Are All NFL Fan Sites As Negative As Ours? | Page 3 | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Are All NFL Fan Sites As Negative As Ours?

Didn't read the replies, but I'd guess most are. Everyone likes to complain, for the most part.

I bet we're pretty mild compared to some.... eg, Ganggreen
 
NFL sites are more critical than college sites. There's no question about it. On Canes message boards there's been a confident defiant tone all the way through the Shapiro mess, a "We Skate" attitude, and long before the news broke regarding the NCAA's misdeeds of their own.

I don't think this board is more negative than warranted. In fact, during my early months on this site in 2005 I remember being accosted after a critical post. One guy replied (paraphrased), "Nobody knows who you are so how dare you show up and rip the franchise." I thought it was hilarious because I'd followed the team since the late '60s, and on my computer I had dozens of Excel spreadsheets that defined all of our tendencies, most of them subpar. I knew it would be fun once I got around to mocking the Marino years, which are somehow treated as sacred ground around here, even though we were sabotaging our own chances, like the glorious 40-8 deficit in rushing attempts during the playoff loss at San Diego.

There's still too much pollyanna fluff, even if many posters thrill to pretend it tilts the other way. I noticed threads on the first page tonight, touting a "scary passing game" and "...Lamar Miller a Pro Bowler." Does anyone realize what the negative equivalents of those would be? Let's say someone posted a thread that we'll have an inept passing game in 2013. Or that Lamar Miller will be among the three worst backs in the AFC. The posters would be assailed. Only a few backs make the Pro Bowl. But Lamar Miller in his first year as starter...no problem.

You always have to look at it from the opposite perspective. ckparrothead made the point well last season, that we look at the schedule and count games against the Raiders and Bills as wins, while those teams look at us on the schedule and don't exactly shake. In the season win projection threads around here, the average and the median are always tall, in fact higher than the betting number or the media consensus.

I probably could have shifted the tone and forecast of every post I've made on this board 10% more negative than it was, and been closer to accurate. IMO, as I've posted countless times, I think our stadium -- regardless of how it's patched -- is the anchor around the franchise, and that won't be fully acknowledged until we're out of there.
 
Awsi Dooger said:
There's still too much pollyanna fluff, even if many posters thrill to pretend it tilts the other way. I noticed threads on the first page tonight, touting a "scary passing game" and "...Lamar Miller a Pro Bowler." Does anyone realize what the negative equivalents of those would be? Let's say someone posted a thread that we'll have an inept passing game in 2013. Or that Lamar Miller will be among the three worst backs in the AFC. The posters would be assailed. Only a few backs make the Pro Bowl. But Lamar Miller in his first year as starter...no problem.
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Once again, this is gospel.
 
this isn't even the most negative Fin site. Not by a LONG shot. The issue is the negative just draws the most attention. As fans we knee jerk quite a bit. Look at threads during the season, we win one game we're unbeatable, we lose one game we need to start over. My next point is an over generalization, but there are a lot of posters that will take what certain people/stats say as gospel and don't develop their own opinions or they develop an opinion on one player and no matter what happens said player can never improve in their eyes.

As mentioned though, us being mediocre for the last decade doesn't help, but having guys who are bundles of joy like Omar (walking contradiction), Armando (snarky), and Dave Hyde (whose not overly negative, but not positive) makes crap worse. Which is a pity cause guys like Darlington, Volin, and Jackson do a good job.

Either way, there's a reason why Finheaven is the largest Miami Dolphins fan forum, and why you'll find rival fans post here frequently and fans of other teams we don't regularly play come to visit. There are certain message boards out there that will ban you just for saying something negative about their team.
 
There's this idea in this thread that fans are about the same everywhere. Clearly not! I'd love to see a Philly board wondering about how bad Philly fans are and coming to the conclusion that fans are bad everywhere.

Being negative is not necessarily being a bad fan, but it's certainly a first necessary step.

