GT: Packers at 49ers - 1/20/24 - 7:15 - FOX

[MickeyDavis]

After a couple nut punches years ago and then covid, combined with the obscene amount of money in these leagues, I've come to appreciate the fact that sports are just Entertainment. They really don't matter at all as there are far more important things to worry about.

For me I'm either all in or not in at all. I can't casually watch Packers/Bucks and not care if they win or lose. If I get to the point of where it doesn't matter to me I'll stop watching altogether and do something else with the time. I don't "worry" about sports but I am passionate about it, regardless of the money they make. Are there more important things to me? Of course. But Packers/Bucks are also important, if to a lesser extent that "real life".

[WeekapaugGroove]

After a couple nut punches years ago and then covid, combined with the obscene amount of money in these leagues, I've come to appreciate the fact that sports are just Entertainment. They really don't matter at all as there are far more important things to worry about.

The Seattle NFCC game broke me. I live in AZ and was planning to go to the SB if the pack made it. I took a long solo walk after that game and vow'd to never care about a sporting event that much ever again and I haven't.

My first kid was born that April (on the night the Badgers lost the championship) and that's definitely changed my life priorities too.

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[jute2003]

After a couple nut punches years ago and then covid, combined with the obscene amount of money in these leagues, I've come to appreciate the fact that sports are just Entertainment. They really don't matter at all as there are far more important things to worry about.

For me I'm either all in or not in at all. I can't casually watch Packers/Bucks and not care if they win or lose. If I get to the point of where it doesn't matter to me I'll stop watching altogether and do something else with the time. I don't "worry" about sports but I am passionate about it, regardless of the money they make. Are there more important things to me? Of course. But Packers/Bucks are also important, if to a lesser extent that "real life".

I enjoy watching games and am disappointed when my teams lose but it's not going to make me upset or be something I dwell on for the next week.

[Kerb Hohl]

I can't let sports get me down anymore. Haven't for a long time. Part of it is just understanding the odds of everything. We are in a weird place where we are fans of teams (Badgers, Brewers, Bucks, Packers) that are all well-run and/or lucky with superstars (I'd argue due to being well-run). All of them except maybe the Packers have a major handicap (Badgers: not close to the talent. Brewers: Don't have the money. Bucks: Not a premier FA destination. I'd argue Packers fit into that as well).

So we're in it every year but we're likely gonna fall short due to outside factors or just plain normal luck.

So even in the best years, the Packers were like 12/1 to win it? You're telling me if I'm mad about this stuff, there is over a 90% chance that I'm going to be pissed off? And I'm going to do this every January, March, June, and October if all of these teams are consistently in the mix?

If equally distributed, should the Packers maybe have 1, maybe even 2 more? Sure, I guess. But they are also giving me tons of joy being in the mix and have all of the painful losses in the playoffs because they're in the playoffs.

I have good friends that I love talking with about the games, watch with, etc. and between that and social media, it is the final boss of all of this. I am not going to tell people how to be a fan, but a lot of people who are always microanalyzing with the benefit of hindsight everything about every painful loss as if we can be the team that have the magic fix...these same social media and friends walked into Saturday with, "house money, this is great...I can't be mad." And guess what? They were still pissed off as if the Packers should've won that game and these same people wouldn't have lost their minds if we lost the following week. I'll be honest, I think I'm turning off all conversation and social media other than who I'm directly with for like a week this March when it is a 98% chance of a painful S16/E8 loss or a depressing R64/R32 loss. It just ruins the fact that I try to enjoy these sports throughout the year.

[MickeyDavis]

After a couple nut punches years ago and then covid, combined with the obscene amount of money in these leagues, I've come to appreciate the fact that sports are just Entertainment. They really don't matter at all as there are far more important things to worry about.

For me I'm either all in or not in at all. I can't casually watch Packers/Bucks and not care if they win or lose. If I get to the point of where it doesn't matter to me I'll stop watching altogether and do something else with the time. I don't "worry" about sports but I am passionate about it, regardless of the money they make. Are there more important things to me? Of course. But Packers/Bucks are also important, if to a lesser extent that "real life".

