Losing enthusiasm for football

[mannc]

26 minutes ago, Big Blitz said:

No it's because the officiating is atrocious that's why you feel like that.  

It’s hard when you care so much about the game and the team, and you see the refs just give extra possessions to the other team for no reason at all, and there’s nothing you can do about it, and the head coach seems untroubled by it…

[Mrbojanglezs]

Just a game. 

[Southern_Bills]

29 minutes ago, The Red King said:

Yeah, call it a potential overreaction to today, but even before the game started, watching felt like a chore, not a boon.

 

Football meant everything to me.  It was quality time with my dad, who taught me all about it.  One of my best memories of my dad was being together at the stadium for The Comeback.  It was in my blood.

 

But now it seems the wins feel good, but the losses feel so much worse.  I'm watching the games on my own now, my kids aren't into football.

 

My stress levels are through the roof on close games.  Today was miserable.  A loss, bad coaching, bad playing, abyssmal officiating (for the first time I am seriously wondering if the NFL is fixed/scripted).  And it's not over.  This loss is going to stay with me and haunt me.

 

I'm wondering if it's worth it anymore.  If the good feelings are worth the bad feelings and time commited.  Yes, a Super Bowl win would be euphoric.  But the odds are against that.  Would anything else, even a season ending in a Super Bowl loss, be worth the time and torment invested?  It's like buying an expensive emotional lottery ticket.

 

I'm...kinda starting to think not, that this just isn't worth it.  Anyone else feel the same, or at least understand?

 

I can't completely relate, ill be honest I'm pretty even keel even when we lose unless it's a big game. (Divisional, AFCCG)

 

I did grow up and it was a family function, I moved off and now watch on my own unless a friend comes over, but it will never be the same as it was when it was a family function. 

[TheFunPolice]

Losing in the playoffs is a lot easier to take because you played a top team.

 

Losing to the dregs of the NFL and looking like they were slapping you all around the field is way worse.

[jaybee]

I hear you. I lived and breathed Buffalo Bills football from 1980 right up until the last couple years. It just doesn't do it for me anymore. Mostly because of the political wing of government they have become. If they win great if they lose I really don't care anymore. On a beautiful day like today there is no way I'm going to sit inside and watch commercials with an occasional football break in between.

[Murdox]

At the end of the day it's just sports.  It doesn't really matter much compared to the important things in life.  So, just have fun and don't worry about it much. 

 

I also think it goes without saying that the Bills have really not looked playoff worthy for much of the season even with our soft schedule.  The  offense has especially looked like opposing coaches have figured something out, so I think it helps to reduce expectations.  We will be fighting - and I mean fighting - to hold off the Pats for the division championship, and currently there are better teams in the AFC.

[LeGOATski]

Just now, The Red King said:

 

Actually made my point for me, thank you.  Already said the highs just aren't as high for me anymore.

You're putting more attention on the lows. You came here to shine a LAMP on the board while we're down. That's probably the worst mentality to have as a fan.

[TheFunPolice]

To me it's Brady that is taking away a lot of the enjoyment.

 

No matter what, he wins. It's sickening to watch and he's like a ghoul that never ages

[ProcessTruster]

39 minutes ago, The Red King said:

Yeah, call it a potential overreaction to today, but even before the game started, watching felt like a chore, not a boon.

 

Football meant everything to me.  It was quality time with my dad, who taught me all about it.  One of my best memories of my dad was being together at the stadium for The Comeback.  It was in my blood.

 

But now it seems the wins feel good, but the losses feel so much worse.  I'm watching the games on my own now, my kids aren't into football.

 

My stress levels are through the roof on close games.  Today was miserable.  A loss, bad coaching, bad playing, abyssmal officiating (for the first time I am seriously wondering if the NFL is fixed/scripted).  And it's not over.  This loss is going to stay with me and haunt me.

 

I'm wondering if it's worth it anymore.  If the good feelings are worth the bad feelings and time commited.  Yes, a Super Bowl win would be euphoric.  But the odds are against that.  Would anything else, even a season ending in a Super Bowl loss, be worth the time and torment invested?  It's like buying an expensive emotional lottery ticket.. 

 

I'm...kinda starting to think not, that this just isn't worth it.  Anyone else feel the same, or at least understand?

A "potential" overreaction??   Yikes, you're insane.   We have a top 5 roster in this league, great on field leadership and 9 freakin games still to play.   Thin on O Line today and it showed.  It's just one week.  

