called \u201cbulls\u2013t\u201d<\/a>\u00a0on the sudden benching.<\/p>\n\u201cThey really rallied behind the purpose of why I wanted to kick, which was in honor of my dad,\u201d Castanio-Gervasi, 33, told The Post on Friday \u2014 adding that her phone has been \u201cblowing up\u201d since Christmas Day, when her plight became public.<\/p>\n
The former Stony Brook University goalie was first spotted by the Jets in September when team staff watched her impressively notch a previous field goal \u2014 just for kicks \u2014 at a game against the Buffalo Bills.<\/p>\n
New York Post front page with headlines about the Jets rescinding Castanio-Gervasi\u2019s field goal attempt and a Knicks comeback.<\/p>\n
She then made a qualifying 20-yarder at a tailgate event during the Jets vs. Panthers game in October.<\/p>\n
But on Monday, Castanio-Gervasi was suddenly told she could not compete in the on-field \u201cKick for Cash\u201d contest at halftime of the upcoming Jets vs. Patriots game, she said.<\/p>\n
Her college goalie days from 2010-2014 were not an issue, but the team said an insurance technicality stemming from her coaching gig made her ineligible for the competition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Castanio-Gervasi said she was now excited to be given the opportunity to try for the prize Sunday at MetLife \u2014 especially to honor her dad, Frank, who died of esophageal cancer in 2011.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe money is life-changing, and that would be amazing if I won,\u201d she said, adding the $100,000 \u2014 from a partnership between the\u00a0Jets and Hellmann\u2019s Mayo \u2014 would go toward a house and cancer charity.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut this meant more to my family and me because my dad would be proud and so excited,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Castanio-Gervasi inherited her often trying Jets fandom from Frank, who was a season ticket holder for the Super Bowl III champions since the team\u2019s Shea Stadium days in the 1960s.<\/p>\n
She and about 75 loved ones attend a group game each year in his honor and have raised over $50,000 for the Esophageal Cancer Education Foundation.<\/p>\n
The family seldom misses a game \u2014 no matter how miserable the weather or play \u2014 and initially boycotted and sold their Sunday tickets when she got snubbed. But now, at least 15 of Castanio-Gervasi\u2019s kin will be there to back her during the Jets vs. Pats showdown, she said.<\/p>\n
Prior to Castanio-Gervasi\u2019s reinstatement, she said her dad would have ripped up his season tickets if he\u2019d seen how she had been treated.<\/p>\n
Now, the coach thinks he\u2019d be relieved to know that his favorite team course-corrected \u2014 and, as a loyal Post reader, would be ecstatic that he was a focal point of the Friday paper\u2019s cover story.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Jets reversed their decision and will now let the diehard fan try to win $100,000 at MetLife this weekend. Dennis A. Clark for NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cJust because a part of the organization kind of fumbled this one a little bit, doesn\u2019t mean we can take it out on all the players and coaches,\u201d said Castanio-Gervasi \u2014 adding she would still rather see the Jets win a Super Bowl than ace the kick.<\/p>\n
Castanio-Gervasi, who used to play wide receiver as a little girl at Jets training camp at Hofstra University, had notched the qualifying kick in memory of her dad.<\/p>\n
The family kept Frank\u2019s love for the game \u2014 and seats in section 223 \u2014 where Castanio-Gervasi, with her three sisters, Lauren, Courtney, and Jacly,n and their mom, Lorraine, have sat week in and week out.<\/p>\n
Ashley Castanio-Gervasi is supporting the Jets in a childhood photo.
Obtained by the NY Post<\/p>\n
Ashley Castanio-Gervasi (R) and her father Frank (L) in an undated childhood photo. Obtained by the NY Post<\/p>\n
\u201cIt still brings us together as a family, and we love spending time together,\u201d said Castanio-Gervasi, who ritualistically shares a pre-game meal with her loved ones at Franco\u2019s Metro Restaurant in Fort Lee en route to the stadium.<\/p>\n
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This season, Castanio-Gervasi and her FDNY husband, Matthew, invested $3,000 for their own pair of seats two rows behind her family.<\/p>\n
She estimates the Castanio clan, who travel to away games as well, has invested a conservative lifetime million on the Jets.<\/p>\n
Castanio-Gervasi, who used to play wide receiver as a little girl at Jets training camp at Hofstra University, had notched the qualifying quick in memory of her dad. Obtained by the NY Post<\/p>\n
Before getting scrubbed from the roster Monday, Castanio-Gervasi was nailing 25-yard practice field goals at Long Beach High School as her soccer players cheered on.<\/p>\n
The kicking distance for the finals remains a mystery until the contest.<\/p>\n
It will be no chip shot, though, as Castanio-Gervasi is recuperating from knee surgery on her non-kicking leg and is in physical therapy twice a week, including a Friday afternoon session.<\/p>\n
Long Beach High School girls soccer coach Ashley Gervasi holding a football and standing with her soccer team on a field. Dennis A. Clark for NY Post<\/p>\n
Insult to injury, Friday into Saturday\u2019s inclement snow will also interfere with last-minute practice \u2014 and potentially field conditions.<\/p>\n
But her story isn\u2019t really about the kick anymore, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just going to kind of leave it to faith and hope that my, whatever athletic ability I have right now, will get me through it,\u201d said Castanio-Gervasi, who will be tugging on her favorite Darrelle Revis jersey, with whom she shared number 24.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if it doesn\u2019t, I\u2019m still happy,\u201d she added. \u201cI know my dad is looking down and is happy that I\u2019m a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s the ultimate comeback story. The New York Jets will now allow a diehard Long Island fan to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[2908,131,133,132,2890,4182,6434,127,24688],"class_list":["post-112269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-fans","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-long-island","tag-metro","tag-new-york-jets","tag-sports","tag-sports-fans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}