Happy Thxgiving! My Fan column on Schadenfreude

[Kelly the Dog]

 

 

https://buffalonews.com/opinion/columnists/voice-of-the-fan-after-schadenfreude-sunday-bills-control-own-destiny-and-we-cant-wait/article_385eb26a-2ff3-11eb-b0da-afd5c8c07ad0.html

 

Please read, comment, pick nits, share, hold spearing contests, argue among yourselves.

 

An excerpt...

 

"In the (mostly) winner-take-all sports world, schadenfreude – the “enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others" – is one of the most elemental and satisfying emotions.

 

The most guilty of pleasures.

 

In sports, for us to win, everyone else must lose. It is one of those sports fan things that do not have to make sense, they are just true. Like, for instance, we can waffle at any time between calling our teams “we” or “they,” and it means the same thing.

 

And in the NFL bye week, schadenfreude becomes even more vital because we cannot win. While most of the league plays on the Sabbath day, we must rest.

 

Fans most often, consciously or unconsciously, root for players and teams to fail; not succeed. We did not hope Denver beat Miami; we desperately wanted a Dolphins’ beatdown by the Broncos. We screamed, if not prayed, for Bad Fitzy to throw a trademark, crucial, soul-crushing interception more than Drew Lock to throw a late miraculous game-winning touchdown.

 

And we love Fitzy!

 

Bills Mafia never wished for Houston to rise up and celebrate; but for New England to collapse and suffer.

 

And it is not true human suffering; it is sports suffering, and something Buffalo teams and fans know a great deal about.

 

Last week’s Schadenfreude Bowl was one of the most delightful in the franchise’s 70-year history. A vast majority of the games played out the way we ordained them to, especially the essential ones.

 

Ryan Fitzpatrick was all set to rip our hearts out. Everything was going swimmingly for a Dolphins loss until the QB swap. Tua played like the raw rookie he is. And then Miami head coach Brian Flores, who seemed like a stable genius the previous five weeks, took all of three quarters to undo his newfound good will.

 

Good grief!

 

Very good grief, in fact, and ultimately more Schadenfreude for Bills Mafia after Fitzy’s end zone backbreaker.

 

The Patriots put a scare in us, but they are simply not that frightening anymore. We should not have even felt it that much.

 

Tampa Bay is not even a threat to the Bills whatsoever, but Tom Brady’s evil is so pure and expansive that our Schadenfreude extends to his entire NFC South team. And what a pleasure it was to top off bye week, wallowing in his insulting loss."

 

Read the rest on the News site...

[BADOLBILZ]

 

 

Watching Brady finally be surrounded by an absurd amount of big play weapons..........only to no longer be able to get the ball to them............it's indescribably delicious.

[boater]

Flores "stable genius"     

 

Nice mastery of the current zeitgeist.

[BuffaloBillies]

NOTHING is more satisfying than watching Brady fail... again. 

 

Oh, and nice write up.  Thx

Edited November 26, 2020 by BuffaloBillies

[Kelly the Dog]

49 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Watching Brady finally be surrounded by an absurd amount of big play weapons..........only to no longer be able to get the ball to them............it's indescribably delicious.

It’s almost as good as us winning. Not quite but next best thing. But he only has three great receivers, one good one, two very good TEs and two good running backs and a very good offensive HC. 

[yall]

Boy, those Germans have a word for everything.

[Kelly the Dog]

16 minutes ago, yall said:

Boy, those Germans have a word for everything.

Well, they know a lot about the troubles and suffering of others.  It’s a great word though. 

[NoHuddleKelly12]

1 hour ago, yall said:

Boy, those Germans have a word for everything.

You might be surprised how many words it shares with English, ironically enough. And yes, it’s a very descriptive language otherwise.