his seat and shout at the top of his lungs. “Originally, they called me to see if I would come back to what I had done,” Ed Anzalone told Kristian Dyer of Yahoo! Sports. “They took me out to lunch to see if I had any interest in coming back. I said no because it was the same problem, I couldn’t take my kids to the game. I told them I wouldn’t come back. I told them they should do something and try to get a young guy. I don’t want to see it go away.”

Anzalone had run into hostility from fellow fans who accused him of being a flunky for the franchise. He put down his iconic Jets fire helmet two years ago amid hassles from fans frustrated with the Jets. But nobody has picked up the mantle, or Ed’s fire helmet, to galvanize the faithful at MetLife Stadium.

Dan Leberfeld, who has covered the team for two decades through Jets Confidential, expressed puzzlement to Breitbart Sports over the organization extending the olive branch. “I’m surprised they did that,” Leberfeld offered, “he doesn’t seem to be that popular with a lot of Jets fans, and the crowds were pretty loud last year without him.”

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