I enjoy watching games and am disappointed when my teams lose but it's not going to make me upset or be something I dwell on for the next week.

Agree with that. I'm disappointed but not upset. Life goes on. Although that Seattle playoff loss still gets to me

[MickeyDavis]

Brewers affect me the least. It's not a level playing field. And there is always the 1982 World Series losing team to celebrate.

[MVP2110]

I can't let sports get me down anymore. Haven't for a long time. Part of it is just understanding the odds of everything. We are in a weird place where we are fans of teams (Badgers, Brewers, Bucks, Packers) that are all well-run and/or lucky with superstars (I'd argue due to being well-run). All of them except maybe the Packers have a major handicap (Badgers: not close to the talent. Brewers: Don't have the money. Bucks: Not a premier FA destination. I'd argue Packers fit into that as well).

So we're in it every year but we're likely gonna fall short due to outside factors or just plain normal luck.

So even in the best years, the Packers were like 12/1 to win it? You're telling me if I'm mad about this stuff, there is over a 90% chance that I'm going to be pissed off? And I'm going to do this every January, March, June, and October if all of these teams are consistently in the mix?

If equally distributed, should the Packers maybe have 1, maybe even 2 more? Sure, I guess. But they are also giving me tons of joy being in the mix and have all of the painful losses in the playoffs because they're in the playoffs.

I have good friends that I love talking with about the games, watch with, etc. and between that and social media, it is the final boss of all of this. I am not going to tell people how to be a fan, but a lot of people who are always microanalyzing with the benefit of hindsight everything about every painful loss as if we can be the team that have the magic fix...these same social media and friends walked into Saturday with, "house money, this is great...I can't be mad." And guess what? They were still pissed off as if the Packers should've won that game and these same people wouldn't have lost their minds if we lost the following week. I'll be honest, I think I'm turning off all conversation and social media other than who I'm directly with for like a week this March when it is a 98% chance of a painful S16/E8 loss or a depressing R64/R32 loss. It just ruins the fact that I try to enjoy these sports throughout the year.

I think this is a good way to put it. Statistically speaking if all things are equal the state of Wisconsin should win a Title about once every 10/11 years or so. So I learned to really cherish the 2021 NBA Championship, because it could be a long time before I see another title of any sort. I like being a fan of good teams and from that standpoint I've been very lucky as most of my teams are consistently good and to the point where I can be upset at playoff losses.

[RubberSoul]

After a couple nut punches years ago and then covid, combined with the obscene amount of money in these leagues, I've come to appreciate the fact that sports are just Entertainment. They really don't matter at all as there are far more important things to worry about.

For me I'm either all in or not in at all. I can't casually watch Packers/Bucks and not care if they win or lose. If I get to the point of where it doesn't matter to me I'll stop watching altogether and do something else with the time. I don't "worry" about sports but I am passionate about it, regardless of the money they make. Are there more important things to me? Of course. But Packers/Bucks are also important, if to a lesser extent that "real life".

Thank you for putting this perfectly I have a number of people in my life who have become “enlightened” by figuring out sports don’t matter in the big picture.

I am extremely passionate about the Packers and Bucks and I still have the ability to love and care about my family. If I hadn’t put my emotions and care into the Bucks for 30 years of trash I wouldn’t have literally been crying tears of joy in July of 2021. This is not to say that everybody has to be passionate because casual fans have a role too in sports. I am a casual Badger/Brewer fan myself so I get it. Long story short it is possible to be a passionate sports fan and still have perspective on the more important things in life.


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[Kerb Hohl]

After a couple nut punches years ago and then covid, combined with the obscene amount of money in these leagues, I've come to appreciate the fact that sports are just Entertainment. They really don't matter at all as there are far more important things to worry about.

For me I'm either all in or not in at all. I can't casually watch Packers/Bucks and not care if they win or lose. If I get to the point of where it doesn't matter to me I'll stop watching altogether and do something else with the time. I don't "worry" about sports but I am passionate about it, regardless of the money they make. Are there more important things to me? Of course. But Packers/Bucks are also important, if to a lesser extent that "real life".

Thank you for putting this perfectly I have a number of people in my life who have become “enlightened” by figuring out sports don’t matter in the big picture.

