Why All The Negativity?

[BGDutchNorris]

For reference, I am 28, so if this is more of an age thing I would totally understand that. Now when I say this I don't mean just a draft pick or a free agency move. It seems like for some reason we are the ones talking the worst about our team. It's like it feels good to continually undersell and assume the worst. I'm all for being realistic. The year we won the superbowl I said 10 wins and a playoff game would be great. We ended up 10-1 en route to that title. I swore the wheels were gonna fall off with all the injures but there we were, in the playoffs, with a shot until Carson gets hit cheaply. Then the draft comes and I see mostly good reviews outside of Philly on our picks (of course there were some negative, nothing is ever 100% in any direction) but our sports writers (and fans) were lighting up the team for their picks. And how we always screw up. So I looked up these two images:





And...I don't get all the hate. 

I get hating Chip Kelly, or Andy Reid's clock-management. McNabb not remembering the OT rule, the MSII pick, etc. But we've had success that friends of mine who are fans of other teams dream for. 20 teams have won a Super Bowl, while 12 of them have won multiple. And outside of that, we've been a top 10 team in the league for the past 20 years. Can we be better? Well yeah we've had down seasons and bad moments. But every year there are 32 teams with fans wanting the exact same thing. Try speaking about your pain to Falcons fans, or Browns fans, or Lions fans. Just saying we've had it better than you think we have.

 

[FastFreddie]

NEGADELPHIANS 

[allphilly]

Because hate sells. PERIOD.

[CHIP72]

OP - I generally agree with you.  But I'll note that most fans of most teams look at their teams in a more subjective and critical light.  They focus very closely on what the team has not done rather than taking a step back, looking at their team more objectively in the context of its league (or pro sports in general), and look at what their team HAS done.

I've said this more than once on here (well, the old EMB), but people who have become Eagles fans since the late 1980s don't realize how good we've had it for most of the last 30 years.  Excluding a short three year period in the late 1990s and individual seasons here and there, the Eagles have either been a playoff contender or at least have been competitive (I count seasons only slightly below .500 as competitive) just about every season.  The Eagles have also generally been a higher profile franchise in the NFL during that time.  They weren't that way in the mid-1980s (believe me, I remember those days) and definitely weren't that way during the long, dark period between 1962 and 1977 when they had one winning season (1966) and one .500 season (1974) in 16 years.

[Lorddevn]

TLDR go f yourself you’re only 28 life hasn’t kicked you in the balls enough. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

Because this is TATE? And to be fair human nature is to see the negative, probably to try and protect yourself from disappointment. 

[D-Shiznit]

Because we're Philly fans, even those of of us not from Philly lol.

I hear you though, we should be grateful, we have it better than most teams in the NFL.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

3 minutes ago, D-Shiznit said:

Because we're Philly fans, even those of of us not from Philly lol.

I hear you though, we should be grateful, we have it better than most teams in the NFL.

We could be the Browns, the Jags, the Lions. I mean some teams have never made the SB. The Lions haven't made the play offs since the mid 90s?

[hey suess]

2 words.

Philly Phans 

[CHIP72]

7 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

We could be the Browns, the Jags, the Lions. I mean some teams have never made the SB. The Lions haven't made the play offs since the mid 90s?

The Lions have made the playoffs three times in the last 10 years (2011, 2014, 2016).  They haven't won a playoff game however since 1991 (and that 1991 win was their only playoff win since 1957).

[JohnB]

I would say it's definitely an age thing, and in some cases we even inherited it. You're 28, I'm almost 48. I've seen a lot of bad, but I've seen a lot of good. That being said, we'd been starving for a sports championship for a long, long time. Have others suffered longer? Of course, but that isn't our concern.

Recently, however, I found a wiki page ranking sports cities (cities, not teams) by amount of championships won. I was surprised to see us ranked 6th overall with 15 sports championships as a city. Certainly. put it in perspective for me and made me feel better about our sports accomplishments.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._cities_by_number_of_professional_sports_championships

 

[Ace Nova]

31 minutes ago, JohnB said:

I would say it's definitely an age thing, and in some cases we even inherited it. You're 28, I'm almost 48. I've seen a lot of bad, but I've seen a lot of good. That being said, we'd been starving for a sports championship for a long, long time. Have others suffered longer? Of course, but that isn't our concern.

Recently, however, I found a wiki page ranking sports cities (cities, not teams) by amount of championships won. I was surprised to see us ranked 6th overall with 15 sports championships as a city. Certainly. put it in perspective for me and made me feel better about our sports accomplishments.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._cities_by_number_of_professional_sports_championships

 

Apparently some smart-Alec Boston fans decided to count their 6 Super Bowl Championships twice.  They are counted under Boston then again under Foxborough.  Someone should go in and edit that:  smh. 

[Portyansky]

Bc that's what forums were created for. It's a lot easier to post "I hate" threads than "I love" threads.

[weko]

It's because our drafting record is well below average on a number of levels. This draft will far surpass the disaster that was 2017 and the impending same for 2019, save for Sanders.  They took a number of players this year that will contribute in the future, so, for Howie, I think it's safe to say that this will be one of his better drafts.

