Local NY Jets fan takes one for the team

Christopher Reichenbecher doesn’t bleed New York Jets green, but he did bleed for his favorite team.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/08/fans_get_to_see_the_new_york_j.html

syracuse.com
Fans get to see the New York Jets up close in Cortland (video)
Published: Sunday, August 08, 2010, 5:10 AM Updated: Sunday, August 08, 2010, 9:27 AM
Scott Rapp / The Post-Standard By Scott Rapp / The Post-Standard

Cortland, NY -- Christopher Reichenbecher doesn’t bleed New York Jets green, but he did bleed for his favorite team.

About a month and a half ago, Reichenbecher got a tattoo of the green-and-white Jets emblem on the outside of his right calf. The needle-pricking procedure took 4½hours and drew plenty of blood.

“It hurt for a little while, but it was the most enjoyable pain I’ve ever went through for the Jets. Yeah, I took one for the team,” grinned the 35-year-old Reichenbecher, who lives in Springfield, Vt.

Reichenbecher was one of many Jets fans sporting team tattoos and colors at one of the Jets’ practices at State University College at Cortland last week. Some 1,000 fans rimmed the grass practice field to catch a glimpse of their favorite team and players, who were practicing offensive plays less than a long pass away. You could hear the players’ shoulder pads crack on impact and see them grin or grimace at the end of each play.

The fans marveled at their close-up view of the training camp, which runs to Aug. 20.

“That’s the thing ... you get to see these guys in a way and in a place you never get to see them in the season,” said Don Butcher, a 1981 Cortland State graduate visiting from Rockville, Md.

Butcher sported a No. 16 jersey like the one worn by former Jets quarterback Vinny Testaverde. Like many of the out-of-town fans at the practice he planned to stay in town for a few days to watch the Jets, eat at local restaurants and take in other local tourist sights.

“It’s great to be back in Cortland. I love this place. It gave me a lot of great memories,” Butcher said.

Cortland and the college are hopeful more fans attend the Jets’ second training camp at the college and pump more money into the economy than last August, when about 34,000 people watched the practices and dropped about $4.2 million at local businesses. Officials are banking on the team’s success from last season, boisterous head coach Rex Ryan and his band of high-profile players and the presence of an NFL Films camera crew shooting the camp for the HBO series, “Hard Knocks,” to bolster fan attendance and their impact on the economy.
2010-08-03-sdc-jetsfans1.JPGStephen D. Cannerelli/The Post-Standard Donald Butcher,of Rockville, Md., watches the New York Jets practice at Cortland State on Tuesday. Butcher is originally from Queens, and graduated from Cortland State in 1981.

“Hopefully, it will be that good,” said Machell Phelps, director of the Cortland Regional Sports Council.

Early numbers showed about 1,000 fans at the team’s morning practices and about 1,500 attending the late-afternoon sessions. Practices are free but there is a $5 parking fee.
2010-08-03-sdc-jetsfans3.JPGStephen D. Cannerelli / The Post-StandardHundreds of fans enjoy watching the New York Jets' morning practice Tuesday at the State University College at Cortland. Last August, about 34,000 people watched the practices and dropped about $4.2 million at local businesses. Cortland officials are hoping for a repeat.

Players like quarterback Mark Sanchez, whose good looks drew the attention of some female fans at the steamy practice, weren’t the only attraction. At a Jets memorabilia tent 75 yards from the practice field, dozens of fans were spending souvenir money faster than you could say “Cover 2 defense.”

Anything a Jets fan might want to buy seemed to be for sale — and everything bore the team emblem. You could buy a Sanchez No. 6 jersey for $80, an authentic NFL/Jets helmet for $280 and even a two-pack of thongs for $9.99. Yes, they had the Jets emblem.

Conor Drossel, a 15-year-old Jets fan from the Albany area, was shopping for jerseys, not sexy underwear. He found a bargain in the No. 29 jersey worn by former Jet Leon Washington, who was one of Drossel’s favorite players, but was traded in the off-
season. Drossel paid $9.99 for the jersey.

Like many in the crowd, Drossel said he was impressed by how close he could get to his favorite team on the practice field.

“We’re so close, it’s real cool,” Drossel said.

Back at the lined football field, Mark Liddle, of Binghamton, celebrated his 50th birthday watching his favorite team practice. He wore a green T-shirt commemorating the Jets’ 1969 Super Bowl victory over the Baltimore Colts, the year he started rooting for the team. Liddle and his wife of 28 years, Tonie, had great views of the players and action from their front-row positions.

Tonie Liddle became a Jets fan after Sanchez joined the team last year. And she had a clear view of him on the field, which put a smile on her face. She hoped to land the Jets quarterback’s autograph at the end of practice.

“My husband’s the fan, Mark’s a bonus,” she said.

Other fans like Joseph Lott, of Auburn, have hung high hopes on the team, which made it to the American Football Conference championship game last season, but lost.

“It’s Super Bowl or bust, that’s what I’m going for,” Lott said.

Ditto for Reichenbecher, who got his Jets tattoo from a Dallas Cowboys fan in San Antonio, Texas.

“I just wanted to get the tattoo because of my love of the Jets,” Reichenbecher said. “When the Jets win the Super Bowl, it’s going to be that much more special when I look at that tattoo at the end of the year.”