Why Are the New York Jets So Un-Loved Around the Nation?

Apr 26, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Jets fans Steve Destefano (left) , Christian Baladaccini (center) and Joe Legotti wait for the thirty-ninth overall pick to the New York Jets during the 2013 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Jets have the most passionate fan base in the country. OK, maybe that is my biased opinion, and one that we all share, but that’s fine too. How could we not be the greatest? OUR TEAM HASN’T WON A CHAMPIONSHIP IN OVER 40 YEARS! We have to have passion, or we wouldn’t be around the team anymore.

But, you look around the country, and we have a pretty hated team. Everyone likes to use derogatory terms like the “circus”, among others, when describing our team. Leave the NY area, and there isn’t a great amount of respect for the New York Jets. Have you noticed? The Jets are not looked upon favorably.

As you know, I have been off the grid for a while, due to my health, just getting back over the last few days. The best therapy for someone like me, while I was in the hospital, was thinking about our team. I found myself thinking specifically about this question. “Why are we so un-loved around the country?”

It’s certainly not because of our propensity to win titles. I mean, we must admit that some of our problem with the New England Patriots is that they win all the time. I know that it is mine. A lot of times, teams that win all the time are hated, unless you root for that team. Take the Yankees. Not a team that is loved all over the nation, aside from NY, or with people originally from NY.

As we discussed before, we haven’t won in over 40 years. That isn’t the problem. So what is it? I have a couple of ideas.

IT’S EASY

What do I mean, it’s easy? People have enough to do rather than worrying about our team.

What I mean is, when a team is always out there, it’s easy to hate them. When you are outside of the NY area, you see what our team has done, and said over the years, and it becomes frustrating. Despite everything else going on in the league, the outsider’s perspective is that is always Rex this, Jets that, Tebow this(last year). If you don’t want to watch our team, and you are forced to, it’s easy to resent them.

REX RYAN IS THE ANTI-HOODIE

Jun 11, 2013; Florham Park, NJ, USA; New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan during the New York Jets minicamp session at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports

Whether we want to believe it or not, Rex Ryan is just as polarizing a figure as coach Belichick. Think about it for a minute.

Why do we hate coach Belichick? Well, we hate the way he talks to the media. Don’t we? Don’t we think the way he carries himself shows his take that he is better than everyone else? He mumbles for 10 minutes to his media group and leaves. We hate a perceived arrogance that he has. In New England, he is loved, but nowhere else.

Think about Rex. No, he obviously isn’t quiet. But don’t you think that Rex’s out there attitude annoys their fan base, and others, as much as Bill annoys ours? They both show their arrogance, in their own ways, and it annoys everyone else but us, or New England in Bill’s case.

For what it’s worth, there is my theory as to why we are hated. What do you guys think?