Incredible. When I first posted my fan census, I expected that maybe 20-50 people would partake in it, and that I would have been happy with any number in that range. Then Bassett over at The Jets Blog was kind enough to link to us and the whole damn thing exploded. Within minutes hundreds of people visited this site, which prior to yesterday had never received more than 130 or so hits. We topped 1,000 yesterday. Amazing. Well, 502 responses later, here are the results of the first ever 2010 Jet Nation census, including two bonus questions that I wish I had asked the first time around. Enjoy, and, please, if you like our site, be sure to bookmark us and keep reading!

1) Are You a Jets Fan?

A. Yes (99%, 499 votes)
B. No (0%, 0 votes)
C. No, and I have no idea why I am taking this (0.0019%, 1 vote)

2) How long have you followed the team?

A. Chad Pennington was my homeboy (34%, 175 votes)
B. “Damn you, Kotite” is written in blood on my walls (18%, 95 votes)
C. I really thought Ken O’Brien would work out (31%, 156 votes)
D. When will this Super Bowl hangover go away? (5%, 27 votes)
E. The Titans didn’t always play in Tennessee (9%, 48 votes)

Click image to see a larger version of this chart!

Now here’s an interesting one. I wonder if the fact that this was an online survey gave any added weight to the younger crowd, pushing this past decade ahead of the 80s to capture the majority of the votes? It definitely doesn’t surprise me that those were the largest vote-getters, as I think they reflect the childhood years of two major generations of fans. It does please me to see that we have some old-timers on this site. including 48 of you who purportedly have followed the team since the early 60s. But whether you came aboard when Walt Michaels was coach or Herm Edwards, one thing is clear: positively none of us are bandwagoners.

3) On average, how many games do you watch a year?

A. 1-5 (1%, 9 votes)
B. 6-10 (5%, 26 votes)
C. 11-16 (93%, 466 votes)

4) Where Do You Live?

A. In one of the five boroughs of New York City (17%, 87 votes)
B. In North Jersey (16%, 85 votes)
C. On Long Island (14%, 74 votes)
D. In upstate New York (9%, 47 votes)
E. In Connecticut (4%, 22 votes)
F. Elsewhere in the United States (34%, 172 votes)
G. In another country (2%, 15 votes)

Click image to see a larger version of this chart!

This was probably my favorite question of the census. I’ve always wondered how Jets fans broke down geographically across the diverse New York media market, and from the looks of things, most of you who do live in and around New York stick pretty close to the center of things. There was no obvious split between New Jersey and Long Island, which should put that old story to rest. Perhaps there would have been more L.I. fans than Jersey ones back when the team played in Queens and practiced in Hempstead, but I doubt that. All of our operations are based out of the Garden State now, and that seemingly has not dissuaded anyone from Nassau or Suffolk Counties from pulling for Gang Green. Also, big thumbs up to our fifteen foreign fans! Where you guys at? Canada? Britain? …France?

5) How did you become a Jets fan?

A. Family loyalty (54%, 240 votes)
B. Introduced to them by a friend (7%, 32 votes)
C. Live in NY area, selected arbitrarily over Giants (25%, 112 votes)
D. I liked the uniform colors (3%, 16 votes)
E. Enticed by Joe Namath’s sideburns (2%, 10 votes)
F. Football masochist (2%, 11 votes)

The last three choices were mostly for laughs. Essentially, we see that the majority of fans came to us by way of their parents, or grew up in New York and just picked us over the Giants for the hell of it. Judging by the number of respondents who said they lived outside the NY area in the last question, it’s safe to say that many of you either grew up in the area and later moved away or had parents who did so.

6) Which other NFL team do you hate the most?

A. New England Patriots (68%, 344 votes)
B. Miami Dolphins (24%, 124 votes)
C. Buffalo Bills (0.006%, 3 votes)
D. New York Giants (2%, 12 votes)
E. Other (3%, 17 votes)

Well, that settles that. Sorry Dolphins, and thanks for playing, but Dan Marino’s retired and New England is our new archenemy.

7) When do you think the Jets will next win a Super Bowl?

A. In the next five years (76%, 383 votes)
B. In the next decade (12%, 61 votes)
C. In the next 25 years (2%, 14 votes)
D. Whatever; I’ll be dead (3%, 20 votes)
E. Come to think of it, my kids probably will be too (4%, 23 votes)

WOW, you guys are hopeful! How many fan bases can honestly say that they have this much confidence in their team, especially after sucking for as long and as hard as we have? If nothing else, the current Jets regime can take pride in fostering some very happy fans, which ought to help move those ridiculous PSLs.

8) Who is your favorite current Jet?