[The Red King]

2 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

You're putting more attention on the lows. You came here to shine a LAMP on the board while we're down. That's probably the worst mentality to have as a fan.

 

It's not more attention, just how I've felt.  This isn't about how football itself is, or how others should feel.  This is just a question of, if I feel this way, should I keep watching.  And a question of if others may feel the same.

[Conlan58]

Just now, The Red King said:

 

It's not more attention, just how I've felt.  This isn't about how football itself is, or how others should feel.  This is just a question of, if I feel this way, should I keep watching.  And a question of if others may feel the same.

Let me put it this way... I don't believe for a second that you will be able to stop watching the Bills. There are casual Bills fans who show up to the stadium lots at 10am with a dunkin donuts coffee in hand, then there is us - the TSW Bills fans who order their coffee from Tim Hortons the night before the game and show up at Hammers lot at 6:30am just to say Hi to Eric. You aren't going anywhere, and the rest of us wouldn't have it any other way. Hang tight and enjoy what is coming with the rest of us.

[LeGOATski]

1 minute ago, ProcessTruster said:

A "potential" overreaction??   Yikes, you're insane.   We have a top 5 roster in this league, great on field leadership and 9 freakin games still to play.   Thin on O Line today and it showed.  It's just one week.  

It's not just one week for some people. 

 

BIRGing (basking in reflected glory) and CORFing (cutting off reflected failure) are a real thing. If their team wins, it means the fan is a winner. If their team loses, it means the fan is a loser. 

 

Notice how he says "the loss is going to haunt me." The fan has to deal with the inner turmoil of a losing mentality regardless of how the team performs. A loss only magnifies it.

4 minutes ago, The Red King said:

 

It's not more attention, just how I've felt.  This isn't about how football itself is, or how others should feel.  This is just a question of, if I feel this way, should I keep watching.  And a question of if others may feel the same.

You should NOT keep watching. STOP watching. 

 

That's solid advice. Take it. Focus on positive things and start turning that attitude around.

[mjd1001]

51 minutes ago, The Red King said:

Yeah, call it a potential overreaction to today, but even before the game started, watching felt like a chore, not a boon.

 

Football meant everything to me.  It was quality time with my dad, who taught me all about it.  One of my best memories of my dad was being together at the stadium for The Comeback.  It was in my blood.

 

But now it seems the wins feel good, but the losses feel so much worse.  I'm watching the games on my own now, my kids aren't into football.

 

 If the good feelings are worth the bad feelings and time commited.  

 

I'm...kinda starting to think not, that this just isn't worth it.  Anyone else feel the same, or at least understand?

I agree with you but I think I'm a few steps/years ahead of you even.

I grew up watching EVERY bills game as a kid. Wouldn't even miss a minute of preseason games if I had the choice. Had season tickets for a decade. I looked forward to and thought about football season daily through most of the year until it arrived.

 

Now?  Eh, whatever.  I do follow the team a lot, but I get more enjoyment out of the discussion on the message boards than I do watching the game.

Did the Bills win?  Great!  Did they lose? Oh well, maybe next game (or next year) will be better.

Today for example, I took a walk with my wife until about 1:30...turned on the TV to watch the game, but before I even saw a play I saw the F1 race was going to start. So I watched the F1 race, only flipping back to the Bills game once very 15 to 20 minutes to see the score.

 

I just have trouble investing in a sport where I have pretty much seen everything. I have seen come from behind wins, I have seen epic collapses in the 4th quarter. I have seen teams/fanbases win the superbowl that never have before and seen their reaction. I've heard WAY too many discussions/arguments about who is the 'best ever' at any position. I have seen dozens of 50+ yard TD runs, one handed catches, bad officiating calls......basically nothing I see on any given sunday is new anymore.

And that goes back to one of your original points....the losses and the angst are just not worth it...they are worse (and the reaction of most of the fans of 'your team') are much worse than anything positive gained from the win.

 

Of course many people will disagree, but to me I have gone from the hardest of the hard core Bills fans to someone who just likes to follow the conversation, watch a game if there is NOTHING else to do...and overall I'm happier for it.

 

I probabaly now watch 4-5 Bills games per year from start to end...another 5 or 6 I watch 50% of them while doing other things at the same time, and the rest I just read about after the game when I have something else to do..or something else I want to watch.

Edited November 7, 2021 by mjd1001

[The Red King]

2 minutes ago, LeGOATski said:

It's not just one week for some people. 

