How did you cope during the Kotite years?

[Lot K Tailgaters]

I was 15/16 years old during the Kotite years.  I went to every home game so being around other fans even if it was a ghost town at times helped.  
 

This year I honestly don’t let myself get worked up.  I gave up on this team after week 6.  I watch every week.

the Raiders game I just kept laughing at the end.  

[BettyBoop]

I was locked up.  I pulled the tag off of my pillows.

[Gastineau Lives]

5 minutes ago, freestater said:

He deserves it. I plan to spend my seventies yelling at Adam Gase. 

Bruce Coslet gets my late 60s. 

[freestater]

5 minutes ago, fullblast said:

Honestly, this is one of the least stressful Jets seasons I've lived through as a fan. It almost becomes enjoyable as soon as you embrace the suckage.

I was having Sunday dinner over at my Italian sister's a couple weeks ago. She's a Bills fan. I told her and the family "man, I see how entertaining the Jets are for all of you now." Rooting for the losses felt liberating. 

[southtown24th]

I was 11.

We had season tickets.

Don't know what we did.  Didn't pay a whole lot of attention, went to games to tailgate and watch fights--literally.  ALWAYS fights.  ALWAYS.

[munchmemory]

Just now, southtown24th said:

I was 11.

We had season tickets.

Don't know what we did.  Didn't pay a whole lot of attention, went to games to tailgate and watch fights--literally.  ALWAYS fights.  ALWAYS.

Yup.  And ALWAYS footballs being pitched around by what seemed to be hundreds of people.  Balls hitting folks in the head, bouncing off car hoods or BBQs....Was like a friggin war zone.

[Rob Moore]

As a 10 year old, 94 was my first year I was fully invested in Jets football.  You can imagine my surprise the next season when my fav player Rob Moore (hence my username) was no longer on the team and instead we had a slow RB named Ron Moore. 
 

I honestly didn’t care about losing during the Kotite years.  We were bad but I didn’t care.  I was a young kid that just was discovering how much I loved football.  I still watched all the games and couldn’t wait to watch Berman and TJ on NFL Primetime or Inside the NFL on HBO on Saturday’s.  I wore my Jets starter jacket proudly.  
 

I almost look back at the Kotite years with happy nostalgia just because of how much simpler it was then....not just myself but the whole game and how it’s covered was simpler and more pure.  Now I’m a sore loser that hates watching losing highlights and can’t stand the vast majority of the nfl media.

[Jet_Engine1]

1 hour ago, chirorob said:

I was younger, and still had hope.

Now, I'm older, kind of numb to it, and don't care that much.   Honestly I like talking about the Jets here far more than I actually like watching the Jets play.

I was 25 in 1996, I had all the time in the world for the Jets to get better, and still had hope that they would.......

 

?

[WowOhWow]

Great topic OP.  I was there for every game (and even attended numerous road games each year with buddies).  That era started with the fake spike game, without question one of the craziest atmosphere's I can remember when we were winning that game and in first place the latest in a season since we won the Super Bowl.  It went downhill fast after that.

Only having tabloids and friends made it easier.  Access to all the info today makes it much harder on fans bc you can see just how dysfunctional we are relative to so many other franchises.  We also didn't have the Pats dynasty yet.

But bottom line - the games were still fun as hell.  Tickets were cheap.  Didn't have to pay for pre-season games.  Lots of regular people in the stands that loved to have a good time.  I remember many, many great times in that stadium during the Kotite years.  Tailgates were great fun.

Now - I'm so fed up with how much of a fraud Gase is and the arrogance of the Johnson boys.  Hess negotiated oil contracts with terrorists, Johnson's "f" up everything they tough and are pansies.  

[addage]

I had a Leon Hess voodoo doll and about 34,000 pins. 

[southtown24th]

25 minutes ago, munchmemory said:

Yup.  And ALWAYS footballs being pitched around by what seemed to be hundreds of people.  Balls hitting folks in the head, bouncing off car hoods or BBQs....Was like a friggin war zone.

yeah it was a sh*t show

I was 11

But I remember everyone being so fat, ugly, impoverished looking, smelly, drunk and fighting. LOTS of fighting.

[paulyjet]

Sunday at the games drunk getting in fights with the opposing fans...

If the jets couldn't beat the opposing team... we'd beat their fans.

I know... it's not right...

But we felt good...

Lol

I'm kidding...

Or am I...

?

