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Watching a Jets game on TV.


Torus34

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The Jets are, well, let's say less than stellar this season. There are all sorts of comments that can be made about the team's performance. Some sports commentators can even make headlines with them. But I think there's still some positive pleasures to be had in watching a Jets game. I prefer a 'glass half full' mindset. I go a long way back with the Jets. I worked for Hess Trading and Transport when the late Mr. Leon Hess bought the New York Titans and re-named the club. I listened, spellbound, to Super Bowl III as Jersey Joe took the senior league pundits to school and taught them a lesson in the value of the quick, button hook pass.

 

That's the background, the mental crowd noise in my wetware, as I watch today's team. Here's some of the things I look for.

 

There's always the possibility of an exceptional play, even from a losing team when everything else is going wrong. Then there's the possibility, sometimes realized, of week-to-week improvement. From this, I can get a peek, no matter how slight and fuzzy, into the mind of the head coach. The past game, as an example, was notable for the reduction in flagged plays. Yes, the Jets still hurt themselves with call-backs. But there was, noticeably, fewer of them. And pick-offs can still happen. Though admittedly rare, they can help as I wash down some snacks.

 

So I still watch the Jets. Yes, Mr. Patrick Mahomes is a phenomenon and will certainly leave his mark on the game itself, as did other outstanding QB's of the past. And there's drama in watching some of the current Hall-of-Fame-to-be quarterbacks play their final year(s). But at the bottom of Pandora's Box, if you remember, there was Hope.

 

This week, I'll watch the Jets. ["Hon, what's on tap this week, pigs in blankets or pizza?"]

 

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1 minute ago, UntouchableCrew said:

There's actually something reassuring about watching the Jets this season. No drama. No frrustration. No tension or stress. Just a really bad team getting embarrassed with the game over by halftime.

We're coming for that number one pick.

 

Hi!

 

Thanks for the response. The Pick [Ed.: Note the caps,] is a topic in itself. For me the big question is which position, offense or defense, needs replacement the most? Or, in other words, if a single position can be improved, which one would it be to make the biggest difference going forward? [Ed.: No snide marks about going backward. Right, dude?]

 

Regards, best to you and yours.

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44 minutes ago, UntouchableCrew said:

There's actually something reassuring about watching the Jets this season. No drama. No frrustration. No tension or stress.

This.

And I've also decided not to get involved in the whole Trevor Lawrence situation, I'm not going to let some college kid toy with my emotions from now until draft day.  I'm disconnected emotionally.

As for the TV, I have a really good one and once a week I watch the Thursday Night games in 4K HDR, it's helped to make this season a little less intolerable.

SAR I

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10 minutes ago, SAR I said:

This.

And I've also decided not to get involved in the whole Trevor Lawrence situation, I'm not going to let some college kid toy with my emotions from now until draft day.  I'm disconnected emotionally.

 

SAR I

 

Awwwwww come on, the emotional connect is the best part!!! 

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39 minutes ago, section314 said:

Seems like we get the same broadcast team every week now. Feel for those guys.?

Hi!

 

The broadcasters could, I think, do the team a favor by putting a lot of effort into educating the audience. Those who are new to the game may not have the faintest idea as to the meaning of terms such as post play, shotgun and bootleg, not to mention the ever-popular play action.* The broadcasters could help them [the viewers] reach the point where they can recognize these plays and formations for themselves. There's all manner of extraneous detail filling the time, but little of it makes any difference at all to the casual viewer.

 

As with the enjoyment of many things, including the fine arts [Ed.: Are pro sports not-so-fine arts?], the more one understands underlying structures, the greater the appreciation of the experience.

 

Regards.

 

* If you're an old football hand and know the game backwards and forwards, you can get some idea of the problems facing a novice viewer by watching a cricket match. [Ed.: Cricket has the edge on terminology, like the position 'silly mid-on'.]

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I'm good at emotionally disconnecting from the Jets. When I was younger, a loss would ruin my day and sometimes my week. I've learned to enjoy the wins and let the losses go because, after all, I played no personal role in the loss -- I didn't call any of the plays, determine who to start, draft any of the players, hire the GM or select the coaching staff. Every loss, every single one of them, falls squarely an solely on the shoulders of the Johnsons. I know if I owned the Jets, and really likely anyone chosen in a random lottery, the Jets would be better off.

When I was younger, I lost a lot due to my emotional investments in the fortunes of this franchise. In fact, it bankrupted me. I've got nothing left to give. So, I'll watch the games and I'll wait, hoping that the Johnsons eventually get a clue and I will hit that payday that I once considered inevitable, but no longer do. In the meantime, I'll root for the Jets to win, expect the worse, and never take the losses to heart. 

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7 minutes ago, Sonny Werblin said:

I'm good at emotionally disconnecting from the Jets. When I was younger, a loss would ruin my day and sometimes my week. I've learned to enjoy the wins and let the losses go because, after all, I played no personal role in the loss -- I didn't call any of the plays, determine who to start, draft any of the players, hire the GM or select the coaching staff. Every loss, every single one of them, falls squarely an solely on the shoulders of the Johnsons. I know if I owned the Jets, and really likely anyone chosen in a random lottery, the Jets would be better off.

When I was younger, I lost a lot due to my emotional investments in the fortunes of this franchise. In fact, it bankrupted me. I've got nothing left to give. So, I'll watch the games and I'll wait, hoping that the Johnsons eventually get a clue and I will hit that payday that I once considered inevitable, but no longer do. In the meantime, I'll root for the Jets to win, expect the worse, and never take the losses to heart. 

That's gonna be on a bunch of headstones.?

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37 minutes ago, predator_05 said:

Awwwwww come on, the emotional connect is the best part!!! 

It's been 41 years of fandom for me.  I experienced the intense frustration and burnout most are feeling now back in 2017 but I allowed myself to ride the joy of The Big Darnold Hope and its gotten me to 2020. 

The only way I can take starting over with yet another QB in 2021 is if I take it easy in 2020.  It's just got to be that way.  I can't be rooting for losses again.  I can't be searching news for any breadcrumb tell-tale sign that some college kid would be willing to play here again.  So I've shut it down.  I'm watching the games, I'm looking at individual player performances, but I'm disconnected from the emotional stuff.  No guilt to feel if I don't go to the games as I didn't have to pay for season tickets this year and, in all likelihood, next year too.

SAR I

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