[20dawk4life]

9 minutes ago, weko said:

It's because our drafting record is well below average on a number of levels. This draft will far surpass the disaster that was 2017 and the impending same for 2019, save for Sanders.  They took a number of players this year that will contribute in the future, so, for Howie, I think it's safe to say that this will be one of his better drafts.

If you think 2017 is that bad you should take a look at 2010 and 2011

[weko]

Just now, 20dawk4life said:

If you think 2017 is that bad you should take a look at 2010 and 2011

Yes BG as the only player from 2010, 2011.  2017 just as bad, 2019 looking quite shaky now with Charmin Dillard.  As a life long hard core draftnik it pains me to see not just all the bad picks but the incorrect assumptions behind them.  One tiny, thin and sometimes injured player after another.  A misguided affinity to keep drafting from the inferior Pac 12.  Not putting productivity into context vs strength of competition.  Not valuing physicality and thickness of the body to survive the car crash type collision in this league.  Not being able to project skill sets to the NFL, not valuing speed, then drafting it this year with an over emphasis of it over football ability.  And more...I think this draft will yield us a number of pieces going forward, so it should end up a B/B-, maybe B+/A- if all goes perfectly...I  can only hope.

[SNOORDA]

On 5/2/2020 at 6:20 AM, CHIP72 said:

The Lions have made the playoffs three times in the last 10 years (2011, 2014, 2016).  They haven't won a playoff game however since 1991 (and that 1991 win was their only playoff win since 1957).

Wow.  

[Green_Guinness]

On 5/2/2020 at 8:42 PM, Portyansky said:

Bc that's what forums were created for. It's a lot easier to post "I hate" threads than "I love" threads.

I have to tip my cap to the guy who spent $510 for this fan-run Eagles Message Board than anyone else.  Yes, Negadelphia threads are easier to create than positive Philly threads.  Thanks again, man.  You are an Eagles rock in my book.  

 

[Procus]

On 5/1/2020 at 8:49 PM, BGDutchNorris said:

I get hating Chip Kelly, or Andy Reid's clock-management. McNabb not remembering the OT rule, the MSII pick, etc. But we've had success that friends of mine who are fans of other teams dream for. 20 teams have won a Super Bowl, while 12 of them have won multiple. And outside of that, we've been a top 10 team in the league for the past 20 years. Can we be better? Well yeah we've had down seasons and bad moments. But every year there are 32 teams with fans wanting the exact same thing. Try speaking about your pain to Falcons fans, or Browns fans, or Lions fans. Just saying we've had it better than you think we have.

 

You have to understand the psychology of Philly.  It's a self conscious city with an inferiority complex - sandwiched in between Washington and NY.  It also has a very mean, negative side to it.  You get to really see this dark side after you leave the city for a while.

[Procus]

On 5/2/2020 at 9:20 AM, CHIP72 said:

The Lions have made the playoffs three times in the last 10 years (2011, 2014, 2016).  They haven't won a playoff game however since 1991 (and that 1991 win was their only playoff win since 1957).

Fun fact - in 91, the NFC Championship Game was played in Washington - Lions vs. Redskins.  The Lions have NEVER - not a single one - won a game in D.C.  Look it up.  Not once.  (For that matter, the Eagles had never beaten the Bears in Chicago until Andy Reid was hired - over 65 years of futility on that front)

[wyote]

There's so much less negativity than there was 15 years ago. 

[Traveler Vic]

Speaking for myself...I just wanted to clarify Eagles final Goal. Are we going after the Super Bowl this year? Or are we in Rebuilding mode? We drafted a lot of what I consider "Projects" instead of prospects who potentially can contribute immediately...That is the source of my criticism. Trying to understand the truth behind the hype....I do not see this is as Negative criticism...merely examination of facts

[UK_EaglesFan89]

2 minutes ago, Traveler Vic said:

Speaking for myself...I just wanted to clarify Eagles final Goal. Are we going after the Super Bowl this year? Or are we in Rebuilding mode? We drafted a lot of what I consider "Projects" instead of prospects who potentially can contribute immediately...That is the source of my criticism. Trying to understand the truth behind the hype....I do not see this is as Negative criticism...merely examination of facts

I think Howie called it retooling rather than rebuilding but I think that can be argued to be honest. I think it's a rebuild and I don't think they are necessarily looking at being legit contenders this year. 

[Traveler Vic]

1 minute ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I think Howie called it retooling rather than rebuilding but I think that can be argued to be honest. I think it's a rebuild and I don't think they are necessarily looking at being legit contenders this year. 

Exactly my perspective. There was a lot of pre draft hype...But after the hype..it is clearly a retooling year.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

3 minutes ago, Traveler Vic said:

Exactly my perspective. There was a lot of pre draft hype...But after the hype..it is clearly a retooling year.

And I think there's reason to be hopeful and positive with the moves they've made i really do. I just don't think we'll see that really flourish until next year or the year after.