For most of the New York Jets, it was a long busride into the city. Veteran linebacker 
For the fourth year in a row, Cipriani hosted the event, which raised money for the Jets Foundation and Alliance for Lupus Research. Jets owner Woody Johnson thanked the celebrities and donors in attendance while players and coaches mingled and dined before getting back on their buses and heading for their Philadelphia hotel in advance of Thursday night's preseason finale against the Eagles.
“It’s like the Jets, it’s like this lunch — everything is coming together for us,” Johnson said. “We have a new stadium, a new practice facility, a coach in his second year, we have Mike Tannenbaum, a great, great coaching staff, and we are poised to make something happen. I’m very proud of what we’ve done together.”
Among those in attendance were Donald Trump, a generous donor to the Alliance for Lupus Research, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who started his NFL career as a Jets intern. In addition, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie made remarks about the Jets’ upcoming season and dedication to supporting charities throughout the tristate area.
“There’s one thing I do appreciate even more,” Bloomberg said after joking about appreciating a chance to play cornerback, “and that’s the Jets' longstanding commitment of giving back to our communities both here and across the river and around this country. Whether it is fighting childhood obesity in our schools or taking aim at the debilitating disease of lupus, they are there.”
As the host of the event, it is clear that Johnson and his family live up to that commitment on a daily basis. Johnson mentioned that his daughter was diagnosed with lupus and that prompted him to battle the disease through the Jets Foundation and ALR, which have raised more money for lupus research than any other non-governmental organization in the entire country.
“If you have any acquaintance with the Johnson family,” Christie said, “they do extraordinary things very quietly for people in need all across this region. And they do it without looking for credit, they do it because it’s the right thing to do and because they care about making my state, our region and our country a better place.”
After the remarks about the purpose of the day’s event, an inspiring video of Jets highlights from 2009 was shown, and it drew goosebumps from the members of the audience. Following the video was head coach Rex Ryan who addressed the group and “volunteered” fullback
“This year we’re set up,” Ryan said. “We said we want to win the Super Bowl. We don’t care if you know it, like it or anything else. This time last year I kept hearing all this 'same old Jets' stuff. It’s funny, I’m not hearing that anymore. Our expectations are to win the Super Bowl and we’re going to take it any way possible.”
With a clear change of tone to football related topics, Leonhard discussed the defense, which finished first in seven statistical categories and was a unit that “no one wanted to face”. The team returns many starters but has also added threatening pieces such as Taylor, cornerback
“We feel like we’ve done everything in our ability to get to that next level, which is what we always talk about,” Leonhard said. “The organization, obviously the stadium — as players, there’s nothing more we can ask for. The organization did their part, it’s our turn to give back to them. So we’ve put in a lot of hard work.”
Richardson, one of the Jets' elder statesmen, discussed the offense’s general plan for this season. With the addition of
"We’re going to work really, really hard this year," he said. "We have goals set out in front of us and we have a tremendous group of players who are committed to doing the right things both on and off the football field."