 

BIRGing (basking in reflected glory) and CORFing (cutting off reflected failure) are a real thing. If their team wins, it means the fan is a winner. If their team loses, it means the fan is a loser. 

 

Notice how he says "the loss is going to haunt me." The fan has to deal with the inner turmoil of a losing mentality regardless of how the team performs. A loss only magnifies it.

You should NOT keep watching. STOP watching. 

 

That's solid advice. Take it. Focus on positive things and start turning that attitude around.

 

That's exactly it.  The losses don't bother me any more then they used to, even during the drought.  Just, the wins don't feel as good as they did, resulting in a much lower baseline.

[Man with No Name]

I feel similar to op, but this is far from the worst spot ive been. I used to look forward to Sundays all week, but sometime around Trent Edwards, that went away, and I took my SUndays back for several years. I watched the bills games when I could, but if there was something else that needed done, I started doing it. Allen changed that. Even in his first year, when they lost a ton, he made them fun to watch. That is still the case, but we have been slowly circling the drain all season, and it peaked today.  I left my house towards the end of the third and made a trip to home depot to get started on some important winter prep projects. 

 

I'll be back in front of the tv again next week, but my devotion is not unconditional anymore. another couple games like we saw today, and I will start looking for a new hobby. 

 

There was a time when watching Peyton Manning kept my interest in football. I don't even watch games outside the bills until december now, when im trying to figure out who is who; what is what. NOthing that happens to that point really matters anyway. 

[dorquemada]

27 minutes ago, IronMaidenBills said:

 

I would be ok with automated game officiating. Make it so that rules and scenarios are programmed in to help keep biases out. I’m all for that. 

 

I said this in the offseason, i do work in video analytics.  There's nothing that an NFL ref does that couldnt be done 5000 times better and more quickly with AI/Machine Learning.   Not to take any heat off the Bills miserable performance today, but the refs clearly put their fingers on the scale for the Jags today

[TheFunPolice]

It's kind of like how many coaches say that the losses hurt more than the wins feel good. 

 

I guess I can understand that given the long hours and work those guys put in.

 

For me, it's a hobby but Brady is wearing me down a bit. 

Edited November 7, 2021 by TheFunPolice

[Man with No Name]

7 minutes ago, TheFunPolice said:

It's kind of like how many coaches say that the losses hurt more than the wins feel good. 

 

I guess I can understand that given the long hours and work those guys put in.

 

For me, it's a hobby but Brady is wearing me down a bit. 

you're tellin me. The dude is almost 45 and I've given up hope of him ever starting to suck. if we had to play them in the SB, it would be a stressful 2 week lead up, and I wouldn't be able to handle it if we lost. 

 

I do not want that game!!!!!!!!

[Milanos Milano]

10 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

 

I said this in the offseason, i do work in video analytics.  There's nothing that an NFL ref does that couldnt be done 5000 times better and more quickly with AI/Machine Learning.   Not to take any heat off the Bills miserable performance today, but the refs clearly put their fingers on the scale for the Jags today

This is all I really ask for as a sports fan. Get biases out of the game or lose me as a fan. It’s becoming a joke more and more every year, and it has nothing to do with the loss today. 

[Another Fan]

1 hour ago, The Red King said:

Yeah, call it a potential overreaction to today, but even before the game started, watching felt like a chore, not a boon.

 

Football meant everything to me.  It was quality time with my dad, who taught me all about it.  One of my best memories of my dad was being together at the stadium for The Comeback.  It was in my blood.

 

But now it seems the wins feel good, but the losses feel so much worse.  I'm watching the games on my own now, my kids aren't into football.

 

My stress levels are through the roof on close games.  Today was miserable.  A loss, bad coaching, bad playing, abyssmal officiating (for the first time I am seriously wondering if the NFL is fixed/scripted).  And it's not over.  This loss is going to stay with me and haunt me.

 

I'm wondering if it's worth it anymore.  If the good feelings are worth the bad feelings and time commited.  Yes, a Super Bowl win would be euphoric.  But the odds are against that.  Would anything else, even a season ending in a Super Bowl loss, be worth the time and torment invested?  It's like buying an expensive emotional lottery ticket.

 

I'm...kinda starting to think not, that this just isn't worth it.  Anyone else feel the same, or at least understand?

I feel your sentiments only thing is I wasn't disappointed by the loss today.