[shevys]

It was a tough year to be a fan. I was fortunate (?) enough to be at the game when the Jets beat the Cardinals to get our only win, roasting in my Jets ski jacket in late October.

At least Kotite had the decency to resign his position.   

[PS17]

Not really related but look at this doozy the Jets media team put on Instagram yesterday:

 

[southparkcpa]

1 hour ago, Savage69 said:

The 70's decade was much worse Kotite only lasted 2 years just like the Gase era will..

This is getting as bad as the 70's.....   but yes, the 70's was pretty bad.  BUT we had a few 8 win seasons

[jgb]

3 minutes ago, PS17 said:

Not really related but look at this doozy the Jets media team put on Instagram yesterday:

 

Today Pepsi filed a lawsuit in Federal Court for damages to brand reputation

[kmnj]

the kotite era was not as bad as this year and it is not even close-because you knew if they got in a real football guy they could right  the ship

kotite team had a legit rb in murrell  and a legit fb in anderson

team had three legit wrs that are far superior to what we have now-wayne keyshawn and graham

the tightends were better-I was a guy that screamed for sapp at the actual draft(but kyle brady and baxter were way better than herndon and griffin

we had a real  kicker in lowery

we had some studs lb  in mo shade tree and green

we had a real pass rush with hugh

our dbs in glen and mickens were solid

back then it was about  going to games and seeing the same faces in the stands and paying a reasonable amount for tickets-there was no psl nonsense(I own some of the best in the house) 

 

 

 

 

[section314]

Those two years were my 16th and 17th years of tickets. Up to season 41 now, so Kotite didn't break me. ? The first season, 1995, we were 3-13, and actually saw them win a game. The next year, the only game we won was in Arizona, so we saw 8 losses in person. It was brutal, but they had way more talent on those teams than we have now. There were times during that season when on a nice day, we would extend the tailgate, and put the game on the radio. If they were playing ok, we would go in halfway into the 2nd quarter, but we went to every game. The lasting memory I have of that season was a game that we had two extra tickets. We left them on the wipers of my car, and when we came out after the game, there were 20 more on my wipers.? True story. What saved me during those years were being able to go to all the games with my 3 boys, and seeing my friends every home game to tailgate. Today, as it was back then, the only thing that ruins the game day experience is the Jets.

[munchmemory]

32 minutes ago, southtown24th said:

yeah it was a sh*t show

I was 11

But I remember everyone being so fat, ugly, impoverished looking, smelly, drunk and fighting. LOTS of fighting.

Half the guys would show up late in the first quarter 'cause they were more concerned with getting tanked at their tailgate.  Then, would leave way before half to load up on more booze.  The lots of fights you saw was because there were so many drunks in the stands from tailgating.

[jgb]

24 minutes ago, kmnj said:

the kotite era was not as bad as this year and it is not even close-because you knew if they got in a real football guy they could right  the ship

kotite team had a legit rb in murrell  and a legit fb in anderson

team had three legit wrs that are far superior to what we have now-wayne keyshawn and graham

the tightends were better-I was a guy that screamed for sapp at the actual draft(but kyle brady and baxter were way better than herndon and griffin

we had a real  kicker in lowery

we had some studs lb  in mo shade tree and green

we had a real pass rush with hugh

our dbs in glen and mickens were solid

back then it was about  going to games and seeing the same faces in the stands and paying a reasonable amount for tickets-there was no psl nonsense(I own some of the best in the house) 

Same is true today. Without the league-worst HC/QB combo platter, this team is nowhere near as bad as it looks.

[southtown24th]

2 minutes ago, munchmemory said:

Half the guys would show up late in the first quarter 'cause they were more concerned with getting tanked at their tailgate.  Then, would leave way before half to load up on more booze.  The lots of fights you saw was because there were so many drunks in the stands from tailgating.

fights and fights and fights

I was 11.

Jets games were scary.

[Jet_Engine1]

35 minutes ago, PS17 said:

Not really related but look at this doozy the Jets media team put on Instagram yesterday:

 

Oh, Jesus...

[dcJet]

1 hour ago, freestater said:

" Rooting for the losses felt liberating. 

 

I'm getting better results now rooting for losses than I ever did rooting for wins.

[munchmemory]

2 minutes ago, Jet_Engine1 said:

Oh, Jesus...

This kid has from day one never looked right to me.  Looks a bit "stunad", if I can express it in colloquial Italian-American patois.

