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Also here's the info on Fireman Ed:
http://www.newsday.com/spo'Fireman Ed' out for the year?
Jim Baumbach
11:38 AM EDT, September 18, 2007
As if an 0-2 start and an injured Chad Pennington weren't enough of a bad omen, the Jets recently learned that 'Fireman Ed' – perhaps the NFL's most identifiable fan – could miss the entire season with a knee injury.
Ed Anzalone, who has long been attending games wearing a No. 42 jersey and a Jets fireman hat and boisterously leading the J-E-T-S chants, told Newsday yesterday he had surgery on his left knee Sept. 6 and does not expect to be attending games for at least the foreseeable future.
"I hurt it at a fire in the summer and I had to get it taken care of," said Anzalone, a New York City firefighter. "I have some issues, man. I have some herniations in my back, some in my neck. So I'm taking care of myself. I'm not up to par right now. I'd love to be at the games. But I have to get myself right before I go back there."
Anzalone has become such a mainstay at Jets games that his absence from their season opener against the Patriots two Sundays ago was noticed by many at Giants Stadium, including some team officials. He said the Jets later called him to find out why he wasn't there, and he told them he didn't know when he'd be back.
He would like to think he could make it back this year, but he wasn't making any Namath-esqe guarantees. Not when he knows rehab could take a while. "Hopefully I can get back before the end of the season, and they'll start winning," he said. "But if they lose every game, I'm still going to love them. That won't matter. I'm not a fair weather fan. I've been through a lot with them."
Anzalone refused to divulge the details of how he became injured, which was first reported by the Web site Jetsinsider.com. His tight-lipped stance would make coach Eric Mangini proud. "Some things are just private, but it's legit," he said. "I had surgery, and I'm going to need to get more things done … I'm up and moving a little better than I was. But I got crutches, cane, the whole bit. I just need to take care of myself right now."
He said he watches the games at home and has been giving away his lower-level tickets by the 10-yard line to various friends and family on a game-by-game basis. When he gets tempted to go to the game, he remembers that all it would take is one person jumping on his back in the crowd to further injure his knee, back and neck.
And, in case you're wondering, he wholeheartedly expects the J-E-T-S chants to continue in his absence. "Somebody has to pick up the slack, bro," he said. "When I get back there, I will, as soon as I can. But there's 80,000 people, I'm sure somebody can do it … Tell the fans somebody needs to pick the slack up."
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Thanks for the information, it did not dawn on me until sometime this week that I did not see him at the game.