First off—Andrew White32, let him be. He’s entitled to his own opinion, so there's no need to nitpick his wording.
rowdyridge19 said:Why should we dwell on the past? I wish things were like they were back when we first hit the big leagues, or even during the nineties, but that’s not our reality now. What good is crying about what used to be? We ought to focus on how to improve the group today so we can regain that former strength...
I find the current trend just as exhausting—this idea that everyone needs to show up in designer sneakers and, as you put it, have a polished, high-end terrace presence. But when we discuss the state of these groups, it becomes clear that the fleet is being pushed into the background due to the progress made by Cohort and the demon.
We can rationalize anything if we try hard enough; ultimately, it all comes down to perception and, frankly, personal bias. I recall an individual from the East Coast commenting on the attendance numbers of Cohort versus the fleet in a major US city, essentially asking, "Why look at just one game?" It seems he decided to cherry-pick roughly 324 days where Cohort
perhaps leads the fleet by a mere two points in "ultra" metrics (😁 ). If one were to examine a slightly longer timeframe, his little spreadsheets and calculations would fall apart instantly. I believe someone else already noted this, and I agree: the issue isn't necessarily that Cohort is superior, but rather that our fleet has developed a taste for something more substantial. That doesn't mean they are inferior, nor does it mean they've been eclipsed. One only has to look at the rivalry between the Red Sox and the Yankees to see where the true respect lies and which direction the momentum is shifting...
The fleet had a better showing at the stadium recently than the Yankees did, yet it didn't occur to them to claim they were now superior to the New Yorkers, because that simply isn't the reality. Both sides possess the capacity for much larger endeavors. On the other hand, you certainly had plenty of people from the Midwest screaming last year about how they were currently outperforming the Yankees. 🙄
edit: I originally wrote a massive post here, but I've trimmed it down since I found myself spiraling into endless philosophizing. 🙄 I am confident that my perspective is closer to the truth, and until I am presented with actual, superior arguments from Cohort itself, I have no intention of reconsidering my stance... that is all.
Regards,