The Athletic followers pessimism level of their favorite NFL team (1 Viewer)

[stadanko]

Pessimism and Apathy are two different things. A true Saints fan can easily be pessimistic about the season. But since apathy really means 'lack of interest or concern', this emotion doesn't fit most Saints fans. I can promise you that if the Saints started this season with a few decisive wins, you wouldn't be able to find a genuinely apathetic Saints fan anywhere.

Pessimism is where Saints fans in general are right now.

I understand what apathy means and that it's different from pessimism. That was kind of the whole point of my post, explaining that I think more fans are apathetic instead of pessimistic. I appreciate you having a different opinion on where the fan base is right now, but I stand by my original post.

 

[Dallas_Saint73]

They must have spent some significant time on this message board

One day in the Gameday forum is enough.

 

[Pocket Hercules]

I think the pessimism is just a byproduct of expectations relative to the recent "Golden Age" of Saints football. I'd guess that most Saints fans expect between 7-10 wins this season, with some outliers. I don't think Saints fans are apathetic, but we've developed a taste and expectation for championship-contender football, and we've seen what that looks like up close and personal. When viewed from that lens, this team clearly doesn't measure up, so we're expecting mediocrity and we're not particularly excited about being another year removed from true contender status.

 

[St. Widge]

Ever read the Saints board on Tiger Droppings?

Not even if you paid me. I'm an LSU fan and I would even go there for LSU discussion. It's a toxic cesspool.

 

[St. Widge]

Pretty accurate to me. I thought it was just me at a time. But then reading articles, listening to podcasts and so on, there just seems to be a dark cloud over the 2024 New Orleans Saints. No matter how hard Cam Jordan is trying to sell the fans on the NFL on the Saints being contenders, I think the majority are accepting or projecting a very bad season.

I mean they aren't contenders, but guys on the team should make a constant effort to be contenders.

Anyway, while they aren't contenders they also aren't a terrible team so I don't really get the level of pessimism shown in this poll. To some extent, I think it's because one you win a Super Bowl many fans fell like if you aren't competing for the Super Bowl or winning it every year, your team failed. But, optimism/pessimism are about feelings and not logic so there is really no logical way to look at how people feel about something.

 

[St. Widge]

I honestly think it's less pessimism and more apathy. As others have said, we seem content to build a wild card playoff team, not a championship contender. That was fine pre Payton, but now that doesn't really move the needle.

What have they done to make you think that? I mean, I get it if you think the moves they have made were the wrong moves, but to say they are content to be a wild card team seems to be unsupportable to me.

They have cut back on pushing the can, but that is a necessary move to reset the cap so that when they get a good young QB and they are ready to contend, they can start kicking the can again to keep that championship potential window open. There was always going to be a down time between a HoF QB retiring and finding a new QB that can make you a contender. It's very rare that a team can avoid that. We had a shot to do that with Mahomes but KC jumped ahead of us.

 

[St. Widge]

I understand what apathy means and that it's different from pessimism. That was kind of the whole point of my post, explaining that I think more fans are apathetic instead of pessimistic. I appreciate you having a different opinion on where the fan base is right now, but I stand by my original post.

I just don't see it. If our fans were apathetic they wouldn't rage any time DA said or did anything and there wouldn't be so many calls in the fan base for Rattler to start. Our fans are still passionate. So passionate that they let that passion override reason at times. They are anything but apathetic.

 

[Dallas_Saint73]

Not even if you paid me. I'm an LSU fan and I would even go there for LSU discussion. It's a toxic cesspool.

Try the Saints subreddit if you're feeling spicy..

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

I feel like folks are conducting team operations as if their priority is maintining their own employment by doing just enough over actually being successful.

I keep hearing this from people around town - the front office and staff has taken on a bad office mentality with everyone mostly looking to protect their own piece of turf.

Basically that graph is proof that whatever the on the field product might look like this year, the vibes are terrible.

 

[platinumvinnyv]

Expectations should be raised but also lowered within reason. Look at the Pats after losing brady, the Colts after Manning. Broncos loss Elway and did not return until Manning. How did the Chiefs magically become a great Franchise. We lost one of the greatest QBs to ever play the game. I think its not reasonable to say hey our expectations are raised cause we won a Superbowl but we cant lower expectations after losing a HOF quarterback even though history has shown that most teams drop off significantly. I remember people really feeling that we had so much talent that a non bengal Andy Dalton was going lead us to the superbowl. If we sweep the falcons and make the playoffs im content. I believe we can do that

 

[bobad]

Hate to say it, but social media-wise, we have to have one of the most annoying fan bases in all of professional sports right now. Everything is doom and gloom, everyone basically bullies Derek Carr (obviously not to his face), and there is nothing the team can do right in their eyes.

Carr could go 27 of 30 for 324 yards and 3 touchdowns in a comfortable 27-13 win on Sunday, and people will be hemming and hawing about how he missed a wide open touchdown throw that one time and that the win doesn't even matter "because Dennis Allen."

