Before fans enter the New Jets Stadium for the first time — perhaps along that 50-yard line that extends from midfield out of the stadium to, well, infinity — they should savor the stroll.
One sensation should be a sight for Jets fans' sore eyes: the color green. The tint will be seen everywhere outside the stadium, on the pillars and on the outside of the building and in the entrance that we modestly refer to as "the Great Hall."
In this unprecedented joint venture by two American professional sports teams in the same league, when the Giants play their home games, the theme will be big and blue, and when the Jets come to play, the place will be bleeding green.
Before you go too far into the structure, you might want to linger on the concourse. The 100,000-square-foot plaza area will be the home for many attractions and diversions: food, merchandise, an interactive skills challenge for kids — or maybe for the kid still in you — and outdoor platforms from which will emanate your favorite live pregame TV and radio broadcasts.
Had your fill? Then saunter through the hall for another treat, a "Great Wall" that will measure 400 feet long and 40 feet high, be bathed in soft lighting —green before, during and after Jets games, remember? — and feature images paying homage to Jets and Titans greats of the past and present.
Some will point out that the Jets won only one championship, Super Bowl III. But so what? You know how it is with families, and no one's going to say anything bad about yours. Joe Namath is the patriarch and he'll be followed by the images of Don Maynard, Weeb Ewbank, Joe Klecko, Curtis Martin, Winston Hill, Al Toon, Wesley Walker, Wayne Chrebet, Larry Grantham, Mark Gastineau, Marty Lyons, Kevin Mawae ... the list goes on. And if we missed naming your favorite Jet or Titan, there's a good bet he'll make us look bad by dancing across the Great Wall sometime soon.
And needless to say, there are a bunch of players on this year's team that aspire to greatness, individually and for the team, trying to force that 1968 band of brothers to give them some prime real estate on the wall of fame.
You may now proceed to your seat.
