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Jets Fandom Explained

PorP

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PorP

PorP

Posted
Posted

Now I see

"This brings us back to the Jets. Long-suffering fans continue to root for their team because it is about so much more than winning and losing. The Jets’ fan community commiserates and suffers together while collectively hoping and keeping each other’s spirits up."

Jets X-Factor: Jets fan psychology: Why do sports fans continue rooting for losing teams?.
https://jetsxfactor.com/2022/06/24/ny-jets-fans-psychology-rooting-losing-teams/

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Jet Nut

Jet Nut

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Let’s complicate it by looking for some pseudo psychological reason why we’re loyal fans of our team.  Really good fans who don’t run away in droves through hard times and aren’t band jumping fans whenever the team is good. 

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The Crusher

The Crusher

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17 minutes ago, Nixhead said:

Misery Loves Company! We should all be best friends by now!

It’s like that wacky things some of my less well adjusted friends did in high school. Make the ember in the cigarette red hot and drop it between there  forearms both out and out in front of them. The one that pulls away loses. The one who has to go to the ER for 3rd degree burns and a scared for life wins. That’s what Jet fandom is to me. 

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Warfish

Warfish

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Quote

Why do sports fans continue rooting for losing teams?

Human psychology, loyalty-to-a-place thinking and the fallacy of sunk costs.

A. Most Fans are casual, or start out as kids, and root for whomever their local team is, or have a logo they like, or are from a place they wanted to live or liked, etc. if they root for a team at all.

1. Rooting hard for a sports team becomes ingrained, it becomes a part of your persona, I'm "Warfish the Jets Fan", everyone knows us as a Jets Fan, I'm emotionally and psychologically invested and it becomes part of ones sense of self.

2. We continue to root for that team, even if we've moved to some other place that has it's own team, because of an odd illogical but very consistent human emotion of "loyalty to place".  When people as where I'm "from" I still say New York, despite not having lived in NY for well over 30 years, and not even having been born there.  I spent all of ~10 years living in NY, out of my ~50 years of life.  But those youthful years, when team fandoms are generally formed, still are the core of sense of self as well.  So despite living in DC for ages now, I'm still a Jets Fan.  Same as so many ex-pat NY'ers.  It's illogical because a place is just a place, and it certainly has no loyalty to you.  Yet many of us cling to it our whole lives.

3. Sunk Costs.  I've spent 40+ years being a Jets Fan.  It's too late now to root for someone else.  It's not, of course, that's the fallacy, but most folks who do a thing like a hobby or a fandom for 40 years, even if that thing doesn't work out the greatest, will still do it because of sunk costs.  I could become a DC 'Ders fan tomorrow if I wanted, and little would change.  Yet I don't.  Because, in part, of how much I've invested in being a Jets Fan.  

4. Tribalism.  Like Politics.  Nuff' said.

JMO

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GreenFish

GreenFish

Posted
Posted

Surprised age didnt come up. Most hardcore fans likely started rooting for their teams as kids.

My childhood teams were Jets/Knicks/Mets. I’ve had the good fortune of not rooting for the Knicks and Mets over the last 2 decades. I cant pick up a new team as an adult though. So, I some times just casually watch those sports.

I missed a WS year by the Mets and, this year, looks like they’re pretty good. The Knicks seem to have been awful the entire time.

The NFL has the appeal of the draft. I think that pulls fans of losing teams in and makes it less likely fans stop watching. There is always hope in the young guys.

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Jet Nut

Jet Nut

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Posted
23 minutes ago, Warfish said:

2. We continue to root for that team, even if we've moved to some other place that has it's own team, because of an odd illogical but very consistent human emotion of "loyalty to place".  When people as where I'm "from" I still say New York, despite not having lived in NY for well over 30 years, and not even having been born there.  I spent all of ~10 years living in NY, out of my ~50 years of life.  But those youthful years, when team fandoms are generally formed, still are the core of sense of self as well.  So despite living in DC for ages now, I'm still a Jets Fan.  Same as so many ex-pat NY'ers.  It's illogical because a place is just a place, and it certainly has no loyalty to you.  Yet many of us cling to it our whole lives.