I am extremely passionate about the Packers and Bucks and I still have the ability to love and care about my family. If I hadn’t put my emotions and care into the Bucks for 30 years of trash I wouldn’t have literally been crying tears of joy in July of 2021. This is not to say that everybody has to be passionate because casual fans have a role too in sports. I am a casual Badger/Brewer fan myself so I get it. Long story short it is possible to be a passionate sports fan and still have perspective on the more important things in life.


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I'm a passionate fan of almost all of the teams. I was jumping up and down with every big play on Saturday. The 2010 Super Bowl brought me much joy.

However, I come in as a realist on stuff. Some of the same friends I mentioned in my long post were incredulous as to how the Packers "lost their edge" in the 4th quarter. Guess what? We were playing the #1 seed and they are really effing good and they turned it on.

Imagine being an equally passionate 49ers fan if they choked yet again with a good seed or a season where they were deep in the playoffs. It would be the same thing! 31 teams have to experience this (or 13 if the lesser-competitive teams just lose their interest once the season ends).

I get the idea that, "we were so close" but every fan of every team is watching this thinking their team is the best/should win. So yeah, I was dejected as it unfolded, but I think the expectation of winning it all every time is there you either need to have great foresight and be a frontrunner and be the Duke/Alabama/Yankees/Cowboys/Patriots/Lakers fan (not working out lately) OR you have to be prepared to be really, really mad like 2+ times/year almost every year with almost no payoff.

[ReasonablySober]

The Bucks killed my interest last year and I haven’t really returned. The times I’ve tuned in this season have only reaffirmed my disinterest.

As for the Packers, I should be feeling happy with how the season went, but I’m annoyed more than anything. That was a game they shouldn’t have lost. You never know when you’re going to have an opportunity like that again, and they blew it

[coolhandluke121]

I turned off the t.v. after the interception and I was looking forward to the rest of the weekend within literally less than 30 seconds.

[Profound23]

For me I'm either all in or not in at all. I can't casually watch Packers/Bucks and not care if they win or lose. If I get to the point of where it doesn't matter to me I'll stop watching altogether and do something else with the time. I don't "worry" about sports but I am passionate about it, regardless of the money they make. Are there more important things to me? Of course. But Packers/Bucks are also important, if to a lesser extent that "real life".

Thank you for putting this perfectly I have a number of people in my life who have become “enlightened” by figuring out sports don’t matter in the big picture.

I am extremely passionate about the Packers and Bucks and I still have the ability to love and care about my family. If I hadn’t put my emotions and care into the Bucks for 30 years of trash I wouldn’t have literally been crying tears of joy in July of 2021. This is not to say that everybody has to be passionate because casual fans have a role too in sports. I am a casual Badger/Brewer fan myself so I get it. Long story short it is possible to be a passionate sports fan and still have perspective on the more important things in life.


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I'm a passionate fan of almost all of the teams. I was jumping up and down with every big play on Saturday. The 2010 Super Bowl brought me much joy.

However, I come in as a realist on stuff. Some of the same friends I mentioned in my long post were incredulous as to how the Packers "lost their edge" in the 4th quarter. Guess what? We were playing the #1 seed and they are really effing good and they turned it on.

Imagine being an equally passionate 49ers fan if they choked yet again with a good seed or a season where they were deep in the playoffs. It would be the same thing! 31 teams have to experience this (or 13 if the lesser-competitive teams just lose their interest once the season ends).

I get the idea that, "we were so close" but every fan of every team is watching this thinking their team is the best/should win. So yeah, I was dejected as it unfolded, but I think the expectation of winning it all every time is there you either need to have great foresight and be a frontrunner and be the Duke/Alabama/Yankees/Cowboys/Patriots/Lakers fan (not working out lately) OR you have to be prepared to be really, really mad like 2+ times/year almost every year with almost no payoff.

I wept like a baby watching the Bucks win their title, in person, with my son by my side.

Nothing sports wise will ever make me feel that way again....but watching them win a SB with my son would be a close second. Unfortunately he was too young to appreciate the 2010 run.

