Reading the message board here is depressing this week. The majority of people picking the Falcons. Im glad this team isn't a reflection of the fan majority or we would have lost the game already.

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So by "majority" you mean you read a couple of people picking falcons to win? I certainly haven't seen a majority picking against the hawks.

Yeah it sucks.
Far too many hawks fans.

I don't even read those threads

By picking the Falcons, do you mean they're saying we won't dominate them?

One of the few things that bugs me when the team is going great is the increased number of folks that want to control how a person feels or talks about the team. If you aren't flag waving 24/7 you aren't down with the cause. Yet, let this team fall on hard time, these same jokers are the first off the sinking ship.

Just fill out a list of acceptable responses and behavior and I will sign up. Don't want to be accused of being fair-weather.

I've seen...like...6 or 7. Out of at least a hundred.

drdiags wrote:One of the few things that bugs me when the team is going great is the increased number of folks that want to control how a person feels or talks about the team. If you aren't flag waving 24/7 you aren't down with the cause. Yet, let this team fall on hard time, these same jokers are the first off the sinking ship.

Just fill out a list of acceptable responses and behavior and I will sign up. Don't want to be accused of being fair-weather.

Drdiags nailed it dude.

-The Glove- wrote:By picking the Falcons, do you mean they're saying we won't dominate them?

Ah I see what you're talking about. Those are all valid concerns. But to me that's all they are. I am confident our young team will find a way to get it done. One reason why I think we'll win...we aren't one dimensional. We can win with the long bomb like vs NE, or we just pound it and skate by like we have most of the season

bellingerga wrote:So by "majority" you mean you read a couple of people picking falcons to win? I certainly haven't seen a majority picking against the hawks.

+1000 . See Bellingera and Diags reply.

Plus anyone using "swag" as a descriptor or other in a hawks post is easy to ignore.

drdiags wrote:One of the few things that bugs me when the team is going great is the increased number of folks that want to control how a person feels or talks about the team. If you aren't flag waving 24/7 you aren't down with the cause. Yet, let this team fall on hard time, these same jokers are the first off the sinking ship.

Just fill out a list of acceptable responses and behavior and I will sign up. Don't want to be accused of being fair-weather.

I agree. I've been telling Falcon fans if Mike Smith loses this game that he'll be Marty Schottenheimer 2.0. They don't wanna hear it though.

drdiags wrote:One of the few things that bugs me when the team is going great is the increased number of folks that want to control how a person feels or talks about the team. If you aren't flag waving 24/7 you aren't down with the cause. Yet, let this team fall on hard time, these same jokers are the first off the sinking ship.

Just fill out a list of acceptable responses and behavior and I will sign up. Don't want to be accused of being fair-weather.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner.

People are using their heads, not their hearts. On Sunday, the former will disappear.

Dr. Diags rules!!!

A few thoughts:

1. Having realistic expectations does not make you any less of a fan (I picked a close Hawk win but I know we very well may lose)

2. Fan attitudes on internet message boards have no bearing on the teams' performance

3. The Falcons are a good team, worthy of respect. There is just no way around that fact.

4. Go Hawks!

drdiags wrote:One of the few things that bugs me when the team is going great is the increased number of folks that want to control how a person feels or talks about the team. If you aren't flag waving 24/7 you aren't down with the cause. Yet, let this team fall on hard time, these same jokers are the first off the sinking ship.

Just fill out a list of acceptable responses and behavior and I will sign up. Don't want to be accused of being fair-weather.

Totally agree. But you have to understand where these people come from. The way it works is the harder the more people believe the likelier it is to happening. So when you raise concerns about the next game it will be YOUR fault if the Seahawks loose.......

I'm with clink.

If I wanted to read pure homers blinded by emotion Id just go to espn.This is the most objective board Ive seen so far.Its what makes it enjoyable over a long period.Reading Rah Rah fiction makes me move on in a hurry.

All i know is it's the second round of the playoffs, there are no more bad teams... i predicted a squeaker victory by the Hawks... hopefully that happens.. all i know is there will be two teams on that field sunday giving it everything they got for 4 qtrs... it will be war, as it should be..

Go Hawks!!!!!1

It's why I chose to be honest in my Fearless Prediction this week. I could have very easily rode the wave of Seahawk-itis that the entire city and fanbase is feeling, but we diehards do that no matter what time of the year it is any ways. Of course it's easy and fun to get caught up in the ride. It's part of what makes being a diehard so damn rewarding in the first place. Like that old ESPN commercial says..."So when success finally does come, you can say you were there all along." Or something to that effect.

Yet I wanted to be honest about how I was feeling. It could have been very easy to predict a win, but I wanted to be honest about it, nothing more, nothing less.

I agree that it's one of the many things that makes NET the most special football forum community I've ever seen on the Internet. We have our share of raw emotions and things we say in the heat of the moment but there's a lot of people in this community who try to be honest and as unbiased as they possibly can be, even when every bone in their body wants to shout...

