Ahead of the Green & White's 21-10 victory over the Texans, the New York Jets announced former FDNY firefighter Joe Abramski as the Jets Fan of the Year presented by Captain Morgan.
Out of thousands of entries, Abramski was selected. He received two tickets to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, LA and a gift box that contained a commemorative jersey, a Fan of the Year jacket, a gift card, a custom engraved Captain Morgan Bottle with a display case and more courtesy of Captain Morgan.
Before the announcement, Abramski was invited to the Jets' tailgate zone prior to kickoff to participate in TNF's Haunted House. Once he ran through the house of horrors, waiting for him on the other side were team reporter Caroline Hendershot and Jets legend Marty Lyons to present him the award.
"The whole thing, the whole thing, it is just so overwhelming all of the love and support we have given the Jets, and the Jets have given us over the years," Abramski said. "I am a diehard Jets fan. They made me who I am, and I could not be prouder to be a fan."
Joe's wife Cathy Abramski added: "I think this is probably one of the biggest honors of his life. Honestly, when he says, 'I'm shaking', he means that. He was totally surprised. It was a very meaningful day for him."
Abramski, 59, served in the FDNY for 20 years and was a first responder on 9/11. After his retirement in 2010, he and his wife became Jets Season Ticket Members.
"I was a part of 9/11 and afterwards I started to have some medical issues," Abramski said. "I got scared a little bit, retired and our kids were young. So, I asked my wife 'Can we get tickets? And she said to hold off a little bit, or else we probably would have gotten better seats. But we got pretty decent seats on the 10-yard line. We took the kids, and we had a lot, a lot of family fun, and they still come every year."
A native of Hempstead, Long Island, Abramski used to attend Jets training camp every summer when it took place at Hofstra University. His sister and cousin would bake cakes for the players. And when offensive linemen went by, greeting fans and signing autographs, they would take a handful of frosting.
"My parents would watch the Jet games at Shea Stadium, and that's going back over 50 years," Abramski. "And then we used to go to Hofstra practices when there was no fencing around the field and so you could literally learn everything you could about the team. The players even used to walk through the Hofstra parking lot for the locker room to the field and the linemen would just knock us into us and scratch our hair with their dirty, muddy hands. So, this whole thing is a bit overwhelming, and it's pretty cool."
Abramski, wearing his Chrebet jersey, and his wife, tailgate outside MetLife Stadium before every Jets game and get frequent visits from their kids, other family and friends.
"Wayne obviously went to Hofstra," Abramski said. "And he embodied everything it means to be a Jets fans. He was gritty and tough and just had everything you'd want in the player. We try to embody that every week and make the best out of any situation involving the Jets. We come to tailgate, and we come to support our team."
The road, however, doesn't stop at MetLife Stadium for Abramski. The week of the Super Bowl, he will fly out to New Orleans and go on to compete for his chance to be crowned the 2024 NFL Fan of the Year presented by Captain Morgan.
Make sure to visit NFL.com to vote for Joe when voting opens in November!