I had Jets season tix for 37 years.  Anyone who was a fan from the late 70’s and beyond hated the Dolphins, they were the rival team you looked for on the schedule every year, Shula was the Belichick of the era.  Living in FL, I would never even consider rooting for the fish.  It’s not illogical to remain a Jets fan.  Sunday ticket gets allows me to watch every Jets game down here just like in NY and there is a Jets bar located near by that is packed with Jets fans in their Jets gear rooting the Jets on every Sunday.  Nothing illogical, the lazy way would be to root for the local team but logic has nothing to do with fandom

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Lith

Lith

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1 hour ago, Jet Nut said:

I had Jets season tix for 37 years.  Anyone who was a fan from the late 70’s and beyond hated the Dolphins, they were the rival team you looked for on the schedule every year, Shula was the Belichick of the era.  Living in FL, I would never even consider rooting for the fish.  It’s not illogical to remain a Jets fan.  Sunday ticket gets allows me to watch every Jets game down here just like in NY and there is a Jets bar located near by that is packed with Jets fans in their Jets gear rooting the Jets on every Sunday.  Nothing illogical, the lazy way would be to root for the local team but logic has nothing to do with fandom

Agreed, but I also think there is one aspect that you are missing.  Family.  Sure looks like you and your son have a shared bond as Jet fans and that bond continued after Mogglez became an adult.  I feel that way with my son, who is not on the site.  He grew up in Illinois, not NY.  But we did spend Sundays watching the Jets together -- either on broadcast TV or we would head out to BWW for the games.  When we had the chance, we would travel to games when the Jets were in the midwest (Chicago, Indy, Minnesota, St Louis, Detroit). 

The bond we have over the Jets is special and it is jsut shared between the two of us.  We still travel to games, usually one a year, although we are gonna miss this year since he won't leave his pregnant wife home with their two year old for a father-son weekend.  Kid has to get his priorities straight. 

And now I can't wait for that first weekend in a few years when three generations can enjoy the Jets, or at least suffer together.  Miserable fall Sundays, a Lith family tradition soon to span three generations.

 

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Alka

Alka

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Posted
4 hours ago, PorP said:

Now I see

"This brings us back to the Jets. Long-suffering fans continue to root for their team because it is about so much more than winning and losing. The Jets’ fan community commiserates and suffers together while collectively hoping and keeping each other’s spirits up."

Jets X-Factor: Jets fan psychology: Why do sports fans continue rooting for losing teams?.
https://jetsxfactor.com/2022/06/24/ny-jets-fans-psychology-rooting-losing-teams/

I have been a Jets fan for 54 years now.  I will give you my analogy of being a Jets fan:

It's like I'm stranded on an inland in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, with 20 other people.  We have all the food and water we need, and shelter with air conditioning, and electricity.  We all believe that there are 2 boats coming to rescue us.  We know that one boat is a 500 foot yacht, and we will all get $1M dollars when they pick us up, as well as all of the most beautiful women who want so much to be with us.  The other boat is a 40 foot leaky boat, which will get us home, but we will take on water, and have no food or water for 3 days until we get back to port.  The leaky boat shows up, and tells us that we can come with them, but if we want to wait for the 500 foot yacht, with $1M each and beautiful women who all desire us, we might be waiting for 1 day, or 10 years.  They just don't know when the yacht will show up.  Jets fans all decide to wait for the yacht.  Non Jets fans will jump aboard the leaky boat, and be home in 3 days.  

That is what being a Jets fan is like.  When the leaky boat leaves, and we are waiting not days, but years for the yacht to show up, we Jets fans realize way too late that we made a mistake by waiting for the yacht that may never arrive.

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jgb

jgb

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Because I like to pretend to like a team for 40 years just to secretly hope they fail on the internet and be called "a troll" by millenials.

