Distance may stop some fans from coming out to see the Jets training camp in Cortland, N.Y., but it doesn't stop everyone.
Robert Nacarano, co-founder of the South Florida Jets Fan Club, traveled seven hours by plane to see the players get put through their paces during the first four days of camp.
Nacarano started on a flight from Fort Lauderdale to Newark, then connected with a flight to Ithaca, N.Y., which is just outside of Cortland. He was still able to catch the camp's first seven practices.
"It was kind of a long day," he said early this week about his trip out, where he ran into a bit of a delay with his flight from Newark to Ithaca, "but that's why I came the day before, because the trip was so long and I want to get in as many sessions as I can."
The South Florida Jets Fan Club was formed in 2003 by Nacarano and a few other loyal Jets fans, Steve K., Joe C. and Bill C., and is dedicated to the fans of the Jets in Florida. The club does a lot for its members, including holding raffle drawings each week to win various prizes throughout the season and giving fans the chance to meet up with other fans to enjoy Jets games together.
"Everybody is all dedicated down there," he said about the club's members. "I'm sure they're looking forward for the season to start and so am I.
Nacarano said he initially was told he was the Jets fan who came the farthest distance to attend the opening of camp. He was later told by a Jets staffer that he had been beaten out by a fan from Texas traveling to see the camp.
"Then yesterday I found out he wasn't really a Jets fan, so I got back in first place," Nacarano said while laughing.
Monday was the avid Jets follower's last day in central New York.
"Camp is great. It's a lot of fun. People in Cortland are very friendly and the facility is great," Nacarano said. "Rex Ryan is working them hard. I think he'll do a good job as head coach."
The Jets are now six days into camp and fans of the Green & White are not letting mileage or the few rainy days stand in the way of supporting their team.
