The skies over New Jersey have been full in recent months with mysterious drones popping up en mass.
However, the state will experience a reprieve on Sunday as forecasts call for a low cloud ceiling, heavy rains, and moderate winds. And that is music to the ears of New York Giants co-owner John Mara.
Mara wasn’t necessarily concerned with the drones but did worry about the airspace over MetLife Stadium. Before each of the team’s previous two home games, fans chartered planes and flew banners in protest.
In Week 14, a banner read “Mr. Mara enough. (Please) fix this dumpster fire.”
Seven days later, before a game against the Baltimore Ravens, another banner flew over the stadium reading “Mr. Mara enough. We won’t stop until you fire everyone.”
The trend would have continued on Sunday afternoon in even larger numbers but High Exposure Aerial Advertising was forced to cancel and refund three orders due to the aforementioned weather.
One of the banners would have read “Mr Mara. enough. Clean house or sell the team.” Another would have played into the mysterious drone phenomenon, reading “Are drones searching for Giants wins at home?”
The Giants, of course, are 0-8 at home this season and with a loss on Sunday would become the first NFL team in history to lose nine regular season home games in a single season.
The fan who created the drone banner reached out to Giants Wire earlier this week to explain his decision to protest. As a multi-decade season ticket holder, they are embarrassed with the product and frustrated after a decade of futility.
Their attempt to be playful in the messaging was specifically designed to go viral. Their hope was catching the attention of national news outlets and subsequently embarrassing Mara and fellow co-owner Steve Tisch on an even larger scale.
After their chartered plane was grounded, they reached back out to Giants Wire and said they would look into flying a banner over Lincoln Financial Field before a Week 18 game against the Philadelphia Eagles but were beaten to the punch.
Ryan Novozinsky of NJ Advance Media reports that an order for that has already been placed.
While bad weather will stop the banners this week, the spokesperson said a different customer has ordered the following message to soar over Lincoln Financial Field when the Giants face the Eagles on the road on Jan. 5: “TY NY for No. 26″
Novozinsky adds that yet another fan — one who has not chartered any of the previous planes — may also fly a banner in Week 18.
Mara and Tisch may get a break this week but if the weather is nice on Sunday, January 5, the fan protests will resume, this time on the road.
