What Does it Mean to be a Good Jets Fan?

[intelligentjetsfan]

Many Jets fans are disgusted with the state of this franchise, the people in charge of the team and the way they conduct themselves publicly. Yet one of the themes that I continue to see from some of the posters here is the notion that if you complain a lot then you are somehow a bad fan, grouped into the ridiculous SOJF (same old Jets fan) category. Its as if complaining about a bad product, one in which you may be paying for, makes you the problem instead of the people producing the inferior product. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The fans have an absolute right to express frustration; this team is currently being run like garbage. The reasons are plentiful and well documented in other threads, so there is no need to expound on them here. But the larger point is that being critical when the team is being run poorly actually makes you a good fan. Its not the same as being critical for the sake of complaining or complaining about a winning organization who had a bad season. Certainly a fan who is negative for the sake of negativity is not a good fan. But being a good fan does not mean having to swallow everything that is said by the owner, coach and gm as if it is gospel. I would argue that fans that swallow whole the company lines and accept mediocrity (or worse) are the worst type of fans.

The fans are the life blood of any sports organization. We give ratings through our viewing habits, pay the astronomical ticket and stadium prices, buy the merchandise and directly and indirectly promote the team in various ways. Sometimes empty seats and shelves with unsold merchandise speaks louder, and more effeciently, then the fan who makes excuses for every busted draft pick and poor coaching decision.

[shuler82]

Let's start small.

How is the team currently being run 'like garbage'?

Go.

[RMJK]

Fan stands for a Fanatic. Fanatic in general has a negative connotation. I respect all sides and no fan is right all the time.

There are 32 teams and they spend a lot to build a team and get good players and coaches. The coaches usually come from winning franchises. They get to draft good players just like we do. It is the exception to get an Andrew Luck, a Peyton Manning, a Tom Brady, A Drew Brees .... We have to compete against a Tom Brady twice a year. Chances are we are going to lose those games.

In other words, it aint easy to win and sometmes you lose and have to move on and come up with another plan.

[intelligentjetsfan]

Originally Posted by shuler82

Let's start small.

How is the team currently being run 'like garbage'?

Go.

There are countless threads documenting the answer(s) to your question. My overall point in this thread is to drive home the point that complaining about an inferior product does not make you a bad fan.

[SlickBri481]

Originally Posted by intelligentjetsfan

Many Jets fans are disgusted with the state of this franchise, the people in charge of the team and the way they conduct themselves publicly. Yet one of the themes that I continue to see from some of the posters here is the notion that if you complain a lot then you are somehow a bad fan, grouped into the ridiculous SOJF (same old Jets fan) category. Its as if complaining about a bad product, one in which you may be paying for, makes you the problem instead of the people producing the inferior product. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The fans have an absolute right to express frustration; this team is currently being run like garbage. The reasons are plentiful and well documented in other threads, so there is no need to expound on them here. But the larger point is that being critical when the team is being run poorly actually makes you a good fan. Its not the same as being critical for the sake of complaining or complaining about a winning organization who had a bad season. Certainly a fan who is negative for the sake of negativity is not a good fan. But being a good fan does not mean having to swallow everything that is said by the owner, coach and gm as if it is gospel. I would argue that fans that swallow whole the company lines and accept mediocrity (or worse) are the worst type of fans.

The fans are the life blood of any sports organization. We give ratings through our viewing habits, pay the astronomical ticket and stadium prices, buy the merchandise and directly and indirectly promote the team in various ways. Sometimes empty seats and shelves with unsold merchandise speaks louder, and more effeciently, then the fan who makes excuses for every busted draft pick and poor coaching decision.

Well said. People who constantly comment on and criticize other fans, rather than the team (when the product is subpar), are just being blind to the real issues. Such blindness makes a bad fan in my eyes, but hey, everyone roots for a team in their own way.

[BrickHouse]

I think it's knowing to stack up your supply of Advil/Tylenol for the season.

[fidelioion]

Originally Posted by RMJK

Fan stands for a Fanatic. Fanatic in general has a negative connotation. I respect all sides and no fan is right all the time.