OH SCREW THAT! WE'RE GOING TO SMOKE YOU LOSERS RIGHT OUT OF YOUR OWN STADIUM!!!

I still feel that we can just as easily win as we can lose this game. Either way, I'm not any less of a diehard Seahawks fan for feeling that way nor is anyone else if they too feel that way.

I won't lie though, I am feeling more and more confident as the game gets closer.

Come on guys, don't bother the "real" Seahawks fans with your objective view of the game. I used DVOA to prove that the Seahawks will win one billion to zero.

I shit swag and distill vodka from the tears of starving children. Don't talk to me about practice.

T-Sizzle wrote:Reading the message board here is depressing this week. The majority of people picking the Falcons. Im glad this team isn't a reflection of the fan majority or we would have lost the game already.

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What majority?

I think you mean the 'vocal minority'.

The majority is ready to rumble, and fully support our team.

EDIT - Oops - Reading my post, I realized how I may sound - that picking against our team means not 'supporting' them.
Sorry.

Every opponent is worth respecting in the NFL, especially in the second round of the playoffs.

Honestly, I've loved the board this week, its been as calm and rational as I've ever seen it. I'm sure it could be just a come down from the manic hysteric hyperbole and chest thumping that emanated from this board last week before the Skins game, but it seems like there is a lot of objective, fair analysis going on.

And objective, fair analysis says that when you play the number one seed in the conference, with a damn good quarterback, in their house, and they've been sittin and resting and waiting to avenge three years of playoff embarassment, you've got every right to be concerned.

I, for one, am missing Peaches, "You. Have. No. Chance ." Statements prior to the skins game. Gave me a little more confidence.....

I have no problem believing this game is Buffalo part deuce.

The more film I watch of the Falcons, the more and more confident I become in the Seahawks to win this thing.

And it's not a knock on the Falcons, I just think we match up so well with them it's hard not to feel good about it

I got swag.... just got my new dangeruss home jersey in the mail, and I've been rockin it in the texas panhandle with pretty good reviews.

So I don't understand, is it I'm not a fan if I root for a Seahawks win, or if I stay objective and admit they could lose? Or do I loose cred if I get crazy ra ra?

I'm just going to stick with I'm a fan because I'm a fan. I guess I could see it either way, but I like getting crazy on game day, that will never change. Maybe I could use .Net for my objectivity and something else for when I want to get insan-o crazy on game day. Screw that, I like this board, I don't want to post anywhere else. You guys are just going to have to deal with insan-o on Sunday.

I am on vacation down here in Vegas rockin the hawks hear. Hear a ton of "Go Hawks!" And random high 5's from strangers!

I agree completely with Aros' sentiments. If this game was in Seattle I'm sure everyone would feel super confident about a seahawks win. All that stands in our way is that this game is in Atlanta. If we can get past that, we win. Plain and simple. We're a better and hotter team. Atlanta could've beaten us in the first half of the season. Not right now...

What is swag and where do I get it?

-The Glove- wrote:What is swag and where do I get it?

I believe you can only get it at TANZANIA!!!

Zebulon Dak wrote:I shit swag and distill vodka from the tears of starving children. Don't talk to me about practice.

Thats funny because I like to marinate my swaggg in niners tears and then put it in paper bags and set them on fire on old man Gonzalez's front porch...

Missing_Clink wrote:A few thoughts:

1. Having realistic expectations does not make you any less of a fan (I picked a close Hawk win but I know we very well may lose)

2. Fan attitudes on internet message boards have no bearing on the teams' performance

3. The Falcons are a good team, worthy of respect. There is just no way around that fact.

4. Go Hawks!

13-3 isn't THAT much better than 12-5, where one would simply assume that the former team is superior, particularly when the former team had, statistically speaking, the easiest schedule in the entire league. All teams in the playoffs are "good teams, worthy of respect". That's not the issue. The issue is the "OMG, OMG, it's 13-3 Atlanta!!!! Help!!!" mentality. But that's the attitude that lots of Seattle fans have ingrained into them and that's been the case for many many years. Well, some of us are sick of it, and particularly sick of having that attitude presented as "realistic". How is it more "realistic" to assume a loss in this case? Of course the Seahawks could lose. But guess what, they could also win. And the latter outcome isn't far fetched or even less "realistic".

That's my only problem with some of the predictions I've read of a loss, the idea that those predicting a loss are "realistic" while the others are blind homers or whatever. Those who want to predict a loss and present arguments for it, go for it, but just save the "I'm being realistic" part, since it suggests that you're basing your prediction on reality while those predicting the opposite are basing their predictions on fantasy.

That's my only problem with some of the predictions I've read of a loss, the idea that those predicting a loss are "realistic" while the others are blind homers or whatever. Those who want to predict a loss and present arguments for it, go for it, but just save the "I'm being realistic" part, since it suggests that you're basing your prediction on reality while those predicting the opposite are basing their predictions on fantasy.[/quote]





I approve of this statement!

