Don, Hahn & Rosenberg Podcast — Hour 3: Jets Fandom Funeral & Picks
Date: October 24, 2025
Hosts: Don La Greca, Alan Hahn, Peter Rosenberg

Episode Overview

This animated hour dives into New York sports woes and hopes, focusing especially on the agony of Jets fandom. The crew discusses the Knicks’ outlook, drills into NFL picks, dissects the unique psychology of losing fans, and even invents the concept of the “Jets Fandom Funeral.” The energy is high, debates are playful, and the calls from listeners are as passionate and bruised as ever.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

I. Knicks vs. Celtics Preview — Injuries, Odds, Hype

[00:46 - 08:12]

• Season Outlook & Injuries:

  • Knicks get ready for a home game against a depleted, “Tatumless” Boston Celtics.
  • Hahn: “Knicks got a big game against the Celtics tonight trying to get to 2-0...Boston is not exactly loaded this year.” [01:23]
  • Injury status: Josh Hart questionable; Robinson out. Knicks also juggling absences and game-time decisions. [03:18]

• Vegas Odds & Expectations:

  • Rosenberg quizzes the crew on the betting lines: Knicks -3.5 at home.
  • Bemoans the uncertainty: “It wouldn’t have shocked me...if it’s the Knicks -7.5. That would not have been shocking to me.” [03:37]

• Early NBA Season Patterns:

  • Hahn observes, “Bad teams don’t know they’re bad yet...it takes about 20 games for teams like the Celtics to realize...this ain’t it.” [05:57]

• Game Tactics & Defensive Identity:

  • Emphasis on Knicks defense, referencing their handling of Donovan Mitchell and reflecting on how “Nick Wings” shut down opposing stars. [07:00]

II. Listener Calls: Knicks Hopes & Jets Anguish

[08:12 - 10:15]

• David from Elizabeth affirms his Knicks belief, but when talk shifts to the Jets, his voice drops:

  • Hahn: “See the way, see the way his voice changed, guys?” Rosenberg: “Defeat in this man’s voice. Woody Johnson, these are your people. This is what you’ve done to your team.” [09:06]

• Fan Mood:

  • The hosts underscore the contrasting emotional texture: “One fan, one team has given him everything he could want...and the other is giving him absolutely nothing.” [09:26]

III. Classic Caller Chaos: Tech Issues, Tangents & Laughter

[10:15 - 14:14]

• Hilarious detour with Big Dick from Manhattan whose phone call gets derailed by background events and repeats, leading to on-air confusion and jokes about rewinding like a DVR. [10:18 - 13:30]

• Meta-discussion about live calls:

  • Rosenberg relishes the unpredictable chaos: “I don’t know if I’ll get a call better today than a dentist who gets interrupted by someone in the chair and then a human being rewinds like a DVR...” [13:30]

IV. The Agony & Logic of Jets Fandom: To Leave or Not to Leave?

[14:14 - 24:00]

• Raw Fan Pain:

  • Bobby from Port Washington: “We will never win with Woody. He likes to buy expensive toys and break them.” [14:16]
  • The hosts analogize Jets fandom to toxic relationships and self-harm:
    • Don: “If you’d gone to a restaurant and they gave you botulism every time, you’d give up.” [15:31]
    • Hahn: “I wish the Jets would cheat on me—then I’d have a reason to leave.” [16:21]

• Why Don’t Fans Just Walk Away?

  • Fear of “bad luck” if you leave, fear of missing out on the good years.
  • Hahn: “The minute I leave, they’ll get good... because that’s the life of a Jets fan.” [16:49]
  • Don sums up: “I just think it’s emotional abandonment, and that’s kind of where I am right now.” [18:38]

• Emotional Detachment – Is It Allowed?

  • Alan: “Watch because that’s your team...but to be still emotionally detached where you’re still living and dying, I don’t get.” [19:12]
  • Don reflects on his own journey: “If it wasn’t for the job, I don’t know if I’d watch every Sunday.” [20:13]

• The Detachment Dilemma:

  • Alan: “If you completely disconnect, I don’t think you can then reconnect...You’d enjoy [success] but not as much.” [21:03]

• Jets & Mets Fan Parallels:

  • Arguments about whether it’s possible to completely leave, or if you always remain somewhat tethered.