There are 32 teams and they spend a lot to build a team and get good players and coaches. The coaches usually come from winning franchises. They get to draft good players just like we do. It is the exception to get an Andrew Luck, a Peyton Manning, a Tom Brady, A Drew Brees .... We have to compete against a Tom Brady twice a year. Chances are we are going to lose those games.

In other words, it aint easy to win and sometmes you lose and have to move on and come up with another plan.

So much of this league is about having quality QB play that it's very tough to judge a coach or organization based upon the QB we've had the past couple of years.

[Savage69]

Originally Posted by intelligentjetsfan

There are countless threads documenting the answer(s) to your question. My overall point in this thread is to drive home the point that complaining about an inferior product does not make you a bad fan.

I have always wondered whose Idea was it to call yourself "intelligentjetsfan"?? Are you saying other fans are dumb??

[shuler82]

Originally Posted by intelligentjetsfan

There are countless threads documenting the answer(s) to your question. My overall point in this thread is to drive home the point that complaining about an inferior product does not make you a bad fan.

Complaining in itself doesn't, but again, what is your problem with how the team is being run? I mean, there are certainly valid complaints about what's going on behind the scenes with this team, but go read through the press conference thread. Are things really that doom and gloom?

Let's see who they bring in at GM and OC and take it from there. Things were bad in 2012, no doubt, but changes are being made to fix the situation.

[RazorJet]

To be a good Jets fan, one must be thick skinned, have a chip on their shoulder and drink... often. Deafness would help also.

[Warfish]

Originally Posted by intelligentjetsfan

Many Jets fans are disgusted with the state of this franchise, the people in charge of the team and the way they conduct themselves publicly.

We're all entitled to opinions, and to express them. Here's mine:

Digust, driven by ignorance (they do not know who made what decisions, nor do they know what alternatives would be better) and prodded on by a hostile, hateful, media who profits on making Fans hate their own team enough to read every world they write, tweet or burp.

Yet one of the themes that I continue to see from some of the posters here is the notion that if you complain a lot then you are somehow a bad fan

Not true. Fans have every right to complain if they are displeased.

Other fans, however, have the right to look at these often irrational, illogical and detail/alternative-limited complaining fans and wonder what they're thinking, and why change for changes sake is always their answer every year, and why they always seem to hate every player and coach on our team but love every other guy in the league, and why they seem to suddenly love ex-Jets the day they leave the Jets, when they hated them two minutes earlier.....

Its as if complaining about a bad product, one in which you may be paying for, makes you the problem instead of the people producing the inferior product. Nothing could be further from the truth.

If Fan pressure plays any part on the rapid rotation of Coaches and players on the Jets, then yes, in some viewpoints, thats a big part of the problem. Lack of patience is as deadly to development as being overly patient with mediocrity.

In addition, it's often HOW the argument is put forth, not the argument itself.

"Sanchez should be dumped because of stats A, B, C, and D, factors Q, R and X, and references X and Z. We'd be better off with #1, #4 or #18 because of X, Y, Z." is good complaining.

"Woody is moron, we're doomed, we'll never win anythign till he is gone!!!! We should trade for Peyton Manning dammit!!!!" is not.

That is just ranting, without support, and for something that is a virtual impossibllity of changing.

The fans have an absolute right to express frustration

Agreed.

this team is currently being run like garbage

In your opinion, and without supporting arguments to make your case beyond "yeah, like some other threads explain it and stuff".

But the larger point is that being critical when the team is being run poorly actually makes you a good fan.

I would argue that fans that swallow whole the company lines and accept mediocrity (or worse) are the worst type of fans.

IMO Typical New York Sports Fan, the "best fans" are the ones with the most and loudest hatred for everything their team does. They are Francessa-clones.

The worst fans are anyone who has patience or support for anyone currently on or involved with the team.