Man see what happens when the Redskins stop trolling the boards. We start turning on each other. Does anyone on this board REALLY care about how a fellow fan frets or celebrates. It all balances out.

Fretters: Fretters (including myself) bring sober thinking to the game. They give everyone something to think about and more importantly debate as the week goes on. Without the fretting, the thinking this whole board would be a high five circle. And that just gets boring.

Fanners: Cheerleaders (including myself) help the fretter's get jacked up. Who cares about thier laser guided bunker buster stats, their out of control hijinks. They are the folks you want on Sunday getting you pumped up for the game.

Remember younger fans, think about going 30 years without ANY post season success. You think 2005 to now is long? There is a reason the long lived Seattle fan is so... Grumpy Smurf... they have had their hopes dashed in every possible horrible way. They are litterally waiting for the other shoe to drop. So don't go telling them they aren't being good fans, you may not know how long they have been suffering, the are trying to soften a blow. What you can do is help getting them jacked up.

And all you Grumpy Smurfs, don't squash the younger generation's crazy fandom, we don't need to put all our horrible Seahawks history on them. Feed off the optimism, warrented or not.

Or do whatever you want, it's none of my damn business.

Escamillo wrote:That's my only problem with some of the predictions I've read of a loss, the idea that those predicting a loss are "realistic" while the others are blind homers or whatever. Those who want to predict a loss and present arguments for it, go for it, but just save the "I'm being realistic" part, since it suggests that you're basing your prediction on reality while those predicting the opposite are basing their predictions on fantasy.

Bravo, Shock2K, that was very level headed.

Is it Sunday yet??!!
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dude with a name like T-Sizzle talking about people being swaggerless? what planet am I on?

For the record, I got the most swag on this board! I don't care what Zeb and dunce say, I'm the swaggiest on .NET!

And I'm afraid for the Hawks in this game.

Whether you are picking a victory or a loss, I look to see what type of extra stuff you add to explain your reasoning and if in either case, it isn't just based on an emotional high or low I think both are worthy.

I am glad to see a variety of predictions. From this point forward, I see 8 good football teams that can win their games if they do things in their favor.

I am confident in the Seahawks as long as they don't let themselves fall behind similar as they did in DC, I see a very close victory.

Throwdown wrote:Dude with a name like T-Sizzle talking about people being swaggerless? what planet am I on?

For the record, I got the most swag on this board! I don't care what Zeb and dunce say, I'm the swaggiest on .NET!

And I'm afraid for the Hawks in this game.

Well when you use words like 'swaggiest' there is no contest

dunceface wrote:

Throwdown wrote:Dude with a name like T-Sizzle talking about people being swaggerless? what planet am I on?

For the record, I got the most swag on this board! I don't care what Zeb and dunce say, I'm the swaggiest on .NET!

And I'm afraid for the Hawks in this game.

Well when you use words like 'swaggiest' there is no contest

Swag masters such as myself make up our own words, I could teach you my ways if you'd like.

But I think we're gonna win...is that still okay?

Well, I mean... yeah?

It's as 'realistic' to say the Hawks could win as it is to say the Falcons will. One team is a very good team that's playing at home. The other is a team that continues to prove doubters wrong week after week.

Just as the 'realistic' group is implying that the fans predicting a Seahawk win must be somehow biased by calling them 'homers,' the same can be said about the 'realistic' crowd...the difference being the ones being 'real' are biased in the other direction. Let me offer an opinion that the cause of this bias is 36 years of programming. Decades of mediocrity has conditioned many of us long-time fans to expect that the team will somehow fall short. The question is how long will it take to de-program?

How many times does this team need to prove itself to us? By all weights and measures, this is not your daddy's team and it's certainly not the 'some old......' I won't finish the phrase because it doesn't belong in the same breath when speaking of what Pete and John have assembled.

I can appeciate how the paradigm remains stubbornly burned into one's psyche, but can we shift that just a bit for the playoffs? All of this hedging against a possible emotional crash is not what this team needs from us right now. They're in the playoffs, and this young bunch of 'go getters' are 'all-in.' Why not err in favor of your team while also acknowledging the very real possibility that Altanta could win?

I've been a fan since 1976, but I'm gonna muster enough belief to put it out there for these guys. They've accomplished enough to earn that much from me.

Seahwkgal wrote:Dr. Diags rules!!!

Afraid and swag cannot coexist. Pick one, young buck.

My brotha, fear is emotion, swag you're born with they can coexist, my brotha

Missing_Clink wrote:A few thoughts:

1. Having realistic expectations does not make you any less of a fan (I picked a close Hawk win but I know we very well may lose)

2. Fan attitudes on internet message boards have no bearing on the teams' performance

3. The Falcons are a good team, worthy of respect. There is just no way around that fact.

4. Go Hawks!

All of these. Especially 4.