By Carey Iona (The Flyin Hawaiian)
In the passionate, often cutthroat world of football, there’s a special kind of absurdity that plays out with increasing frequency: the glorification of individual stats and “style points” by players and fans alike, even when the team itself is a consistent loser. This phenomenon isn’t just misguided; it’s a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes football, and indeed any sport, worth playing and watching: winning.
Football is the quintessential team sport. It demands synchronicity, selflessness, and a collective drive toward a singular objective: securing victory. When a wide receiver racks up 150 yards and two touchdowns in a losing effort, or a quarterback boasts a stellar completion percentage while the scoreboard shows a definitive loss, what exactly is the point of pride? These numbers, however gaudy, are rendered largely meaningless without the accompanying W. They become hollow relics of a performance that ultimately failed to serve the team’s primary purpose.
The concept of “style points” is an equally perplexing and often infuriating byproduct of this misguided focus. This refers to the aesthetic appeal of plays, the flashiness of celebrations, or a perceived dominance that never translates into actual wins. It’s the equivalent of praising a chef for beautifully plating a dish that tastes awful. No true competitor, no dedicated coach, and certainly no loyal fan would ever prioritize “looking good” while losing over simply winning, however gritty or unglamorous that win might be. The objective is to cross the finish line first, not to look the prettiest doing it.
The Cynical Chorus of Trolls: Dissecting Wins into Insignificance
Adding another layer of frustration to this already flawed perspective are the “trolls”—those internet critics and armchair analysts who, even when your team does win, will immediately jump to dismantle the victory with a barrage of nitpicking and irrelevant critiques. Their goal isn’t honest analysis; it’s to diminish success, to find flaws in even the most dominant performances, and to steal the joy from winning.
”Yeah, but they don’t play man-to-man defense!”
“Your quarterback never throws into tight windows; he just checks down!”
“That running back only gets yards because of the offensive line!”
“They only won because the other team made mistakes!”
These are the battle cries of the perpetually dissatisfied, the voices that refuse to acknowledge a win at face value. They ignore the strategic decisions, the execution under pressure, and the sheer effort that goes into every victory. They cherry-pick advanced metrics, twist situational statistics, and apply an impossible standard, often born from a place of envy or a desire to simply stir conflict.
This cynical approach not only devalues the hard-earned wins but also perpetuates the false narrative that there’s a “right” way to win that supersedes the simple act of winning itself. It feeds into the very “style points” mentality that undermines the sport. A win is a win, regardless of how many “tight windows” were thrown into or whether the defense played zone or man coverage for 60 minutes straight. Successful teams adapt, they overcome, and they find ways to win with the talent they have and the schemes they employ.
Ultimately, both the obsession with losing stats and the relentless nitpicking of winning teams stem from a similar place: a detachment from the core essence of competitive football. The game is about outscoring your opponent, about the collective fight for supremacy, and about the thrill of victory. Individual stats are a component, not the sum total. Style is irrelevant. And the opinions of trolls, who can’t celebrate a win without an asterisk, are best left unheard. Let’s get back to celebrating what truly matters: the W.
