Jets owner Woody Johnson spoke publicly for the first time yesterday of his unbearable grief over losing his daughter — saying in a heart-wrenching interview that even his team’s success can’t begin to ease his pain.
“It’s two different worlds,” Johnson said of his life after learning that 30-year-old Casey had been found dead in her Los Angeles home from unknown causes the day after the Jets clinched a playoff berth on Jan. 3.
“One doesn’t help the other. The other is reality — I lost a daughter,” said Johnson, as he fought back tears at the Jets training facility in Florham Park, NJ.
“There’s no way to bring her back. I wish I could change it, but I can’t. This has been a brutal couple of weeks personally,” Johnson said.
“I think of [Casey’s death] all the time,” he said. “It’s been a seesaw in terms of [grieving and] the business of the team.”
That business is a jaw-dropping run through the playoffs that began with a Jan. 9 wild-card game against the Cincinnati Bengals, days after the discovery of Casey’s body set off a tabloid frenzy over her troubled life, engagement to reality TV star Tila Tequila and lonely death.
Johnson traveled to Cincinnati because “I thought, ‘Geez, it would be kind of weird if I had asked the players to come to play a game after they had tragedy in their family and I don’t come, so I had to do it.’ ”
After the Jets beat the Bengals 24-14, head coach Rex Ryan presented Johnson with the game ball in the locker room, an emotionally charged moment that left both the coach and the owner in tears.
“When I got that ball that was just too many things hitting me at once,” Johnson said. “When you have a major loss, you have to show your emotions.”
Johnson later gave the ball to his young son, Robert.
“He loves it,” Johnson said. “I told him, ‘Mark Sanchez threw this ball.’ He’s only 3½, but he thinks it’s pretty good.”
A week later, Gang Green stunned the San Diego Chargers 17-14, putting them in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the Colts. It’s by far the biggest accomplishment in the decade since Johnson bought the team.
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“I’m glad our winning streak can give him a little happiness in the hardest moment of his life,” said kicker Jay Feely. “I talked to him today. He was kind of his normal self, but you know how difficult this is for him.
“So when you give him a hug, there’s more meaning in that hug than, ‘Hey, I’m excited about the game,’ and it’s unspoken.”
Offensive lineman Damien Woody said, “I know it’s been tough on him and his family, so whatever kind of joy the team can give him, we want to give it to him.
“I’m sure everything is kind of bittersweet for him right now.
“I’m just happy for him being one game away from the Super Bowl.”
Long snapper James Dearth, whose own mother died earlier this season, said Johnson “gave me a lot of comforting words” at the time.
Johnson always stands outside the locker room as the players enter after games, shaking each one’s hand.
“Win or lose, he’s there shaking your hand — that kind of lifts the players up,” Dearth said.
“You want to do nothing but good things for him. You just want to win for him.”