[GenoT]

Originally Posted by intelligentjetsfan

Many Jets fans are disgusted with the state of this franchise, the people in charge of the team and the way they conduct themselves publicly. Yet one of the themes that I continue to see from some of the posters here is the notion that if you complain a lot then you are somehow a bad fan, grouped into the ridiculous SOJF (same old Jets fan) category. Its as if complaining about a bad product, one in which you may be paying for, makes you the problem instead of the people producing the inferior product. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The fans have an absolute right to express frustration; this team is currently being run like garbage. The reasons are plentiful and well documented in other threads, so there is no need to expound on them here. But the larger point is that being critical when the team is being run poorly actually makes you a good fan. Its not the same as being critical for the sake of complaining or complaining about a winning organization who had a bad season. Certainly a fan who is negative for the sake of negativity is not a good fan. But being a good fan does not mean having to swallow everything that is said by the owner, coach and gm as if it is gospel. I would argue that fans that swallow whole the company lines and accept mediocrity (or worse) are the worst type of fans.

The fans are the life blood of any sports organization. We give ratings through our viewing habits, pay the astronomical ticket and stadium prices, buy the merchandise and directly and indirectly promote the team in various ways. Sometimes empty seats and shelves with unsold merchandise speaks louder, and more effeciently, then the fan who makes excuses for every busted draft pick and poor coaching decision.

Its really disturbing to me the Ryan bashing going on here.When you ask the simple question on why the Jets lost 10 games,they usually will come up with the right answer, but blame Ryan for things he had no control over

[Sanchez 3:16]

Originally Posted by intelligentjetsfan

There are countless threads documenting the answer(s) to your question. My overall point in this thread is to drive home the point that complaining about an inferior product does not make you a bad fan.

This, in a nutshell, is exactly what makes someone a "bad" Jets fan.

You take what the media says, you take what others say, and you present it as fact. And then, mass hysteria ensues.

It is opinion.

The masses will probably say that today's press conference was nothing but two incompetent idiots rambling on about the team's future direction with no plan in place. The Mike Francesa's, the Manish Mehta's, the countless JI posters. They'll still think Rex is getting fired, that it's all a ruse, that there must be something else going on behind the scenes. Because again, opinion is fact. And anything contradicting opinion must be wrong.

On the other hand, I would personally say that today I saw two individuals not satisfied with results, but are proven and capable of succeeding again. That are driven to reach that level of success again and are beginning the pursuit to reach the success they expect of themselves as we speak, both internally and in the public eye. Through all the nonsense written about them, I saw two individuals address the media as professionals.

Of course, this is also my opinion. It is not fact. But my opinion and others like it won't be written in the New York Post tomorrow. It won't be discussed by callers on WFAN. Mass hysteria sells.

So what does it mean to be a good Jets fan? Forming your own opinion. If you think this team is a disaster, you are entitled to think so. But please have your own opinion as to why they are a disaster, and not some reasons you've quoted from the Daily News or Jets Insider.

[RMJK]

Originally Posted by fidelioion

So much of this league is about having quality QB play that it's very tough to judge a coach or organization based upon the QB we've had the past couple of years.

I agree judging is very hard in general and there are so many variables to choose from. When Santonio went down in week 4 and we lost to the 49ers 0 to 34; I think the whole team questioned the leadership including Sanchez.

When I saw Luck getting hit and he out muscled the DE and got away I said wow. It brought to mind JJ Watt scaring the bajesus out of Sanchez.

I want a QB like Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck, etc who are strong enough to take a hit and not let them get rattled but only to motivate them to beat the opponent. Obviously those teams lost and need other pieces going foward but it's a start.

[Dimitri_0515]

Need to have PSLs

[joiseyjet]

Originally Posted by shuler82

Complaining in itself doesn't, but again, what is your problem with how the team is being run? I mean, there are certainly valid complaints about what's going on behind the scenes with this team, but go read through the press conference thread. Are things really that doom and gloom?

Let's see who they bring in at GM and OC and take it from there. Things were bad in 2012, no doubt, but changes are being made to fix the situation.

