I’d like to take a moment and thank you for stopping by to check this site out. My name is GreenBean. I know you’re probably wondering so I’ll just answer the big question right from the get go:
No, that is not my real name. 😉
I first started using this name around 1996-97 on the NY Jets message boards. You see, back then we didn’t have YouTube or Twitter or the like. If we wanted to talk football with people outside of our immediate circles, we had to dig deep.
And deep I dug.
While killing time at my desk at AT&T, I surfed around Netscape for NY Jets news. I ended up landing on a webpage with a green background that said it had 75 or so people in there talking about the Jets. That was enough for me- I wanted in.
I could only read the posts at first, but it didn’t take very long for me to get riled up and want to throw my 2 cents in the ring. That’s when I learned I had to sign up and become a member first. It wasn’t like today where we just tell the app to use our google account to sign in. I had to spend what felt like an hour filling out paperwork. Hey, I was at work after all so why not?
First I had to choose a name.
I tried a few simple names like Kyle (my original name) but that was taken. I tried some former Jets player names but they were taken too. I wasn’t game for some numerical identifier like Kyle2398734 or something like that so I tried to think of something else. I had to be creative here. This was important.
How could I fold something Jetsy into a name that was unique enough not to get lost in the crowd? So I thought, “Green” That’s a good place to start. The Jets are green obviously, so I would immediately be connected to the most recognizable aspect of Jets fandom. Green….
GreenKyle? No! That sucks.
GreenMan? GreenFan? GreenDope? No. No. And No.
Green…Bean. Ahhhh, that has a ring.
It’s kind of corny but that never frightened me off before. GreenBean. Sure. Why not? It rhymes and I like Dr. Seuss so let’s give it a whirl.
I typed it in and guess what? No one was dumb enough to have taken that handle before so I cleared the security check point and I was in. GreenBean it was.
I think I remember that first conversation having to do with Bill Belichik being the interim HC while we waited for Bill Parcells to get the ok from the NFL to officially become our HC. I feel pretty confident that it had something to do with that subject as it’s the earliest topic I can remember discussing on a Jets forum. It seems clear in a hazy sorta way.
So there it was. For the time being I would be GreenBean when I checked onto the Jets message board. I certainly didn’t have any plans to make anything out of it or retain the name for any length of time. It was simply the name I used when I talked about Jets football online.
For anyone who uses the internet to talk about anything they care about with any consistency, you know that it doesn’t take very long to recognize certain people. People you agree with or that piss you off; people you like and people you don’t. It becomes an extension of your world where certain norms become consistent. So I got to know some guys and they got to know me. It was a really fun time in Jets history with our first division title and a trip to the AFC championship game, so the motivation to check in often was strong. Even the years after Parcells were pretty solid with plenty of excitement and playoff appearances. It was a good time to fall into the message board scene.
If anyone thinks the Jamal Adams trade or whether or not to trade Sam Darnold got heated out there, they just don’t know what it was like during the Vinny Testeverde vs Chad Pennington debate. I’ve seen guys literally schedule fist fights over that one and I don’t think anything on Jets Twitter has come close to touching how contentious that topic was. (I was on the Chad Pennington side, by the way). I think it might have something to do with the limited characters on Twitter. Message boards don’t have that limitation and if you want to write 75,000 words about why a 38 yr old, pick-6-throwing journeyman should start over our first RD pick, then you can knock yourself out. No one’s gonna read it but hey, that never stopped anyone. LOL.
The message board world evolved and morphed over the years. Some boards shut down like the old Rivals.com board and others popped up such as the GreenHouse and JetsInsider. Then they shut down and for a guy like myself, I would crave that interaction and search for the next spot to call home online.
For me, that has been JetNation since 2009.
When I arrived there I was greeted with many of my old buddies from previous forums. They knew who I was because this stupid name I created in 1997 became the singular identifying characteristic that carried with me from board to board. GreenBean. Who knew?
I thought about changing it once I dipped my toes in the content creation world, but why would I? So the thousands of Jets fans from around the country who I’ve gotten to know over the past 20 years have to figure out that it’s me? No.
Whether or not I like it, it’s who I am out here. GreenBean. It’s not the way I would have done it if I’d known what was coming, but I can honestly say I wouldn’t want to change it now.
Screw it. I’ll be the old white bearded dude with the childish name who curses too much on YouTube. There are worse things to be, I’m sure.