[Bungaman]

Actually, the Kotite era wasn't as horrible for me as the mid 70's were: as a new fan in '70, age 13, becoming accustomed to disappointment and abuse from friends who were not also afflicted with this acquired pathogen took some adjustment. The mid to late '90's were good to me - good job developments, good girlfriends - so enough distractions made the pain easier to bear. The Knicks being decent and interesting helped. Loved Anthony Mason.

This season does suck because I have little else to distract myself: an ex and a young daughter who live in Greece (that I can't go see,) living already in semi isolation in rural VT (beautiful, but take-out anything above road kill quality is 30 miles away,) and sadness for those who are financially and physically afflicted by the virus - makes me long for less stressful times, but I am thankful for what I've got (and what I've avoided.) Others have it way worse than me.

Sorry to wander off topic - senile delinquency is kicking in .... Did I wear my pants to work? 

[jgb]

4 minutes ago, Bungaman said:

Actually, the Kotite era wasn't as horrible for me as the mid 70's were: as a new fan in '70, age 13, becoming accustomed to disappointment and abuse from friends who were not also afflicted with this acquired pathogen took some adjustment. The mid to late '90's were good to me - good job developments, good girlfriends - so enough distractions made the pain easier to bear. The Knicks being decent and interesting helped. Loved Anthony Mason.

This season does suck because I have little else to distract myself: an ex and a young daughter who live in Greece (that I can't go see,) living already in semi isolation in rural VT (beautiful, but take-out anything above road kill quality is 30 miles away,) and sadness for those who are financially and physically afflicted by the virus - makes me long for less stressful times, but I am thankful for what I've got (and what I've avoided.) Others have it way worse than me.

Sorry to wander off topic - senile delinquency is kicking in .... Did I wear my pants to work? 

No you did not. Be careful, that's a pencil sharpener, not a urinal.

[dcJet]

I had 4 season tickets for 11 years.  That year, all my usual Jet buddies bailed and I was inviting casual girlfriends, who had no interest in football, to come to the games with me.  Ugh.  That was my last year of season tickets.

 

[jgb]

1 minute ago, dcJet said:

I had 4 season tickets for 11 years.  That year, all my usual Jet buddies bailed and I was inviting casual girlfriends, who had no interest in football, to come to the games with me.  Ugh.  That was my last year of season tickets.

 

Three at a time??

[munchmemory]

5 minutes ago, dcJet said:

I had 4 season tickets for 11 years.  That year, all my usual Jet buddies bailed and I was inviting casual girlfriends, who had no interest in football, to come to the games with me.  Ugh.  That was my last year of season tickets.

 

I had four as well.  At least a couple of games I literally could not give them away standing outside Gate D.

[jgb]

2 minutes ago, munchmemory said:

I had four as well.  At least a couple of games I literally could not give them away standing outside Gate D.

Maybe they just didn't want to sit next to you

[munchmemory]

4 minutes ago, jgb said:

Maybe they just didn't want to sit next to you

lol  Not likely.  I'm always freshly showered/groomed and came to the games armed with an ample flask of whiskey.

[jgb]

2 minutes ago, munchmemory said:

lol  Not likely.  I'm always freshly showered/groomed and came to the games armed with an ample flask of whiskey.

I meant because you licked your hand before you tried to shake theirs to make a deal

[JetsFanShawn]

2 hours ago, freestater said:

We've got this place to commiserate because of our genius head coach this time. Its a wonderful way to exercise our demons of the green 'n white variety. But back then, probably most of us didn't have the internet, or large groups of Jets fans to share our pain. So I ask, during those dark years way back in the stone(d) age, what did you do to keep yourself from giving up on this incompetent football team? 

we need a new coach staff and qb

[WowOhWow]

What also made those years bearable was that we got Parcells right after and immediately walked, talked, acted and played like a professional football team.  It was amazingly refreshing to not have our intelligence insulted every time we engaged with our team.  We got players that gave a crap, we had coaches that knew what they were doing.  We were tough.  I remember Bryan Cox, new to the team and a backup linebacker, running down covering a punt and decapitating a Dolphin's WR.  We were nasty and it was amazing.

The good times as Jets fans are absurdly amazing bc they're so far and few between.  Beating Jacksonville.  Crazy fun.  Up 10-0 in Denver...like nothing I've experienced.  

When we get this done we will show the world how amazing Jets fans are.  We're nuts.  We can kill each other.  But when we get good I have no doubt we will finally get the respect we deserve.  Jet fans are incredible.

[Losmeister]

dont watch