And I'm not calling anyone in particular out, but if I could change one thing about the franchise, I'd change the fans first, worry about Ireland and the WRs later. Wouldn't you if you could?
 
z926538 said:
It has been forty years since those Super Bowl championship teams so I think it is perfectly fair to compare today's Dolphins to the Cleveland Indians. The Indians won a world series with Lou Boudreau as their manager shortly after World War II. As for the Cubs, it has been around a century for them hasn't it? I guess we have about sixty years of misery to go before that comparison is valid. But my point stands: it is possible for a franchise to be non-successful for a very long period of time.

Sports don't run on a binomial distribution. You can have a lousy owner like Donald Sterling of the LA Clippers or the post-Huizenga owners of the Florida Panthers keep your team bad for decades. A great owner like Jerry Buss can keep your team relevant for much longer than it deserves to be. I will believe Ross is closer to Jerry Buss when he has proven it with multiple championships. Until then we remain mediocre ...
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Point well taken.
 
Awsi Dooger said:
NFL sites are more critical than college sites. There's no question about it. On Canes message boards there's been a confident defiant tone all the way through the Shapiro mess, a "We Skate" attitude, and long before the news broke regarding the NCAA's misdeeds of their own.

I don't think this board is more negative than warranted. In fact, during my early months on this site in 2005 I remember being accosted after a critical post. One guy replied (paraphrased), "Nobody knows who you are so how dare you show up and rip the franchise." I thought it was hilarious because I'd followed the team since the late '60s, and on my computer I had dozens of Excel spreadsheets that defined all of our tendencies, most of them subpar. I knew it would be fun once I got around to mocking the Marino years, which are somehow treated as sacred ground around here, even though we were sabotaging our own chances, like the glorious 40-8 deficit in rushing attempts during the playoff loss at San Diego.

There's still too much pollyanna fluff, even if many posters thrill to pretend it tilts the other way. I noticed threads on the first page tonight, touting a "scary passing game" and "...Lamar Miller a Pro Bowler." Does anyone realize what the negative equivalents of those would be? Let's say someone posted a thread that we'll have an inept passing game in 2013. Or that Lamar Miller will be among the three worst backs in the AFC. The posters would be assailed. Only a few backs make the Pro Bowl. But Lamar Miller in his first year as starter...no problem.

You always have to look at it from the opposite perspective. ckparrothead made the point well last season, that we look at the schedule and count games against the Raiders and Bills as wins, while those teams look at us on the schedule and don't exactly shake. In the season win projection threads around here, the average and the median are always tall, in fact higher than the betting number or the media consensus.

I probably could have shifted the tone and forecast of every post I've made on this board 10% more negative than it was, and been closer to accurate. IMO, as I've posted countless times, I think our stadium -- regardless of how it's patched -- is the anchor around the franchise, and that won't be fully acknowledged until we're out of there.
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I'll say this, NFL sites are more critical than college sites because NFL fans for the most part, understand that there's a system in place that's designed to create parity. Every year, every team is supposed to feel like they have a chance to win something.... but that's just not reality.


College sites are less critical because they know the coach/staff that isn't getting the job done is going to be gone. That's just the way it is. The accountability always goes immediately to where it belongs. The excuses, spinning, and passing of the buck don't fly. BOT's, boosters, and athletic directors are far less patient than NFL owners due to the fact that they are also ultimately held accountable. Owners are not. Many of these college sites consist of members that make up these authority groups. They know they're ultimately in control and can do something about it when they've had enough. Most of all, they're more honest with themselves, which is why agreement is typically more widespread among the college fanbase as opposed to the NFL fanbase.


Furthermore, does anyone realize how clueless an NFL organization has to be in order to string together 4 consecutive losing seasons with the way the league is set up for parity these days? The structure itself is designed for everyone to go 8-8 at worst. That's the goal of the NFL.... parity, at all cost.

You already get first dibs in the draft if you're a bad team... teams get compensated with even more picks (compensatory) if you lose quality players in free agency... equal revenue sharing among the owners... a salary cap that keeps everyone operating on a level playing field... the good teams get their rosters and coaching staffs raided by everyone else subsequent of achieving the superbowl... if you need a player somewhere, you can go sign guys off the street if need be... you get franchise tags, transition tags, trades, etc, etc.... all this without even mentioning the way strength of schedule works.

