2017 NFL Season: Then there were Two

[The_Admiral]

The Cubs won the World Series and it changed my whole attitude about baseball. Everything's a big whatever now. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup three times and I'm still miserable. So maybe it varies from sport to sport; I think hockey just uniquely engenders misery in a way other sports don't.

[rams80]

11 hours ago, ozzyman314 said:

It really is ridiculous.

"your team just won a championship so you can't complain about anything at all" is such a load of :censored:. Who cares what happened last year, what matters is what's going on right now.  

Once you finally get that taste, that experience of your team winning it all, you're never satisfied with just that, you always want more. If you actually say you're content with the 1 championship, you're just lying to yourself. 

 

 

Get bent.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I'm still living of the fumes of Syracuse's 2003 national championship. Granted, my attitudes toward college sports have changed significantly since then, but it was a special moment and I'll be happy about it for forever.

 

Bill Simmons had some disp :censored: column about this years ago, but it basically got to the central point that you have to give something like a five-year halo after a title before you can complain about your team. That seems fair enough. Five years is way better than three quarters.

[HedleyLamarr]

Let's keep in mind, we're talking about how people are reacting to the game....while they're at the game.  They've invested their time and money in this game.  They've gone through that whole day's build-up of "I'm so excited to be going to the game tonight!".  Just about everyone reacts more emotionally when they're at the game than when they're watching from home or at a bar, etc.  I've attended nearly 1000 games, and I still get excited in the day or two before going to the game, as well as get more emotionally invested in how the game goes than I would when I'm at the house watching the game.

 

There aren't many fans of teams that won't have a facial expression of being concerned, or even down, if their team was suddenly trailing in a game where they've led for most of the time to that point.  I sure as hell wouldn't have the "Aww shucks" mentality if the team I'm rooting for is losing the game in the back-half of the proceedings.

 

How should these fans have reacted when they saw their team score a touchdown on the first drive of the game, blow a chance to go up 10-0 or 14-0 early on, then see the road team keep chipping away and eventually be up 28-27 in the 4th quarter?

[Rockstar Matt]

15 hours ago, ozzyman314 said:

Once you finally get that taste, that experience of your team winning it all, you're never satisfied with just that, you always want more. If you actually say you're content with the 1 championship, you're just lying to yourself. 

 

Yeah, if you're a player. But we're not professional athletes. 

 

As a fan, I can guarantee that if the Cowboys were to win the Super Bowl, I'd immediately be content for the rest of my life, in terms of my sports fandom. I just want to see them win once; just to have one season where they don't choke in the weirdest, and most heartbreaking, ways. After that, I simply wouldn't care as much anymore. 

[Fox]

Damn, my take on this is any of the New England fans who were second-guessing Belichick and complaining about personnel moves are morons. I didn't hear any of this but it's always going to happen, I'm not surprised. At the same time, I'm not sure we should put so much stock in the facial expressions of the people in the stands. I certainly expected the game to turn out better for the Pats so I wasn't exactly ecstatic during it, but I never lost sight of how great being a Patriots fan is. After the last two Super Bowl victories especially, I don't even know what else I could ask for.

 

I do wish the team and fans would stop being so petty with regards to Goodell and Deflategate. It's over. I don't care anymore. They won the Super Bowl! Once they went 3-1 without Tom Brady and he returned, I was over it. Acting like the victim despite a near-unprecedented run of success in pro sports is not a good look, so I cringe whenever I see it. Even putting 28-3 on the scoreboard before the game was a joke to me. I think Robert Kraft is a phenomenal owner, but if there's one criticism I have of him it's that he's petty and has played the "Boston is the victim" card.

 

As far as how long the satisfaction of a championship lasts: For me personally, it's hard to be super invested when my team just won the title the previous year. I kind of feel like I got everything I could have possibly asked for and I can coast off of it for a while. Some of the hunger definitely comes back when I see another team crowned champion the next year. It kind of hits you that your team is no longer on top, and it hits even harder if they suffered a tough loss along the way. 

[ozzyman314]

1 hour ago, Rockstar Matt said:

 

Yeah, if you're a player. But we're not professional athletes. 

