2015 NFL Season-Now with Playoff Talk

[CS85]

I'm just a salty hypocrite who roots for a team that's been stupid for most of the modern era and don't understand football success because I've rarely experienced it.

[The_Admiral]

Well Boston's been more relevant lately since they win something every year it seems, but I really think it's the same everywhere. Maye I just don't get that worked up over fans, or maybe at this point of my life I'm just a "band wagoner" myself, but I don't care.

Hell - people bitch about Seahawks fans! Seattle's a bad guy now? It's natural to be jealous when some other team is winning and you're not, so if cutting down rival fans makes people feel better then so be it.

Seattle or Charlotte will never figure into the sports-industrial complex the way Boston does. Hell, even most of the resentment toward the Seahawks is a backlash against navel-gazing coasties writing about what Richard Sherman means to America.

[TheOldRoman]

Well Boston's been more relevant lately since they win something every year it seems, but I really think it's the same everywhere. Maye I just don't get that worked up over fans, or maybe at this point of my life I'm just a "band wagoner" myself, but I don't care.

Hell - people bitch about Seahawks fans! Seattle's a bad guy now? It's natural to be jealous when some other team is winning and you're not, so if cutting down rival fans makes people feel better then so be it.

Seattle or Charlotte will never figure into the sports-industrial complex the way Boston does. Hell, even most of the resentment toward the Seahawks is a backlash against navel-gazing coasties writing about what Richard Sherman means to America.

On that note, from an interest-in-the-league perspective, the Seahawks losing the Super Bowl last year was really a bad thing for me. The Seahawks were a great team to hate! Thinking of it in wrestling terms, the NFL pulled the title off the monster heel too soon and gave it to John Cena again (the Patriots), even though everybody was sick of him and nobody wanted him to have another run. Of course, Cena is about being honest and respectful, and the Patriots cheat, but the analogy is still solid.

And now, somehow, the Seahawks are just kind of like a reluctant hero. They aren't the bad guys, and they're not nearly as interesting. Richard Sherman isn't the smartest human alive like so many white liberals proclaimed, but he's an extremely smart guy who probably has meaningful opinions on a lot of topics. And him being an about being so good lost a little power or shock-value when everybody realized he really was that good. Russell Wilson turned out to be a really good quarterback, but a choirboy who doesn't give any headlines outside of him not wanting to bang his hot girlfriend. Pete Carroll is still a truther and an all-around piece of crap, but there's not really much to hate about the Seahawks outside of him. And the league is worse for it.

A great heel goes a long way. Sure, it's fun watching Steph Curry bury threes all day, but when the Warriors win their 4th title in a row or there abouts, it won't be much fun to watch the NBA. But the Heat's Big 2.5? Watching them to see a loss and hoping for Dwyane Wade to shred both ACLs never got old.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

Well Boston's been more relevant lately since they win something every year it seems, but I really think it's the same everywhere. Maye I just don't get that worked up over fans, or maybe at this point of my life I'm just a "band wagoner" myself, but I don't care.

Hell - people bitch about Seahawks fans! Seattle's a bad guy now? It's natural to be jealous when some other team is winning and you're not, so if cutting down rival fans makes people feel better then so be it.

Seattle or Charlotte will never figure into the sports-industrial complex the way Boston does. Hell, even most of the resentment toward the Seahawks is a backlash against navel-gazing coasties writing about what Richard Sherman means to America.

I think Richard Sherman Thoughtful Thinkpiece era is over though, and ended with his reaction to the Malcolm Butler interception. He had a BLM press conference this year that was mostly ignored. Deflategate, Adrian Peterson, and Greg Hardy happened. It's over.

That said, I still think Boston fans - as you say - still want a hand in both "we're the best" and "we're so miserable" pots. The Boston reaction to Deflategate was gross - the Pats won the Super Bowl and Brady didn't serve a suspension, yet they're still angry? Eff them.

[infrared41]

Stop it with the "smug fanbases" and "bandwagon fans" comments. It's just immature. Every team is the same when they win.

If the Panthers can win this thing and then stay good another couple of years, then everyone will be complaining about their "fans". "I hate the Panthers and their bandwagon fans" is what it will be.

Disagree. There's always more in play when it comes to hating fans from, say, Boston. It's never gonna reach that level with the likes of Charlotte.

I've never even noticed a problem with Pittsburgh fans in any sport.

A. I'll see your disagree and and raise you another disagree. It's already happened to Seattle. The Seahawks went from irrelevant to "hey, how great is it that the 'Hawks are finally good" to "God, not Seattle again" pretty quickly. The same thing happened with the Peyton Manning led Colts. The main reason Boston hate maintains the current level is because Boston teams have been successful since 2001. It just seems worse because we're hating on fans of four teams as opposed to one.

