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Cheese · 01-13-2011, 10:43 AM

larf....

New York Jets fans.

I don’t know what it is about them, but I’ve been fascinated by Jets fans my whole life. Everything about them. Their customs. Their beliefs. Their superstitions. Their language. The way they worship. Mating habits. Their whole existence just enthralls me somehow.

Growing up in New England, and by extension the AFC East, I’ve gotten a lot of opportunity to study Jets fans’ culture. I’ve watched them at distance. Studied films of them. Had encounters with them up here in Foxboro. And because my friends and I used to make an annual road trip down to the Meadowlands, I’ve been able to observe them in their native habitat. And I can tell you they are endlessly interesting creatures.

I think the main reason I’m fascinated by Jets fans is the same reason any anthropologist studies a past civilization or why Jane Goodall studied primates: Because in many ways they remind us of ourselves. Learning about the people who follow the J! E! T! S! is a way to learn more about who we are.

Because the Jets fans are us. That is, the us of 25 years ago. In many ways, their culture is just a less evolved version of our own. Think about it. What were our lives like back oh, say, in the year 1985 AD? We were barely eking out an NFL existence. Life was nothing but hardship. On the field, the Patriots were one of the least successful franchises in the history of sports. Off the field, they were a constant circus of bad characters, embarrassing incidents, habitual criminal offenders, hapless coaches and management buffoons.

So success was defined down. We graded on the scale. While other teams strove for championships, we were content with a playoff spot or even just being over .500. Anything better than last place and firing the coach was considered progress. Even on the rare occasion the Pats had actual, real, genuine success, it was short lived. The greatest moment the Pats had in that era was the improbable run to Super Bowl XX, and even that set news world record for futility and humiliation. ...more here on thread 22

01-13-2011, 10:43 AM	#4002
Cheese Franchise Player Join Date: Mar 2002 Exp:	larf.... New York Jets fans. I don’t know what it is about them, but I’ve been fascinated by Jets fans my whole life. Everything about them. Their customs. Their beliefs. Their superstitions. Their language. The way they worship. Mating habits. Their whole existence just enthralls me somehow. Growing up in New England, and by extension the AFC East, I’ve gotten a lot of opportunity to study Jets fans’ culture. I’ve watched them at distance. Studied films of them. Had encounters with them up here in Foxboro. And because my friends and I used to make an annual road trip down to the Meadowlands, I’ve been able to observe them in their native habitat. And I can tell you they are endlessly interesting creatures. I think the main reason I’m fascinated by Jets fans is the same reason any anthropologist studies a past civilization or why Jane Goodall studied primates: Because in many ways they remind us of ourselves. Learning about the people who follow the J! E! T! S! is a way to learn more about who we are. Because the Jets fans are us. That is, the us of 25 years ago. In many ways, their culture is just a less evolved version of our own. Think about it. What were our lives like back oh, say, in the year 1985 AD? We were barely eking out an NFL existence. Life was nothing but hardship. On the field, the Patriots were one of the least successful franchises in the history of sports. Off the field, they were a constant circus of bad characters, embarrassing incidents, habitual criminal offenders, hapless coaches and management buffoons. So success was defined down. We graded on the scale. While other teams strove for championships, we were content with a playoff spot or even just being over .500. Anything better than last place and firing the coach was considered progress. Even on the rare occasion the Pats had actual, real, genuine success, it was short lived. The greatest moment the Pats had in that era was the improbable run to Super Bowl XX, and even that set news world record for futility and humiliation. ...more here on thread 22