The only time I have seen players play to lose is to get rid of a coach, and only for a game or two. See the Chargers this year. It goes against reality to expect them to play like bums on purpose to help the draft capital of a team they might not even be on the next season, and to purposely put shitty play on film. Their film is their resume. Fan expectations for a tank like that are as realistic as waiting for Santa last night.
Yeah you def read my mind regarding tanking and fans getting upset when the team wins when they should be losing for draft position. It just doesn’t happen.
Gentlemen, I am certainly not upset that they won. I can't root against them. It is just humor, it's funny that when they are not expected to play well, they do, and when they should play well, they flop. Merry Christmas guys.
It wasn't really directed at you more than a general fan expectation of tanking, it just doesn't make sense to me. The worst team in the league is usually the one with the first pick. Merry Xmas
I could never root for the Jets to lose. If they win, I celebrate and talk smack. But if they lose, I tell myself it will payoff in April, and try not to feel so bad. That's about it. Plus the fans who managed to show up to cheer for the Jets certainly weren't pulling for a loss.
I will say that the refs have helped the Jets draft status immensely over the years and almost made the difference yesterday.
Fair enough. I don't think anyone with any sense expects the players to purposely give a game away. Just like the players don't purposely play badly when the Jets blow leads, commit bad penalties or turnovers, etc. Me personally, I can't sit watch a game and root against them. The way they draft, it doesn't matter anyway.
I rooted for Jets to lose yesterday. I don't think this makes me less of a fan but can't argue with folks who will question my fandom. Wins are meaningful when it is for contention, qualifying for playoffs etc. Wins are meaningless when they screw you out of a high draft pick. That said, Merry Christmas everyone
That's your right and I don't begrudge it to you. It's the fans that get pissed off when the players celebrate a win they consider meaningless (not talking about this thread now). Those players aren't seeing that game through the same lens as the fan. My example would be when we lost out on the Mariotta sweepstakes.
Anyone questioning anyone else's fandom always drives me crazy. Especially since most of those questions are on boards like this or in Facebook groups. Why the hell would anyone spend their time doing this if they weren't a fan? For the record, when it gets late in the season like this and a top pick is on the line, it doesn't upset me when they lose. But I can't sit there and root against them on a play to play basis, it's unnatural.
Not feeling a Jets victory over the Browns but it sure would be an awesome spring board to finally beat the Patriots in the final game this season.
If I remember correctly, they had a last second win against Tennessee which took them out of the sweepstakes, correct? And neither of the guys at the top of that draft have amounted to anything anyway.
You are right byz. Players or coaches will never tank and I will never blame them for trying to win. I have zero issues with that. This is a business for them. Records mean something for them. Stats mean something for them. They are all looking forward a new contract. Better stats better pay next time. So I am not delusional to think that Jets players would play to lose yesterday. I am just mad that Commanders were a bad team allowing Jets to win.
I will go on the record right now and say that if the ghost of Tom Brady was at the top of the draft, and the Jets could get him by losing to the Patriots, I would still root for the win. I will never root for the Patriots to beat the Jets.
You saw what happened when JD dumbly moved down two spots last year. This "win" moved us down 6 spots. No more (relatively) sure things. It's a wild wild west out there now with JD navigating the way. God bless us all.
