09/24 — For a few hours in the first week of September, it was 1981 again.

The New York Sack Exchange was back.

From the left — if you were a querulous quarterback about to take the snap in front of them — Joe Klecko, Marty Lyons, Abdul Salaam and Mark Gastineau were reunited outside the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. The occasion was the shooting of a video for the Meadowlands videoboards, advising fans about how to text for assistance if there's trouble in the stands during a game.

But for the privileged few of a certain age who watched the shoot, there were some throwback moments as the four, wearing their kelly green jerseys, interacted again and mugged for the Jets multimedia department cameras being wielded by Rich Gentile and Chris Ubbens.

"Here's an important message from the New York Sack Exchange," said Lyons, getting the shoot rolling.

"So listen up," barked Klecko with a snarl, bringing the session to a temporary halt.

"He scared me," Lyons said, and Gastineau observed, "He's got his game face on."

Back to the action. Salaam said: "We'd like everyone to enjoy themselves, be safe and have fun."

"But if you see a problem, report it to the nearest usher," said Gastineau as the cameras swung to him.

"Or," Lyons said with one of the key bits of information for this public service announcement, "text 'NJSEA,' the issue and the location to 78247."

Abdul: "The important thing is you guys take care of each other."

And Joe again, with attitude again: "Yeah, and don't make me come up there." Which prompted Klecko to break from character: "I've got to be the bad guy all the time. I'm a gentle soul."

Then an ad-lib, one of many, from Mark: "Joe and I will sack you, and Marty and Abdul will tackle you."

Salaam belted out his next line — "So when it's time to celebrate, do it LOUD" — and you could hear the echo bounce off the building near the turf field."

Finally, Lyons delivered the video's bullet point with the authority he brings to the booth as the Jets' radio analyst: "Let's all do our part to sack bad behavior. Enjoy the game."

Then the quartet broke from the script to utter those last three words together, in a kind of four-part harmony. And the video was done — or at least the acting parts. Gentile and his multimedia department cut it up and the PSA made its debut during last week's home opener against New England.

After the shoot, I sat with the foursome in the second-floor dining area to reminisce about "back in the day," when they were the toast of New York City and Jets Nation for a brief, shining moment.

They were first united in green and white in 1979 and began to exert their influence on opponents' passing games the next season. Then in 1981 (the year before sacks became an official NFL statistic), they exploded.

Off the ends, Klecko had 20.5 sacks and Gastineau 20. Consider that for a while. Since 1982 only seven players have had 20 sacks in a season. The Jets unofficially had two in one season.

On the inside Salaam contributed seven sacks and Lyons six. The Jets' total of 66 that season remains the franchise record.

Then the four-man formula disappeared. In '82 Klecko injured his knee early, Lyons his hamstring late, although both came back in time for the playoffs. Salaam played in one game in '83 and was traded. Gastineau continued to star with 19 sacks in '83, his then-NFL-record 22 in '84 and 13.5 in '85.

But while the winds of the game sooner or later always scatter such units, the four stayed in touch off the field. Salaam, the only one still not in the New York area, isn't far away in Cincinnati. They've met over the years to do the engagements and the ceremonies. They're all in their 50s now and they seem closer than ever.

"It's good to see that everybody's healthy," Gastineau said, "that everybody's good."

"It's a great time all the time," Salaam said.

"We used to do a lot more appearances," Klecko said. "We're older now."

"We all think we can play still," Gastineau replied, to which Lyons said, "Some of us still can play."

An important message — besides the important message of the day, to report problems to 78247 during games — was voiced by Lyons, who put this latest reunion in the context of today's Green & White fans, cheering on a different kind of ferocious defense that has opened with two strong efforts to start this season, 28 years after the Sack Exchange's heyday.

"You can't live in the past. You've got to live in the present and the future," he said. "But I always felt it was a privilege to come back with these guys who did something special for the organization and the franchise. There's a new generation of Jets fans who can't identify with us, maybe don't even know us. But the Jets have always been kind enough to bring us back in the forefront so that we can get together again, have a few laughs and remember what we accomplished."

And some of us on the outside get to remember right along with you.