Blind, believe me, I know that much of what you said above is true, and unfair, but I'm telling you this SOJ narrative will not go away until this team breaks the drought like the NY Rangers, Rex Sox, Cubs etc. When you go 50 Years without winning, you are going to be treated like a perennial loser and bumbling idiots. There's only one way to end that narrative ... win a championship.The SOJ comment refers to the tendency of some fans to jump all over the front office of this team every chance they can. So if the Giants make a mistake or a questionable decision, they’re off the hook because of more success they’ve had. But if the Jets do something the fans and/or media don’t like, start the circus music and don’t hold back! Incompetence, LOL, SOJ.
I partially blame the beat writers for it. Cimini and Mehta have been instigators for years, constantly bringing up that stupid “Buttfumble” play as a microcosm of the supposed ineptitude of this team. (If the Giants had done that, you’d never hear about it again). Or the draft. They act like we’re the only ones who miss on first round picks. Every team misses on draft picks and FA’s from time to time. But it gets magnified because it’s the Jets, and people cannot look past 1995-96 Kotite era, paper bags over the heads at the Meadowlands, etc.
At some point, despite the efforts at ESPN and the Daily News, we have to move on from this characterization and realize that this team isn’t the joke some claim it is. Yes there have been bad years, but there’s also been very good years and a lot of mediocrity. Hardly the 1-15 SOJ team some just can’t get away from.
Every one of the teams I mentioned lived with a similar narrative until they won, then, POOF!!!, that narrative was gone.