We've been waiting & waitng & waiting while our step brothers who share our stadium have gone to & WON 2 Super Bowls ,the fans were promised when Rex & Mark got here , we would finally get ours ,well we are still waiting 4 years later & no championship . 30- years of being a JET season ticket holder ,the time of waiting for the owner of the JETS to give us our winner has come & gone & so are we the long time fans.

[GenoT]

Originally Posted by joiseyjet

We've been waiting & waitng & waiting while our step brothers who share our stadium have gone to & WON 2 Super Bowls ,the fans were promised when Rex & Mark got here , we would finally get ours ,well we are still waiting 4 years later & no championship . 30- years of being a JET season ticket holder ,the time of waiting for the owner of the JETS to give us our winner has come & gone & so are we the long time fans.

I understand your frustration. But who could have predicted the complete collapse of a QB, who 2 years ago, looked like a keeper

[ASH_1962]

Originally Posted by shuler82

Let's start small.

How is the team currently being run 'like garbage'?

Go.

Starting small is a great idea considering the lack of IQ around here. It is quite simple. How is it that the guy who is most responsible for this train wreck gets a "do over" after 4 years of failure, and it has been a failure no matter what anyone says, zero championships = failure in my opinion, especially after no SB appearancesin 40+ years. He went to the AFCC game twice, lost both times with Eric Mangini's players. Failure. Period. So now, he gets a pass and a "do over" after 4 years, the last 2 of which were downright miserable for us fans to endure, and, all of a sudden, over a Pina Colada in the Bahamas, we are expected to believe Rex has finally figured out what he needs to do to improve as a HC, and improve the standing of this franchise? Maybe you were born yesterday but I sure as hell wasn't. Give me a break.
Oh and the owner letting a subordinate choose his "boss" is laughable, commical and a complete joke.

This is the true definition of "The fish stinking from the head down".


Is that "small" enough?

[Warfish]

Originally Posted by ASH_1962

How is it that the guy who is most responsible for this train wreck gets a "do over" after 4 years of failure

1. The man "most responsible" is the General Manager. He was fired. The second most responsible in many minds is Mark Sanchez.

2. It was two years of success, one year of mediocrity, one year of failure.

and it has been a failure no matter what anyone says, zero championships = failure in my opinion, especially after no SB appearancesin 40+ years.

Opinion, which you're entitled to. Not fact. Most teams and fans consider AFCCG years as reasonable success.

So now, he gets a pass and a "do over"

If you see "one more year or you're fired" as a "do over" or free pass, again, thats your opinion and you're entitled to hold it.

we are expected to believe Rex has finally figured out what he needs to do to improve as a HC, and improve the standing of this franchise? Maybe you were born yesterday but I sure as hell wasn't. Give me a break.

Assumes the problem was primarily Rex's Coaching, not Sanchez's worst-in-NFL play. Again, there is a sharp disagreement over who is responsible. Not everyone agrees it was on Rex in a season where he lost his best talent on O, best talent on D, and was all but forced to play the worst QB in the NFL of the past 4 years.

Oh and the owner letting a subordinate choose his "boss" is laughable, commical and a complete joke.

Happens regularly in the NFL between Coaches and Front Office. For example, Andy Reid this year, Shannahan when he wa shired by the Redskins, Tuna here in New York, and every Coach who was ever granted "full control", etc.

Is that "small" enough?

Given your rant included few actual facts, aand mostly the usual assortment of anger, opinion and personal vitriol and SOJF-40-Years-****-You-Jets bitterness?

[joiseyjet]

Originally Posted by GenoT

I understand your frustration. But who could have predicted the complete collapse of a QB, who 2 years ago, looked like a keeper

This year Ray Charles could have predicted it, & i was not one of the Mark haters screaming for Teblow all year in fact I believe that having to be asked about tebow all the time added to his problems . now mark still thew all those Int`s .Marks problems came were visable early on in the season & flying Tenn. for what I thought should have been a lock game ( but was an embaressment by Mark) I am glad I am glad I didn`t book my buffalo flt. before that game . & I don`t think you or Woody uderstand my/our fustration