This won’t surprise anyone, but it appears Darrelle Revis is a fairly popular man these days. His name was far and away the most frequently given response, and, if there was a second place, it may actually have gone to “Revis Island.” So people really like this guy. Mark Sanchez, Bart Scott, Nick Mangold and Shonn Greene all did really well in no particular order. Strangely enough, so did non-player Rex Ryan, who in a lot of ways may be the face (and gut) of the franchise right now.

9) Do you approve of the job Rex Ryan has done thus far?

A. Yes (29%, 146 votes)
B. No (0%, 0 votes)
C. Hell yes! (70%, 349 votes)
D. Hell no (0%, 0 votes)

In case you’re math averse, that’s a 100% approval rating. Has this ever before happened at any point in Jets history??

10) How many games will the Jets win in 2010?

A. 0-6 (0.002%, 1 vote)
B. 7-8 (0.006%, 3 votes)
C. 9-11 (39%, 197 votes)
D. 12-16 (50%, 248 votes)
E. 17-19 (9%, 47 votes)

Like I said, Jets fans are a remarkably optimistic bunch right now, which is quite the departure from our usual doom and gloom act. Are the Same Old Jets really dead?

11) What would you give up for a Jets championship?

A. Sex for a year (26%, 132 votes)
B. All of my appendages (4%, 20 votes)
C. $50,000 in cash (3%, 15 votes)
D. My soul, C.O.D. to Satan Who Is The Devil (14%, 69 votes)
E. Not that much, it’s just a game… (12%, 59 votes)
F. What’s up with buzzkill option #5? (39%, 196 votes)

I interpret the selection of option F as a way of saying, “I really, really want it, but probably need to keep my arms, legs, soul and bank account intact. Oh, and I’m not giving up sex either.” Way to sacrifice, people!

12) Which other sports do you follow as closely as football? (Note: I probably should have allowed multiple selections with this one)

A. College football (5%, 25 votes)
B. Baseball (45%, 225 votes)
C. Professional basketball (4%, 23 votes)
D. College basketball (2%, 12 votes)
E. Hockey (7%, 39 votes)
F. Soccer (3%, 18 votes)
G. NASCAR/IndyCar (0.006%, 3 votes)
H. Professional wrestling, bitch! (0.006%, 3 votes)
I. None. Football is the one true sport (29%, 147 votes)

Yeah, like I said, the way this was worded probably left some voters wishing they could select more than one response. Nice to see that while baseball will likely never reclaim the title of America’s favorite sport from the NFL, it remains a close second. I think the large amount of votes for the game can be attributed to New York’s “baseball town” identity, as well as the residual good feelings stemming from the Yankees’ recent championship. In fact, I wish I had asked, “Which, if any, other New York sports teams do you support?” so we could see just how deep city loyalty runs among fans (For instance, I do not support any other NY teams. Baseball is the only other pro sport I follow, and I’m a Twins fan).

13) What is your most treasured Jets memory?

There were way too many individual responses to list here, but the most commonly cited memory was the Monday Night Miracle (be honest – how many of you were actually at that game?), with the Packers game in 2002 and the Bengals/Chargers games of this past season coming in just behind that. A couple folks even listed notable defeats, which probably says a lot about how the Jets have played historically. My favorite answer, however, would have to have been “Any time Nate Kaeding kicks in the playoffs.” Amen to that, friend!

14) Are you a troll?

A. Yes. J-E-T-S! SUCK! SUCK! SUCK! (2%, 14 votes)
B. No. That other guy should go back to reading Reiss’s Pieces on Boston.com (97%, 469 votes)

14 votes? After only one person saying they weren’t a Jets fan? Oh Goddamn you.

15) If the Jets ever moved, what would you do?

A. Follow the team to their new city (51% 252 votes)
B. Become a Giants fan (2%, 11 votes)
C. Become a fan of some other team (3%, 18 votes)
D. Wait a few years before I commit elsewhere (16%, 80 votes)
E. Remain teamless forever (26%, 132 votes)

An interesting experiment. Frankly, I understand the desire to stick with the team, and in a trauma-ridden, post-relocation state of mind, many among us probably would attempt to fall in love with the San Jose Jets, but few would actually be able to follow through. All of us have far too much pride to admit right now that we would become Giants fans, but for many of us, that would eventually pan out, barring the creation of a new ‘second’ New York team. Ultimately, the final two choices make the most sense, and I applaud those bold enough to say they were never adopt a new team. That takes balls, and it acts against our very most basic fan instincts, but sometimes love just runs that deep.

Finally, here are two additional questions that just occurred to me regarding live game attendance.

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- Manhole Out.