This has all the hallmarks of Carr and DA derangement syndrome. They get more than their share of blame when something goes wrong, but no credit when things go right. Very few will flip, it does no good to point out their successes.

 

[Saint KayBee]

To me that's just a mislabeled graph. Instead of hope o meter it should be expectations meter. We have expectations that the team won't, or can't, live up to. Brees and SP forever changed this fan base as far as what we expect from the team every year. We expect to be contenders every year and that's a huge ask in the NFL.

But that was Payton and Brees.

They’re gone. Forever. Expectations literally do not carry over like that. This is folly.

Dennis Allen just coached Sean Payton’s sixth-worst season (2007, 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, t-2021). The defense, still his specialty, is a mixture of veteran leadership (Cam, Demario, Tyrann, Marshon) and players entering their primes (Werner, Granderson, Gay, Adebo), with high-value contributions only expected from a small number of new players (Bresee, Howden, Kool-Aid).

The biggest problem on offense is gone now. Expecting literally anyone else to run an offense Drew Brees and Pete Carmichael mind-melded on for twenty freakin’ years, which was cleaned up and perfected by Sean Payton for sixteen of those twenty years, and with the best two components of that triad by galaxies now out of the building, and only the worst of those three remaining to teach a superior product inferiorly to inferior players (which, to be fair to Derek Carr and the rest who were asked to try, “worse than Drew Brees at playing quarterback” is a universe that consists of every single quarterback whose career has already concluded, and all except one who is still playing). The team’s biggest malcontent is also gone, and while there are reasons to ask questions at every single position group, each also has ascending talent worthy of some belief, between the players themselves and the new coaches tasked to get them up to speed.

Speaking of coaches! I’ve seen chatter online about the … desire? for the offense to look good enough for Klint Kubiak to be retained as head coach after firing Dennis Allen, which is just putting the “Allen should be demoted to defensive coordinator” gambit (never before done in NFL history) on its head in a way. Given how the defense has performed the past seven seasons, if the offense rolls so much as competently, let alone excellently, then the TEAM will do well, and there will be no need to change anything. How well will they do? Who knows. Could win the division. Could steal a wild card spot. Could win a playoff game!

Of course, the bottom could all fall out, in the form of injuries, inconsistency, age catching up to too many players, not getting the call or the bounce or the coin flip. But why carry on like all those things have already happened this season? I’m here for FUN! I’m not going to run myself ragged and haggard fretting about a team I have zero control over. Can we have some fun? Anyone?

 

[football]

People think what they want to think. But for my viewpoint, we are not a bad team. Not even close. Luck hasn't been on our side for a few years now but heck I am proud of the players and coaches we got. They never quit, despite all the things happening, especially fans reactions. Looking around the league, people might be jealous of some team. But most teams that are "rising" now had to endure many years, or decade of losing records, poor management, and endless carousel of coaches and quarterbacks to get to some respect. Detroit, Miami, Buffalo, Arizona, Texans, and others I can name also. For the past few seasons, we have been one game, or one play away (2021) from making the playoffs. Despite a disappointing last year, we did win 9 games. The team could of quit but didn't. Am I confident going into this year....Probably not. Been through many years of disappointments before. But I know this team is doing what it takes to win every week. I feel confident in that part.

 

[RJ in Lafayette]

The results seem legitimate to me. But note that the results go beyond how many games fans think their teams will win. More important, they factor in expectations. And what percentage of national media outlets--much less Las Vegas--has a positive outlook with the Saints in 2024?

I speak for at least some fans: The product is mediocre, ownership has been exceedingly patient with a mediocre product, and there is little reason to believe that the product will rise above mediocrity in the near future.

Opening day is Sunday. How many of you with tickets (I'm going) are really excited about a game that the Saints should win because of the opponent? And to those of you without tickets who are optimistic, the ticket prices on Seat Geek and other secondary-market services are very reasonable and will probably go lower in the next 30 hours. Why aren't you going?

 

[Kingston]

I keep hearing this from people around town - the front office and staff has taken on a bad office mentality with everyone mostly looking to protect their own piece of turf.

Basically that graph is proof that whatever the on the field product might look like this year, the vibes are terrible.

I have heard crazy stuff around town from people this week as well.

I was in this long line at the bank and I had to keep listening to this guy go on and on about how the Saints won’t win a game till November. He was predicting DA getting fired by week 3. Rattler being named the starter is what gets them winning and that the defense needs to start getting put in old folks homes. Then he started saying Kamara was getting traded to Arizona.

We haven’t even played a game yet and the negativity is so prevalent. Funny thing these are the same folks that if we beat the Panthers on Sunday will be spouting off about we are going to the Super Bowl.

I love New Orleans but man when it comes to the Saints this is a city of extremes. I guess it’s a good thing because people care. I would hate to live in Atlanta where half the city doesn’t even know or care if they have a football team.