 

As a fan, I can guarantee that if the Cowboys were to win the Super Bowl, I'd immediately be content for the rest of my life, in terms of my sports fandom. I just want to see them win once; just to have one season where they don't choke in the weirdest, and most heartbreaking, ways. After that, I simply wouldn't care as much anymore. 

Yeah, I'm still calling horse on this. 

 

It's easy to say that "just one" when you've never experienced it.

But I've never heard anyone say they're content after that 1 championship, especially when their team looks like they could win another. Were 90's Cowboy's fans fine with that "one" championship in '92? Not Caring at all they could repeat? Did Chicago Bulls fans stop caring after they finally won in 91? Have you heard any GSW fans say they were 100% content with winning "just one" in 2015 when it started to look like they'd be the most dominant team of the decade. How about Cavs fans? It sure seemed like they wanted another championship after finally getting their"just one" last year. You think Steelers or Packers fans don't want another Super Bowl?

[Rockstar Matt]

37 minutes ago, ozzyman314 said:

Yeah, I'm still calling horse on this. 

 

It's easy to say that "just one" when you've never experienced it.

But I've never heard anyone say they're content after that 1 championship, especially when their team looks like they could win another. Were 90's Cowboy's fans fine with that "one" championship in '92? Not Caring at all they could repeat? Did Chicago Bulls fans stop caring after they finally won in 91? Have you heard any GSW fans say they were 100% content with winning "just one" in 2015 when it started to look like they'd be the most dominant team of the decade. How about Cavs fans? It sure seemed like they wanted another championship after finally getting their"just one" last year. You think Steelers or Packers fans don't want another Super Bowl?

 

You don't know me. 

 

Do you play for the team? Do you work for the team? Why do you keep talking like you are?

 

Fam, I've seen my favorite team in every other sport win a championship. I've seen the Lakers win 5 times, with 7 Finals appearances and until these last few seasons, consistent playoff appearances. I definitely do not care as much when they lose because quite frankly, I've had it good as a basketball fan. The losing seasons aren't as painful because I've seen them at the top.

 

Don't get me wrong, I want the Lakers to win a title every season, but when they don't, it's not a big deal. 

 

I'm an ultra competitive person, but when I'm not personally involved in the outcome, I don't care as much. I'm fine with just seeing one title. Of course I want to see my teams win more, but as long as they have the one title, it's much easier to stomach. 

[ozzyman314]

7 minutes ago, Rockstar Matt said:

 

You don't know me. 

 

Do you play for the team? Do you work for the team? Why do you keep talking like you are?

 

Fam, I've seen my favorite team in every other sport win a championship. I've seen the Lakers win 5 times, with 7 Finals appearances and until these last few seasons, consistent playoff appearances. I definitely do not care as much when they lose because quite frankly, I've had it good as a basketball fan. The losing seasons aren't as painful because I've seen them at the top.

 

Don't get me wrong, I want the Lakers to win a title every season, but when they don't, it's not a big deal. 

 

I'm an ultra competitive person, but when I'm not personally involved in the outcome, I don't care as much. I'm fine with just seeing one title. Of course I want to see my teams win more, but as long as they have the one title, it's much easier to stomach. 

It's called being invested in your team. You always went them to win, when they do you're ecstatic, when they don't it hurts. 

Like that stupid picture from the Patriots-Chiefs game the other night, of course in the moment, people are going to have those shocked/dejected looks when their team is losing. But after a while you get over it just like everything. 

[rams80]

39 minutes ago, ozzyman314 said:

It's called being invested in your team. You always went them to win, when they do you're ecstatic, when they don't it hurts. 

Like that stupid picture from the Patriots-Chiefs game the other night, of course in the moment, people are going to have those shocked/dejected looks when their team is losing. But after a while you get over it just like everything. 

 

How old are you?

[SFGiants58]

9 hours ago, the admiral said:

The Cubs won the World Series and it changed my whole attitude about baseball. Everything's a big whatever now. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup three times and I'm still miserable. So maybe it varies from sport to sport; I think hockey just uniquely engenders misery in a way other sports don't.

