Jets. (US Presswire)

You may have heard that the Jets metaphorically killed Fireman Ed. On Sunday, the man responsible for burdening the world with the "J-E-T-S Jets!, Jets!, Jets!" cheer, explained his decision to step down as the team's unofficial mascot.

Even Rex Ryan weighed in on the news.

"I love that guy's passion and energy he would bring," Ryan said. "He's a great fan. I really admire him. He was great. If we do our job on the field, that 'Jets' chant will continue."

Sure thing, Rex.

While we wait for Fireman Ed's triumphant return, Dolphins superfan Thomas Phillips, who goes by Big Papa Pump, took the opportunity to rip his Jets counterpart during an appearance on 790 the Ticket in Miami.

“If you’re stepping down because of what you see, getting your butt whupped week-in and week-out and you haven’t been to the Super Bowl since Super Bowl III, that is a wuss. That is a wuss,” Mr. Pump said via ESPNNewYork.com's Rich Cimini. “You don’t back out of your team like that. That’s something you don’t do. You don’t step down from being a superfan. You don’t do that. Fireman Ed, you’re a disgrace, man.”

Of course, one of the reason's Fireman Ed cited for leaving Thursday's Pats-Jets game was "confrontations with other Jets fans (had) become more common, even though most Jets fans are fantastic."

That's right: the man was driven into exile because of Jets-on-Jets crime.

Not only is Ed hanging up his fireman's lid, he's even deleted his Twitter account, a revelation that prompted this from former Jets defensive lineman Kris Jenkins.

That's right, Fireman Ed was once a Dolphins fan. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Ed "was a Dolphins fan while growing up in College Point, N.Y., before switching his allegiance to the Jets in the mid-1970s.

Mr. Pump has been a Dolphins ticket holder for 17 years and doesn't think Fireman Ed can recover from this.

"This team is looking up to him and this is what he's telling them? You quit? You just give up? If you're winning and you quit, it's another thing. But you're losing and you quit, that's even worse. …

"You can't come back," Pump continued. "You have to come back as somebody else," he said. "Maybe he can be Nurse Ed. He can't come back as Fireman Ed, there's no way. You can't welcome him back. How can you trust him?"

Can Ed play quarterback? Because the Jets would welcome him back with open arms.

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