B. Then you're not paying enough attention to the NFL. Ask McCarthy (if we ever see him again) about Steelers fans.

[infrared41]

• PACKERS: Take a decade to have a terrible run of QBs and learn some humility. The bottom needs to fall out for this smug, tradition-milking pack of braggarts. Assbags, all. I would applaud if a team of Burficts played against Rodgers 16 weeks next season. Tired of it. End him.

OK, I gotta ask...

Where do you find these Packers fans? You and I did 50 episodes of a podcast together. Other than one picture I posted here as a joke in response to one of your "my sports world is ending" rants, have I ever acted like a "smug braggart?" (Ohio State doesn't count. We're required by law to be arrogant ass-hole Ohio State fans. ) Have any of the Packers fans around here acted that way? If we have, I sure haven't seen it.

[CS85]

• PACKERS: Take a decade to have a terrible run of QBs and learn some humility. The bottom needs to fall out for this smug, tradition-milking pack of braggarts. Assbags, all. I would applaud if a team of Burficts played against Rodgers 16 weeks next season. Tired of it. End him.

OK, I gotta ask...

Where do you find these Packers fans? You and I did 50 episodes of a podcast together. Other than one picture I posted here as a joke in response to one of your "my sports world is ending" rants, have I ever acted like a "smug braggart?" Have any of the Packers fans around here acted that way? If we have, I sure haven't seen it.

Nah. Packers fans have mostly been cool, but I can't stand how they have barely tasted failure in my tenure as a Bears fan: Two titles, two quarterbacks, two seasons of sub-.500 football since 2000. It's infuriating that some teams get all the good fortune and/or are competently run, meanwhile I'm married to the autistic son of a drunkard who can barely field a .500 football team.

I know, I know - I can quit being a fan at any time, and nobody's making cheer for them, blah blah, but screw that. What kind of fan would that make me? And please don't say, "a smart one."

Edit: ironic typo.

[Walter Sobchak]

Speaking of coaches being on the field...

https://mobile.twitter.com/jtkola/status/686249077026062336

[HedleyLamarr]

Stop it with the "smug fanbases" and "bandwagon fans" comments. It's just immature. Every team is the same when they win.

If the Panthers can win this thing and then stay good another couple of years, then everyone will be complaining about their "fans". "I hate the Panthers and their bandwagon fans" is what it will be.

Disagree. There's always more in play when it comes to hating fans from, say, Boston. It's never gonna reach that level with the likes of Charlotte. I've never even noticed a problem with Pittsburgh fans in any sport.

You clearly haven't been to a Penguins road game in the Crosby era.....

[The_Admiral]

Went back and found my post where I explained the 32 NFL teams to a foreigner, found this

Minnesota Vikings: They seem to be good more often than not in my lifetime, seldom awful, but rarely great, and when things do start looking really good for them, everything comes crashing down in some outstandingly wonderful way that often manages to be more ridiculous than the last time.

NAILED IT

[Jimmy!]

I was going to say," But the Vikings have been to four Super Bowls!" Until I realized the last one was 39 years ago. I watched that game. Criminy I'm old.

[infrared41]

I was going to say," But the Vikings have been to four Super Bowls!" Until I realized the last one was 39 years ago. I watched that game. Criminy I'm old.

Raiders 32

Vikings 16 - I think.

I watched it too. You think you're old? I watched the Steelers beat the Vikings in Super Bowl XI (?), I watched the Vikings lose to the Dolphins in Super Bowl VIII, and I remember watching my beloved Chiefs* beat the Vikings in Super Bowl IV.

*I was a huge Chiefs fans until I was about 13 (I liked their uniforms) then I made the mistake of hitching my wagon to the original Cleveland Browns. I reclaimed the Chiefs as my AFC team on an episode of Basically a Sports Show this past summer.

[infrared41]

• PACKERS: Take a decade to have a terrible run of QBs and learn some humility. The bottom needs to fall out for this smug, tradition-milking pack of braggarts. Assbags, all. I would applaud if a team of Burficts played against Rodgers 16 weeks next season. Tired of it. End him.

OK, I gotta ask...

Where do you find these Packers fans? You and I did 50 episodes of a podcast together. Other than one picture I posted here as a joke in response to one of your "my sports world is ending" rants, have I ever acted like a "smug braggart?" Have any of the Packers fans around here acted that way? If we have, I sure haven't seen it.

Nah. Packers fans have mostly been cool, but I can't stand how they have barely tasted failure in my tenure as a Bears fan: Two titles, two quarterbacks, two seasons of sub-.500 football since 2000. It's infuriating that some teams get all the good fortune and/or are competently run, meanwhile I'm married to the autistic son of a drunkard who can barely field a .500 football team.

I know, I know - I can quit being a fan at any time, and nobody's making cheer for them, blah blah, but screw that. What kind of fan would that make me? And please don't say, "a smart one."

Edit: ironic typo.

