Fireman Ed stepping aside as the Jets’ most visible fan has not gone unnoticed by one of his AFC East rivals.
The Dolphins superfan who goes by the name Big Papa Pump told 790 The Ticket in Miami that he’d never quit on his team, and doesn’t respect a fan who would.
“If you’re stepping down because of what you see, getting your butt whupped week-in and week-out and you haven’t been to the Super Bowl since Super Bowl III, that is a wuss. That is a wuss,” Pump said, via ESPNNewYork.com. “You don’t back out of your team like that. That’s something you don’t do. You don’t step down from being a super fan. You don’t do that. Fireman Ed, you’re a disgrace, man.”
For the record, Fireman Ed didn’t say he’s stepping down because the Jets are losing. He said he’s stepping down because the atmosphere at MetLife Stadium has become so poisonous that he can’t go to a game without having nasty confrontations with other fans. But Pump says Ed is sending the wrong message to the team.
“This team is looking up to him and this is what he’s telling them? You quit? You just give up? If you’re winning and you quit, it’s another thing. But you’re losing and you quit, that’s even worse,” Pump said.
Pump’s loyalty to his team is admirable. But if he’s right that the Jets are looking up to Ed, then that team is in even bigger trouble than any of us realized.
Photo of Big Papa Pump via MiamiDolphins.com.