Jets Owner Pissed At NFL's Secret Coin Toss

The NFL announced yesterday that the Giants would get the first regular season game at the New Meadowlands Stadium, and the Jets aren't very happy! Jets owner Woody Johnson blasted NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's coin toss process, first chastising him for straying from tradition, "An NFL coin toss has a few fundamental elements that are missing here, most notably the presence of the teams involved. That's how it's always done in the League, whether it’s determining the order of the draft or deciding who’s going to kick off the game."

His statement continues with further veiled accusations, "When the issue of which team would be hosting the first regular season game could not be resolved on the merits, I suggested a coin toss as the fairest way to resolve this issue. The League rejected that idea. Then, I was told on Friday that a coin toss had taken place at the League office and that the Jets had lost. We rejected a process in which neither team was present. The League departed from our time-honored tradition and declined the opportunity to set the matter straight with a transparent process."

The Daily News's Gary Myers suggests that Johnson is sabotaging hopes of a 2014 NY (well, NJ) Super Bowl by criticizing Goodell. Also interesting: Johnson knew about the coin toss on Friday... but the Jets' website said that a coin toss had yet to happen on Saturday!

It's probably little consolation that the Jets will get the first preseason game at the New Meadowlands.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on March 16, 2010 2:43 PM

Comments [rss]

Sketto

Actually, the losers are the fools who pay for PSLs and extortion level prices to watch bad teams. The only winners are the owners.

pal

it doesn't matter - the jets will always be losers anyway.

-jets fan

Stevennnn

Is there really a big deal to which teams plays the first game in the stadium?

PKinNYC

JUCK THE FETS!!! GO GIANTS!!!

David

hey woody, i'd be more concerned with winning the last game of the season than playing in the first.

Thespis

He wanted a coin toss, he got a coin toss. He really wanted everyone to travel to the NFL's offices just so that they could say "yep, that's a heads alright?"

theevilone

Well, having witnesses is sort of key to validating that it was a fair outcome.

JenChungsBaby

There were witnesses, just not from the Jets or the Giants. He didn't flip the coin in a room by himself (though you wouldn't know it by reading Gothamist).

jaycjay

Right, the report is that the flip was done with NFL staff present.

And the fact is that he didn't have to do a coin flip anyway. The rules are that the Commissioner has the authority to create the league's schedule. He could have given the Giants the first three home games if he wanted to.

Thespis

Roger Goodell is going to cheat on a coin toss?

jaycjay
Home attendance, Giants and Jets:
```
2009  98.1% 96.0%
2008 100.4% 99.7%
2007 100.0% 97.9%
2006  99.8% 98.2%
```
The Giants consistently bring more people to the stadium, and their average ticket price is almost $2 higher. Everybody makes more money when the Giants play.

theevilone

What that shows me is that the Giants are fair weather fans. When their team sucks, they don't show up. Jets fans are consistently loyal in the face of decades of suckitude.

TKaisen

Yeah, that must be why the Giants have a 20 year waiting list for season tickets and the Jets, well, don't.

JenChungsBaby

Yeah, consistently loyal. That's why only 96 percent showed up in a year their team went to the AFC Championship Game.

imadick

ha, 97.9% is loyal? give me a break!

pal

woody johnson is an idiot who put himself in the position of still sharing a stadium with the giants in new jersey.

longacre

Exactly. The Jets are still going to be the Giants' bitch. Everyone is still going to call it "Giants Stadium." He should have coughed up some dough to build his own stadium.

Also, there's a pretty strong argument that they won the coin toss. They don't have the first game, but they have the first Monday night game which is a bigger deal.

JenChungsBaby

He has a point that NFL coin tosses are typically observed by all parties involved, but so what? It wouldn't have changed the outcome. Does he really think Goodell is lying about it? He's just pissed that the football gods obviously favor the Giants.