Having had the great memory of being at the 1968 AFL Championship Game in Shea, and seeing the Jets win the Super Bowl, I dont feel quite as deprived as some of you younger guys must feel, not having had the experience of knowing what it was like to see the Jets win it all. I am less emotionally invested in sports now than I was when I was a kid. Maybe some of it is from seeing athletes become millionaires for playing a game, or the ESPNing of sports, maybe it's just cuz I'm old skool, or maybe just old, but whatever the reason, I am less distraught about this latest collapse than many of the posters I see posting their hearts out over this latest NYJ debacle. I've experienced my share of heartbreaks- the collapse in 1986, the second half collapse in Denver in the 98 AFC CG, being at the stadium when Vinny went down opening day, being at Shea when the Chiefs eliminated the Jets from the playoffs in 69, and of course, probably at the top of the list, The Mud Bowl. I still get excited every summer when TC opens. It's the same feeling as when Spring training opens in March. But I happened to see first hand how the team's chemistry was wrecked during training camp before the 2007 season, and it continued right through the 07 season. Many did not want to see it, and made various excuses for the dismal performance in 07, and blamed Pete Kendall, but the signs were all there: the HC lost the lockerroom from the way he treated some players, and it wasnt limited to Kendall. And once i understood what this HC was all about, and how overmatched and insecure he is, I pulled back a lot of my emotional energy from this team. I happened to see a post last night where one of the best Jet fan posters of all time, a guy by the name of Ham, said he wont be renewing his season's tickets next year if Mangini is still here. Maybe he will, maybe he wont, but it's clear he has reached his breaking point, and so have many of you. So take it from someone who has seen 40 years of ups and downs with this team: find your happiness with your friends and family. It's Christmas time and it's Hannukah. Divest some of your emotional energy away from this woeful franchise and invest it into your loved ones and your friends. You can and should still remain a fan- just dont put your life and your life savings into it. Protect yourself if you know you are too upset or depressed with the misfortunes of the Jets latest demise. Put things back into perspective and focus on the really important things in life. HAPPY HANUKKAH AND MERRY CHRISTMAS! JC
Don't feel sorry for us. I feel sorry for the older fans who've gotten such a shitty attitude about a football team. You guys are stronger people than I, cause if anyone let me down like some of you say you've felt when this team sucked...I would have just bounced. I mean shit...some of you have been complaining about this team longer than I've been alive. If you DO feel sorry for us...feel sorry for the fact that the older generation of fans tries so hard to knock any optimism out of us by explaining constantly that everything about the Jets sucks and must be changed every time something goes wrong.
Very nice message, but I have opted for the crossbow through the back of the head while roasting chestnuts on an open fire.
No need to go over the edge and commit suicide if your team doesn't beat the Pats,the Dolphins or the Sea Hawks. When it stops being fun to live and to die with your team you should consider painting the house, mowing the lawn or going to the mall with your wife on Sundays. Nice post JC and good call on Mangini you were way ahead of me.
Oh, and I liked Ham, but he was a little crazy. You cannot tell that dude he's wrong. I got banned from JI for saying that Clay Buchholz's upside was that of a future ace.
I will do whatever it takes to persuade my son from being a Jet's fan and experiencing the annual disappointment and let downs.
I guess this year's Jet crash will be the beginning of the youngin's trial by ordeal. As you've pointed out, we've seen more crashes by this team than a nascar track. It gets to the point that you just hope for the best, but expect the worse to happen and usually, its the latter. I used to be optimistic long ago. Since then I consider myself both skeptical and cynical. I root them on but like you said, keep the emotional investment to a minimum. I would imagine alot of folks are there now as well. For whatever reason, this franchise finds new and inventive ways to destroy itself and its fanbase. Yet we keep coming back for more decade in and decade out. To the younger fans, I would say get used to what you've seen so far. These are the Jets. Perhaps not the same old Jets in that they spend more money to accomplish the same mediocrity. You might see a few 11-5's, 10-6's. You might even live long enough to see a 12-4 or 13-3 but i wouldn't count on that being the norm. Your chances of hitting the lottery are much better. We're not the Cubs... Yet... BTW, over the next several decades, try to remember why they play this game. Its not only for a game check. The Ring Is The Thing.. Never, Ever, forget that..
Exactly!!! It's amazing watching this team play over the past 20yrs, we know how the game is going to end up, when it's only the first quarter..
Thanks. And my decision to pull back emotionally from this team wasnt based on any wisdom- it was just due to a visceral dislike for this HC, and a lack of agreement with many of his coaching decisions. So it made me very skeptical of this regime. But you know everything changes, and he wont always be the HC. All things must pass, including coaches, but i know I'll still be a NYJ fan- just not so much a fanatic. And that helps to deal with the annual disappointment. And for those of you who put your gf or your wife or a friend on the back burner during the football season, now is the time to make it up to them.
I'm 22 years old and have been watching the Jets since I can remember. I remember the 1-15 year, the 12-4 year, and all the ones in between. What I do love though about rooting for the Jets is that when we win, it will be bitter sweet. I'm use to this up and down things but its what makes me so happy to be a fan. Truthfully I'd be bored if we won every year and we didn't have our struggles. It gives me more passion and more reason to watch every move during the off-season and regular season. So as a younger fan, I don't want people to feel bad for me. It gives me the passion to be a fan.
Thanks Cane, good message. CMan, how young are these fans you are speaking to? 5? Lets say you have only been a fan for 3 years, you have already seen enough crap. haha.
You should feel more sorry for the Gen X Jets fans born around 1970 like myself. I have seen NOTHING but misery for over 35 years now. I recall a few good teams in the 80's and then we had a decent run in the late 90's. But that's about it. This season gave me false hope so this is the ultimate mindfuck. It's a tortured existence. Sometimes I think about how I would react if we actually won the Super Bowl. I think I would cry uncontrollably for hours from shock.
:grin: Nice!! I'm thinking about the fans that are old enough to buy the merchandise and such. I started seriously being a fan around 1967. Back then, I had no idea that 40 years later, I'd be in my 50's still wondering when we'd win another SB. Just wanted to give the youngins a look ahead into one of many possible futures albeit a likely one. Merry Xmas Jet fans and for Mangini? A pile of steaming shit formed into a lump of coal.
we're fine, trust me. There's a lot of things that keep us occupied with our time other than the jets.
Yeah, you're younger than me, so you have my condolences. :wink: I was only 12 when they won SBIII but i was pretty numb even back then after the game. Maybe it's cuz I was watching it with my grandfather and father, and there was family over, so no one went really crazy. but it was a nailbiter in the fourth quarter, especially when unitas came in and i had these bad visions of him leading some kind of epic comeback. There were other sports events when i remember going really crazy- Chris Chambliss' HR, the Mets winning the WS in 69, Bucky Dent's HR, and even last year when the Brady's got flattened inthe SB I was pretty damn happy. This season is disappointing, no doubt about it. And they spent a lot of money to bring in players this year to compete. But they really didnt compete very well, in the end.
