No Way, Bro! Joe Benigno Refuses To Be The Next Fireman Ed
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- If there's one person in this town who could revive the "J-E-T-S" chant, it's WFAN's own Joe Benigno.
But he'd rather take a Geno Smith spiral right to the face.
"Here's what I want to do: I want to lead the chant on the float when they win the freakin' Super Bowl," Benigno said Tuesday on WFAN's "Boomer & Carton" show. "You know what? I've been waiting 46 years. I could give a rat's tail about leading any cheers during a regular-season game. You know what I mean?
"I don't want to be the Jets mascot, which was Fireman Ed. That's what he was, OK. And the guy was really a Dolphins fan growing up -- what a disgrace."
Ed Anzalone -- better known as Fireman Ed -- famously abandoned his post at MetLife Stadium during the debacle of 2012. Last year's group effort wasn't a huge success, so the Jets are launching an online contest to find eight season-ticket holders -- one per home game -- worthy of leading the chant in 2014. Candidates are being asked to submit short tryout videos, and fans will vote on their favorites.
Morning show co-host Craig Carton thought he had the perfect nominee in Benigno.
But, nope.
"Come on, man. Are you kidding me?" Benigno said after Carton gave him the megaphone treatment. "I told you, there's only one place I want to lead the cheers: when we're on the freakin' float down the Canyon of Heroes. I'll be about 87 years old. ... And, you know, that'll be the deal. You know what I'm saying?"
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