FWIW, it hasn't always been this easy to be a Packers fan. I think the Packers had 4 or 5 winning seasons from 1972 until Favre got there. I've spent the better part of my youth rooting for two pretty bad teams. The Browns had a nice run filled with spectacular failure in the 80's, one playoff appearance in the 90's, and then they left for Baltimore. Fortunately, the Packers got really good right around the time the Browns left. The Pack make a fine replacement as my #1 team, but I'll never be as attached to an NFL team as I was to the original Browns. So there's that, I guess.

[DG_ThenNowForever]

When I was a kid, I was astonished to learn the Packers won the first two Super Bowls. When I began to pay attention to NFL in the late 80s/early 90s, the Packers had loser stink all over them. I wasn't paying attention to the NFL at all in 95/96, so my mind was totally blown to learn the Packers were in the Super Bowl. It seemed impossible.

Of course, they've done pretty well in the 20 years since.

[IceCap]

<p>I just want to hate new teams.

• .
• PACKERS: Take a decade to have a terrible run of QBs and learn some humility. The bottom needs to fall out for this smug, tradition-milking pack of braggarts. Assbags, all. I would applaud if a team of Burficts played against Rodgers 16 weeks next season. Tired of it. End him.

Would you have said this about the 49ers when they had the Montana-Young-Garcia triumvirate?

No, but you'd still complain.

[ICTknight]

Found the link

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000620927/article/nfl-network-to-reair-super-bowl-i-for-first-time

The really interesting part of that article to me is this.

Super Bowl I: The Lost Game will air on Friday, January 15 at 8:00 PM ET on NFL Network. The three-hour program is enhanced with pregame, halftime and postgame segments, modern broadcast graphics and coverage, social media interaction, facts and information, with studio contributors and guests live reaction and storytelling throughout.

[Jimmy!]

Steelers Vikings was IX. Raiders Vikings was XI ?

[infrared41]

Steelers Vikings was IX. Raiders Vikings was XI

Hey, I was close. Not bad for someone of my advanced age.

[hbgoo1975]

<p>I just want to hate new teams.

• .
• PACKERS: Take a decade to have a terrible run of QBs and learn some humility. The bottom needs to fall out for this smug, tradition-milking pack of braggarts. Assbags, all. I would applaud if a team of Burficts played against Rodgers 16 weeks next season. Tired of it. End him.

Would you have said this about the 49ers when they had the Montana-Young-Garcia triumvirate?

No, but you'd still complain.

I wish the same thing would happen to the Patriots because they cheated to blow out the Colts in the AFC title game last year. They could pull the same old crap next week if they got their way.

[CS85]

• PACKERS: Take a decade to have a terrible run of QBs and learn some humility. The bottom needs to fall out for this smug, tradition-milking pack of braggarts. Assbags, all. I would applaud if a team of Burficts played against Rodgers 16 weeks next season. Tired of it. End him.

OK, I gotta ask...

Where do you find these Packers fans? You and I did 50 episodes of a podcast together. Other than one picture I posted here as a joke in response to one of your "my sports world is ending" rants, have I ever acted like a "smug braggart?" Have any of the Packers fans around here acted that way? If we have, I sure haven't seen it.

Nah. Packers fans have mostly been cool, but I can't stand how they have barely tasted failure in my tenure as a Bears fan: Two titles, two quarterbacks, two seasons of sub-.500 football since 2000. It's infuriating that some teams get all the good fortune and/or are competently run, meanwhile I'm married to the autistic son of a drunkard who can barely field a .500 football team.

I know, I know - I can quit being a fan at any time, and nobody's making cheer for them, blah blah, but screw that. What kind of fan would that make me? And please don't say, "a smart one."

Edit: ironic typo.

FWIW, it hasn't always been this easy to be a Packers fan. I think the Packers had 4 or 5 winning seasons from 1972 until Favre got there. I've spent the better part of my youth rooting for two pretty bad teams. The Browns had a nice run filled with spectacular failure in the 80's, one playoff appearance in the 90's, and then they left for Baltimore. Fortunately, the Packers got really good right around the time the Browns left. The Pack make a fine replacement as my #1 team, but I'll never be as attached to an NFL team as I was to the original Browns. So there's that, I guess.

Well sure. The bigger picture paints the Pack as merely in the waning years (?!?!) of a run that's placed them among NFL royalty, yet like any other heritage franchise there's been as many ups as downs. I have the tunnel vision of 16 years of Bears fandom where the Bears may take a random game or two, but in the end it's always the Pack with the last laugh. Perennial losers often get branded as an inferior species that perpetuates the cycle of How It Is: The Packers are always good, the Bears are always bad. When this system breaks, it's an anomaly; it's a glitch in the great mechanism. Soon enough Green Bay corrects this mistake by drafting some random megastar and getting 80% performances out of guys that should only be capable of 50%.

This is the extent of my psychosis.