V. The “Jets Fandom Funeral” — An Idea is Born

[32:40 - 34:09]

• A Ritual for Letting Go

  • James in Long Island suggests: “It’s a perfect time to get off...enjoy your life.”
  • Don builds: “Can you do something where you euthanize your fandom?...Have a funeral, essentially?” [32:41]

• The Plan:

  • Hahn: “We actually do something...where we say goodbye to the fandom. We bury it. We do something interesting and we have a big party afterward—a repast.”
  • Don volunteers: “If the Jets don’t win a single game this season...we will hold a funeral for my jet fandom. I will take my Boomer Esiason jersey, put it in a box, and bury it in the ground.” [33:30]

VI. Callers & The Defeated Generations of Jets Faithful

[36:42 - 38:03]

• Richard from Rochester:

  • “Been a Jet fan since 1967...They will never win with Woody Johnson as owner. Never.” [36:42]
  • “If the Jets happen to win, it won’t be the same. If I see Woody holding up the Super Bowl trophy, it’ll be a mixed bag for me.” [37:36]

• Recurring themes:

  • Belief that root causes of suffering are ownership-related and inescapable.
  • Groans of generational disappointment and the “Lucy pulls the football away” metaphor for eternal hope and defeat. [38:03]

VII. Picks Segment (“Pro Picks”)

[41:49 - 48:57]

• NFL picks with point value (1, 2, 3): team loyalty, skepticism, and good-natured trash talk

  • Alan’s Picks: Niners over Texans (1), Atlanta over Miami (2), Jets over Packers (3) — “Does anybody really think Aaron Rodgers is going to lose a game against the Green Bay Packers? My answer is no.” [44:12]
  • Don’s Picks: Jets cover vs. Cincinnati (1), Bucs over Saints (2), Cowboys over Broncos (3). “Sometimes a miracle win...does not age well the next week.” [44:56]
  • Peter’s Picks: Packers to beat Jets (“Packers are a better football team.”), Bengals cover vs. Jets (“Give me the Bengoos. They’ll cover easily.”), Atlanta over Miami for three points. [47:03/48:30]

• More on the agony of picking Jets games:

  • Rosenberg: “To actually choose willingly to ride with the New York Jets...I think we’ll talk to Don on Monday and he’ll go, ‘I’m sorry I blacked out.’” [47:03]

VIII. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Knicks’ Early Season:

  • “Early in the NBA season, the bad teams don’t know they’re bad yet.” — Alan Hahn [05:57]

• On Fandom Pain:

  • “If you’d gone to a restaurant and they gave you botulism every time you went, you’d give up.” — Don La Greca [15:31]
  • “I wish the jets would cheat on me—then I could say I have a reason to leave.” — Alan Hahn [16:21]

• On Ritualizing the End of Fandom:

  • “Can you do something where you can euthanize your fandom? Like a ceremony where you just say goodbye. And it’s over.” — Don La Greca [32:41]
  • “We actually do something where we say goodbye to the fandom. We bury it. We do something interesting and we have a big party after.” — Alan Hahn [32:54]

• On Ownership Frustration:

  • “He’s a trust fund baby who never ran a business in his life...He don’t know how to run people. He don’t know how to run a business. He’s an imbecile.” — Richard in Rochester on Woody Johnson [36:54]

• On Eternal Futility:

  • “It’s really how it is, life as a Jets fan. Every time you think, ‘this time, Charlie Brown, I’m going to kick it...’ and then [something awful happens].” — Alan Hahn [38:03]

IX. Classic Sports Radio Antics

• Caller chaos and hilarious interruptions (patient interrupts a call; caller resets to his opening statement) provide comic relief and highlight the unique live radio energy.
• Discussion of Bingo cards for show catchphrases (the “Allen Hahn drinking game”) as a way to create playful engagement with the audience. [21:41]

X. Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:46] – Knicks vs. Celtics betting line & preview
• [05:57] – Early season NBA patterns
• [08:12] – Start of Knicks/Jets fans calls
• [14:14] – Jet fandom misery/debate about leaving the team
• [32:41] – Jet Fandom Funeral concept devised
• [36:42] – Richard from Rochester: generational futility
• [41:49] – Pro Picks segment (NFL picks)
• [44:12] – Alan’s picks monologue
• [47:03] – Rosenberg reacts to Don picking Jets
• [48:59] – Allen Hahn signs off for senior night

Tone & Style

The episode is a mixture of exasperation, gallows humor, team loyalty, and genuine camaraderie among the hosts. The language is direct, sometimes self-deprecating, often bursting into laughter as callers and hosts riff. Rosenberg pushes the pace and brings hip-hop-style jabs, Hahn plays the jaded everyfan with a stats edge, and Don embodies the classic, world-weary New York sports voice.

For Those Who Didn’t Listen:
This hour is a masterclass in what it feels like to be a beaten-down New York sports fan, especially if you bleed green and white. It blends bold sports analysis, The agony of broken fandom, interactive hilarity with passionate (and sometimes chaotic) callers, and high-energy, high-stakes NFL picks, all in the signature raw, unfiltered voice of sports talk radio.