For one night at least, MetLife Stadium truly was JetLife Stadium.
Everything was the opposite of how it’s been in recent years.
Usually the epicenter of Jets letdown and torment, fans inside MetLife instead were full of optimism for the home opener.
Often expecting the worst and waiting for disaster, they had dreams — and genuine expectations — of success despite facing their longtime nemesis in the Patriots, who have owned the Jets for a generation.
There was a brash, pompous aura in the crowd, as if they had been the bullies in the relationship all these years.
The pyrotechnics, the booming J-E-T-S chants, the sense of anticipation, the belief in the quarterback — none of it had been that emphatic since, well, last year’s home opener.
But this time around, the atmosphere only grew more raucous after kickoff as the game went on.
For the first time in nearly a decade, the Jets had an actual home-field advantage.
“We played violent, we played with great strain and effort,” head coach Robert Saleh said Friday. “We just felt like we had a lot of juice to us. Obviously, it was a home opener, so it helped.”
For so long, it often worked in reverse. Instead of helping, it was toxic between fans in the stands and players on the field.
Boos heavily outweighed any cheers or chants — unless they were for a backup quarterback to replace Zach Wilson, Sam Darnold or any other struggling signal-caller.
Fans wore paper bags over their heads to show embarrassment, if they even bothered showing up at all. By the end of most seasons, apathy took over.
Across the previous 10 seasons before the current one, the Jets owned a 32-50 record at home, good for a paltry .390 percent winning percentage.
It was a slight improvement from their 23-58 (.284 percent) record on the road.
But going back to last year, the Jets have now won three straight games at home.
And they stay at MetLife on Sunday, hosting the Broncos before a technical home game in London against the Vikings and then coming right back to MetLife against the Bills in Week 6.
Can the Jets actually make MetLife a fortress? They have a chance early in the season to set that tone.
“That comes with the fans, as well,” center Joe Tippmann said Monday. “We’re gonna keep playing good football. For them to be able to be present, the fans do so much when we’re out there, being able to manipulate the game with crowd noise.
“It brings about another level of confidence from the players. I think it’s something we can do, we have to keep the same mentality every time we take the field, especially at MetLife.”
Aaron Rodgers after the game acknowledged that Jets fans “have been tortured for a long time” and that he’s “trying to change this whole attitude around here.”
MetLife certainly felt transformed Thursday night.
“It was the first home game, it was a night game, it was ‘Thursday Night Football,’ everything was just amazing,” linebacker Jamien Sherwood said Monday. “Playing in front of the crowd, we love the fans, we love our friends and family that are in the stadium as well.”