 

It was the same way with me for the Giants after 2010. I was content after that, and the other two were bonuses. I didn't have that same level of investment I had the first time around. I know that it makes me seem like I'm a bad fan or something, but just seeing the team I root for win one title would have satiated me for a long time. It was the same way with the Warriors, especially given how they netted their championship this year. Having the championship monkey off of your back allows you to relax, and not take sports with the same amount of gravity that you did before.

[Lights Out]

My team didn't even come close to sniffing a championship in my lifetime - no, they didn't really have a chance in 1994. Then after more than a half-century of awful football, the team was moved to a city that didn't want them by its greedy douchebag owner. So I think I can be forgiven for rolling my eyes at the raging entitlement complex of Patriots fans who have witnessed one of the greatest dynasties in sports history. Coming off a Super Bowl win, the proper response to a September loss is to sit down and shut up... period!

[PrimalCookie]

I understand @ozzyman314's argument, but as a Magic, Texans, and Rays fan I can say that being unsuccessful does not make losing any easier. I noticed it a couple games into the Magic season last year - the road team hit a big shot, and I just got this feeling of inevitability. At least in my experience, there is nothing worse as a sports fan then just feeling like there's no hope, no possible way you can win this, no chance the team will even be remotely successful this year. At least Patriot fans know their team will be good, Week 1 blowout loss or not.

[HedleyLamarr]

10 minutes ago, Lights Out said:

My team didn't even come close to sniffing a championship in my lifetime - no, they didn't really have a chance in 1994. Then after more than a half-century of awful football, the team was moved to a city that didn't want them by its greedy douchebag owner. So I think I can be forgiven for rolling my eyes at the raging entitlement complex of Patriots fans who have witnessed one of the greatest dynasties in sports history. Coming off a Super Bowl win, the proper response to a September loss is to sit down and shut up... period!

I seem to remember a fan of a certain Los Angeles hockey team ready to jump off a bridge after a loss, even though the Kings were fresh off a Stanley Cup victory (or two).  I wonder who that could have been.

 

Again, these Patriots fans were at the game.  They spent their money and their time to go see a game.  Why shouldn't they have a look of concern or disappointment if the game isn't going as they hoped?  I've never gone to a game and thought about another game from 7+ months ago and let it determine if I can cheer or be disappointed in the current game's goings-on.

 

Some of you are pretty unrealistic.  You're asking fans to take personality and emotion out of their fandom.

 

And, the Chargers have the 18th-best record of all-time, a grand total of 5 games under .500.  That's hardly "awful football".

[IceCap]

55 minutes ago, HedleyLamarr said:

And, the Chargers have the 18th-best record of all-time, a grand total of 5 games under .500.  That's hardly "awful football".

No, it's not.

Dean Spanos, however, is an intangible when it comes to fan misery.  

 

55 minutes ago, HedleyLamarr said:

Some of you are pretty unrealistic.  You're asking fans to take personality and emotion out of their fandom.

I agree with this. 

 

If those same fans in those screen shots get home and bitch on the internet? Or otherwise go on and on about the hardships of Patriots fandom after one loss? If they don't gain some perspective by the next morning? Yeah.  'em.

 

But to be at the game, the coronation of the team after the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history? Yeah. I don't blame them looking glum in the moment.

[See Red]

I was pretty content just getting to the Super Bowl when the Broncos beat the Panthers.  I was certainly fine with the team when they missed the playoffs to follow it up.

 

Sure, Patriots fans can be disappointed with a loss, regardless of the team's recent success.  But that's a little too disappointed in a one point game with seven minutes left.  Also, I'm pretty sure there was Patriots fans calling for the backup QB already.

[Brass]

Let's just all enjoy football.

[Still MIGHTY]

11 minutes ago, Brass said:

Let's just all enjoy football.

 

NOT ONCE

 

[dfwabel]

1 hour ago, Brass said:

Let's just all enjoy football.

CCSLC is kinda a version of the Time Haters.

 

 

[Viola73]

9 hours ago, Brass said:

Let's just all enjoy football.

Here?! Hahahahahahahah! 

Well, we can but first we have to get past the CTE "coverup", greedy players, even more greedy owners, stadiums need to be built without taxpayer funds, football is dying, domestic abuse claims, anti New England, anti Pittsburgh, anti fan posts.

 

Then we can enjoy football here.

; )