Will this lawsuit finally call the Giants and Jets NJ teams?
As you know I pay very little to no attention to sports. Yet, this is the second time this month I’m writing an article that has anything to do with sports.
The reason is that this issue goes way beyond sports. It actually has to do with state pride.
While New Jersey football fans represent a plethora of teams with no issue, it seems as though New York fans have a bone to pick.
In 2010 both the New York Giants and Jets moved to MetLife stadium, and while it may have New York views, it is indeed located in New Jersey. New York fans have had long-standing issues with the geographical location of the stadiums and have reached their breaking point; so much so that fans are now willing to invest $6 billion into a lawsuit against changing it.
The first time I heard about this lawsuit I could hardly believe anyone cared that much. Now, I’m convinced that there’s so little going on with either team that it is probably the most exciting news that either team has generated in a while.
Fans argue that the Jets and Giants cannot be authentic New York teams if they don’t play in the state. In the lawsuit, which was filed earlier back in the year, one of the terms was that both teams needed to be back in NY territory by 2025.
This has now been revised, but there is still plenty to be figured out with this lawsuit, as the NFL has not taken it lightly.
The NFL is working to dismiss the lawsuit, as they think the 7-mile distance between the stadium and New York City is not important. Have we ever really decided who the Statue of Liberty belongs to? This one could go on forever.
It seems the fans' biggest issue with MetLife is that it simply doesn’t represent the fanbase and demographic in which it’s located, and it's also not easy for NY fans to get to.
East Rutherford is the 116th largest city in New Jersey, and the stadium has no ties to anything related to New York. It seems as though fans will not rest until the teams return to NY turf, and although it's a large request, is it really that unreasonable?
On the other hand, will that make people happy anyway if the teams are having a lack-luster season anyway?
Will this lawsuit really solve the debate? Or is this debate, like the one about who really lays claim to the Statue of Liberty, one that is destined to stay around for a long time?
Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Judi Franco only.
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