As for getting down, I can get depressed for a few days usually but not this time. I would've had we won and then turned around and lost to Detroit which I honestly believe was a strong possibility with our inconsistent play this year. It's still hurts when clips of our SB loss, Seahawks 2014 debacle, Giants playoff losses, 4th and 26.....come on randomly. This one not so much.

[MVP2110]

The Bucks killed my interest last year and I haven’t really returned. The times I’ve tuned in this season have only reaffirmed my disinterest.

As for the Packers, I should be feeling happy with how the season went, but I’m annoyed more than anything. That was a game they shouldn’t have lost. You never know when you’re going to have an opportunity like that again, and they blew it

The 2nd part of your statement is interesting to me. Because I've seem some fans says they'd rather have the Packers gotten blown out. And that makes sense to me from an emotional standpoint. But at the same time I can logically tell myself that the Packers just proved they were as good as arguably the best team in the NFL which is incredibly given their age and inexperience. It's sort of a weird dichotomy where in this instance fans would seemingly be happier if our team had performed worse on Saturday night.

[Flames24Rulz]

I think the thing that sucks/stings the most is I allowed myself to fall into the trap of thinking we were going to win that game. All week long, I was also of the house money theory where nothing would've really upset me during the game. Or so I thought. I did a pretty good job of managing the expectations throughout the game, even though we blew a lot of opportunities early on. But when Jones had the big 50 yard run and then Wilson hurdled over a guy to get a first down, I thought we were on the verge of putting that game away. I even allowed myself to believe Carlson was going to make the kick. And then we all got kicked in the balls, like we usually do in January.

If the Niners win on Sunday (which I think they will), it'll just end up stinging that much more knowing that we were basically 60 minutes away from a Super Bowl appearance in Love's first year. No doubt we overachieved this year and if you would've told me before the year that we were going to make the divisional round and give the Niners all they could handle, I would've taken that. It still absolutely sucks that we let a good chance like that get away when we were the better team basically all night.

[WeekapaugGroove]

The sports gods can be cruel. I grew up a die hard bucks fan, I used to listen to games on the radio because where I grew up in the boondocks we couldn't get the TV broadcast. Went to a bunch of the big 3 era games while in college and lived and died with the team. Then I moved to AZ and shortly there after they had Nash and the SSOL suns which were so fun I decided they would be the one local team I would actually root for. Became an NBA polygamist, figure no big deal neither were ever good at the same time. Well then 2021 happens... I was rooting for the Bucks until my 5 yr old daughter decided to follow her mom and grandpa who are die hard suns fans. So I rooted for the suns and of course the Bucks win. I enjoyed the championship and I love Giannis but have to say it was somewhat ruined for me.

Since it feels like I'm bridesmaid cursed as a sports fan y'all can probably credit my daughter for that Bucks championship

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[Kerb Hohl]

The Bucks are an interesting counter-example for me. They are the team I cared the least about because I moved away and lost a lot of interest in the Kohl era.

However, this is a bit of a generalization and I'm not going at anyone specific in this thread, most of the people that are most pissed about Saturday are generally the ones that want to make a bunch of drastic changes. Fire MLF, immediately replace Carlson, etc. And sometimes that's not the worst idea.

But putting too much pressure both yourself emotionally on and the team's evaluation in general on a handful of high-variability, close playoff games which is usually a very small sample...Well, sometimes it gets better but sometimes you fire Coach Bud and move to Adrian Griffin, which then further kills interest. Careful what you wish for.

[Ron Swanson]

It's not a "I'd rather get blown out than lose by 3" thing. The NFL is just a specific sport where if you don't capitalize on the pathway that opens up for you in the playoffs, there's a high likelihood that those kind of moments will never present themselves again. In baseball and football, teams limp into the playoffs all the time and go on a championship run.

Like, even if/when the Bucks lose in the playoffs before the Finals this year, it'll still sting less for me because "Eh, Giannis and Dame are locked up for next season. We'll still have a great chance at a title in 2025". And sure, you can say that we'll have plenty of chances based on the trajectory of this young, talented roster. But it's just tough for me knowing history tells us these opportunities are so few and the windows so short (look at the Eagles in the last 12-months). In the NFL, you go from "potential young dynasty" to "bottom-feeders" in record time.

