High Maintenance: NY Jets Pack 350 Rolls of Toilet Paper for London Trip

The New York Jets spent part of the last eleven months preparing for their three-day trip to London to play the Miami Dolphins at Wembley Stadium. 

Management aims to make the experience as comfortable as it would be if they were playing a typical stateside road game. That’s why the Jets packed 350 rolls of toilet paper to replace the thinner version allegedly used in England.

“Some may say that’s a little over the top or whatnot, but it didn’t really cost that much, so why not?” Aaron Degerness, the team’s senior manager of team operations, told the New York Times. “We’re basically trying to replicate everything that we’re doing here over there.”

Degerness also aims to mitigate distractions and continues to scout for potential hazards. “It’s hard to tell the guys: ‘Don’t stop. Just keep walking,’” Degerness said. “Those are the things that keep us up at night — that we get through security, someone stops at duty free, and we leave Ryan Fitzpatrick because we didn’t know he wasn’t there.”

Clay Hampton, the senior director of Jets operations, found Hamzah Ahmad his counter part  with the Jacksonville Jaguars very helpful in preparing for the trip. The Jaguars will play at Wembley for a third consecutive season.

Ahmad recommended that Hampton ask himself to consider: “What are the basic things that we don’t think about on a day-to-day basis? That’s what you plan for.”

That planning included calling on a sleep specialist who advised players how to deal with the jet lag caused by the five hour difference in the time zone from New York to London.

The Times reported a list some of the inventory the New York Jets shipped to London for Sunday’s game:

-263 boxes/cases of various food items (cereal, condiments, snacks, drinks, etc.)

-315 various power devices (adapters, power strips, extension cords, etc.)

-472 pieces for athletic training (tape, treatment supply, ice bags, gauze pads, etc.)

-2,683 items from equipment (wristbands, knee pads, shoes, hats, t-shirts, etc.)

-1,268 promotional items (helmets, mini-helmets, key chains, autograph cards, etc.)

Sunday’s game kicks off at 9:30 a.m. EDT, 2:30 p.m. GMT.