The system of checks and balances that the league structure itself provides you is essentially all you need to go 8-8 every year. If you have ANY idea whatsoever what the hell you're doing, you're going to start from there and be a consistent playoff team. When it comes time that your window is closed and you need to rebuild by getting rid of cornerstone players (Peyton Manning for example), you'll be right back in the playoffs with a new 10 year window to win if you have a clue.

The league basically says, "If you can't succeed on your own, we'll succeed for you with the system we've put in place. All you have to do is keep the damn thing out of the ditch."

Even a losing record can get you into the playoffs.

The NFL is a fantasy football driven machine powered by statistics that is designed to make the NFL even more money, meanwhile melting the brains of it's watered down fanbases due to it's insane popularity.... which has spread beyond the confines of the continental U.S. As long as NFL fans have a few guys on their roster putting up "stats"... unathletic, clumsy, guys with no hair will continue to buy jerseys with another man's last name, and wear it.... and continue lining the owners' pockets while they recycle retread coaches back and forth to one another.

The NFL is a business first, and it's ran by businessmen. Lining the owners' pockets is what comes first and foremost. The system itself is designed to keep fanbases optimistic, regardless of the reality or probability.
 
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where's th'fish said:
There's this idea in this thread that fans are about the same everywhere. Clearly not! I'd love to see a Philly board wondering about how bad Philly fans are and coming to the conclusion that fans are bad everywhere.

Being negative is not necessarily being a bad fan, but it's certainly a first necessary step.

And I'm not calling anyone in particular out, but if I could change one thing about the franchise, I'd change the fans first, worry about Ireland and the WRs later. Wouldn't you if you could?
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You'd worry more about the fans than building a winning franchise? :lol: :bobdole:

And all it takes is a google search. Can't believe you used Philly fans as an example. Again, :bobdole:
 
People take things way too seriously. It's a message board. On the Internet. It exists solely for entertainment purposes. There are people who post here who are b*tchy, whiny, can't take criticism or challenges, and consider themselves to never be wrong. Filter them out.

There are also people who just wants to kill some time during the day and talk about random stuff, some pertaining to football, some not.

And always remember: there's an "ignore" feature on this forum for a reason. Use it.
 
Dolphin fans are negative because we have been losers for years due to poor coaching and gms since jimmy Johnson. I for one am finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Dansby is a loser, bush Sean smith etc. I love the ellerbe pick up. Over payed for Wallace but still we needed it. If we make one or two moves to fix o line, this us a playoff team.
 
I get that people are negative and have much reason to be. However, not every move has been devoid of promise or hope. I consider the opinions of largely, but not entirely negative posters who also have demonstrated a willingness to give credit where and when it's due - no matter how small or monumental the reason as long-suffering fellow "fans."

However, I do also believe that there's a contingent on most message boards, certainly well represented here, who by design or reflex are hard-wired at this point to view even a half full glass as 3/4qtrs empty. They react to, discount, dismiss and disdain of even positive or hopeful developments like Dr Pavlov's drooling dogs reacting to a bell. IMO, because even begrudgingly they won't acknowledge what most objective folks, on and off the site wouold consider positive news, they are less "fans" and more team "followers" where they're so entrenched in their positions that it's now second nature and they'd rather think they're right than suffering the uncomfortable cognitive dissonance that either things are changing or there's something tangible and hopeful for the "fans" to grasp on to.

I have some theories why they're the way they are, and one is that at one time they were true fans not rooting for their visions to be justified, but have morphed into an abyss of complete and utter negativity. The second is that they are just naturally that way and actually having a podium to piss and moan actually fulfills some behavioral need. The other possibility is that here, they're enabled and encouraged by others to vent and complain due to the nature of the Internet as compared to suppressing or being fearful of doing that in real life relationships and encounters. Just my take. :up:
 
Gonzo said:
You'd worry more about the fans than building a winning franchise? :lol: :bobdole:

And all it takes is a google search. Can't believe you used Philly fans as an example. Again, :bobdole:
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And the google search you suggest is...? And it'll support what argument? Dude, you're bashing, but you're not saying anything.
 
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