[MVP2110]

It's not a "I'd rather get blown out than lose by 3" thing. The NFL is just a specific sport where if you don't capitalize on the pathway that opens up for you in the playoffs, there's a high likelihood that those kind of moments will never present themselves again. In baseball and football, teams limp into the playoffs all the time and go on a championship run.

Like, even if/when the Bucks lose in the playoffs before the Finals this year, it'll still sting less for me because "Eh, Giannis and Dame are locked up for next season. We'll still have a great chance at a title in 2025". And sure, you can say that we'll have plenty of chances based on the trajectory of this young, talented roster. But it's just tough for me knowing history tells us these opportunities are so few and the windows so short (look at the Eagles in the last 12-months). In the NFL, you go from "potential young dynasty" to "bottom-feeders" in record time.

How true is that though? The Eagles went from winning a Superbowl to firing their coach and replacing their QB to making another Superbowl in just a few years. When was the last time a team made a random run in the playoffs and then missed several years in a row, especially for young teams with good QBs. I don't feel like there are a ton of examples. The 2017-18 Jaguars maybe?

[ReasonablySober]

It's not a "I'd rather get blown out than lose by 3" thing. The NFL is just a specific sport where if you don't capitalize on the pathway that opens up for you in the playoffs, there's a high likelihood that those kind of moments will never present themselves again. In baseball and football, teams limp into the playoffs all the time and go on a championship run.

Like, even if/when the Bucks lose in the playoffs before the Finals this year, it'll still sting less for me because "Eh, Giannis and Dame are locked up for next season. We'll still have a great chance at a title in 2025". And sure, you can say that we'll have plenty of chances based on the trajectory of this young, talented roster. But it's just tough for me knowing history tells us these opportunities are so few and the windows so short (look at the Eagles in the last 12-months). In the NFL, you go from "potential young dynasty" to "bottom-feeders" in record time.

How true is that though? The Eagles went from winning a Superbowl to firing their coach and replacing their QB to making another Superbowl in just a few years. When was the last time a team made a random run in the playoffs and then missed several years in a row, especially for young teams with good QBs. I don't feel like there are a ton of examples. The 2017-18 Jaguars maybe?

Recently you have the Cardinals, Browns, Raiders, Chargers, Vikings, Patriots, Giants, and Commanders. Happens more than you'd think.

[MVP2110]

It's not a "I'd rather get blown out than lose by 3" thing. The NFL is just a specific sport where if you don't capitalize on the pathway that opens up for you in the playoffs, there's a high likelihood that those kind of moments will never present themselves again. In baseball and football, teams limp into the playoffs all the time and go on a championship run.

Like, even if/when the Bucks lose in the playoffs before the Finals this year, it'll still sting less for me because "Eh, Giannis and Dame are locked up for next season. We'll still have a great chance at a title in 2025". And sure, you can say that we'll have plenty of chances based on the trajectory of this young, talented roster. But it's just tough for me knowing history tells us these opportunities are so few and the windows so short (look at the Eagles in the last 12-months). In the NFL, you go from "potential young dynasty" to "bottom-feeders" in record time.

How true is that though? The Eagles went from winning a Superbowl to firing their coach and replacing their QB to making another Superbowl in just a few years. When was the last time a team made a random run in the playoffs and then missed several years in a row, especially for young teams with good QBs. I don't feel like there are a ton of examples. The 2017-18 Jaguars maybe?

Recently you have the Cardinals, Browns, Raiders, Chargers, Vikings, Patriots, Giants, and Commanders. Happens more than you'd think.

So to me there is a difference between making a legitimate playoff run and just getting into the playoffs which is why I asked about teams who made an actual run.

The Vikings for example were always ranked poorly by advanced metrics as were the Giants last year. The Patriots snuck in and proceeded to get wrecked by the Bills. The Commanders won a poor division and started Taylor Heinicke. The Chargers snuck in with a washed up Philip Rivers at QB. The Browns are maybe the only example on there that is somewhat close to resembling this years Packer team with a good young QB(atleast at the time) and having a good young team around him. So to clarify my question. When was the last time a team made a random playoff run and that was basically never heard from again? Because that doesn't seem to happen very often