I earned these stripes and I'm not going anywhere (I mean in regards to my Jets fandom).

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Rhg1084

Rhg1084

Posted
Posted

I mean at some point eventually they gotta be good right? Just from a mathematical standpoint the odds are one of these days they’ll win the division? It’s almost impossible to be so trash for so long. Literally the posters here on this message board could’ve fielded a better roster these last 12 years or so

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jgb

jgb

Posted
Posted
38 minutes ago, Rhg1084 said:

I mean at some point eventually they gotta be good right? Just from a mathematical standpoint the odds are one of these days they’ll win the division? It’s almost impossible to be so trash for so long.

Cracking Up Reaction GIF

 

38 minutes ago, Rhg1084 said:

Literally the posters here on this message board could’ve fielded a better roster these last 12 years or so

Correct use of the word "literally." You have been awarded 10 Internet points.

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Jet Nut

Jet Nut

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Lith said:

Agreed, but I also think there is one aspect that you are missing.  Family.  Sure looks like you and your son have a shared bond as Jet fans and that bond continued after Mogglez became an adult.  I feel that way with my son, who is not on the site.  He grew up in Illinois, not NY.  But we did spend Sundays watching the Jets together -- either on broadcast TV or we would head out to BWW for the games.  When we had the chance, we would travel to games when the Jets were in the midwest (Chicago, Indy, Minnesota, St Louis, Detroit). 

The bond we have over the Jets is special and it is jsut shared between the two of us.  We still travel to games, usually one a year, although we are gonna miss this year since he won't leave his pregnant wife home with their two year old for a father-son weekend.  Kid has to get his priorities straight. 

And now I can't wait for that first weekend in a few years when three generations can enjoy the Jets, or at least suffer together.  Miserable fall Sundays, a Lith family tradition soon to span three generations.

 

Same here.  I was brought in by my fathers fandom.  I brought my sons in just as I was.  
 

I started bringing my oldest son when he was 6.  We had lots of great afternoon watching and rooting the Jets on, either at the Stadium or on TV.  

We’ll be at the fin g e together for that reason

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Doggin94it

Doggin94it

Posted
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5 hours ago, Warfish said:

Human psychology, loyalty-to-a-place thinking and the fallacy of sunk costs.

A. Most Fans are casual, or start out as kids, and root for whomever their local team is, or have a logo they like, or are from a place they wanted to live or liked, etc. if they root for a team at all.

1. Rooting hard for a sports team becomes ingrained, it becomes a part of your persona, I'm "Warfish the Jets Fan", everyone knows us as a Jets Fan, I'm emotionally and psychologically invested and it becomes part of ones sense of self.

2. We continue to root for that team, even if we've moved to some other place that has it's own team, because of an odd illogical but very consistent human emotion of "loyalty to place".  When people as where I'm "from" I still say New York, despite not having lived in NY for well over 30 years, and not even having been born there.  I spent all of ~10 years living in NY, out of my ~50 years of life.  But those youthful years, when team fandoms are generally formed, still are the core of sense of self as well.  So despite living in DC for ages now, I'm still a Jets Fan.  Same as so many ex-pat NY'ers.  It's illogical because a place is just a place, and it certainly has no loyalty to you.  Yet many of us cling to it our whole lives.

3. Sunk Costs.  I've spent 40+ years being a Jets Fan.  It's too late now to root for someone else.  It's not, of course, that's the fallacy, but most folks who do a thing like a hobby or a fandom for 40 years, even if that thing doesn't work out the greatest, will still do it because of sunk costs.  I could become a DC 'Ders fan tomorrow if I wanted, and little would change.  Yet I don't.  Because, in part, of how much I've invested in being a Jets Fan.  

4. Tribalism.  Like Politics.  Nuff' said.

JMO

Also, it's purely rational. You can't get the same high from victory if you aren't that invested, so switching becomes impossible; we all know it wouldn't mean very much

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