Such is the nature of the "Suck for Luck" campaign, where the opportunity to draft Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck outweighs the downside of a disastrous season.
"I have done this for 13 years ... I'll steal a Robert Mathis quote: I ain't sucking for anybody," Colts center Jeff Saturday said Wednesday, according to the Tennessean. "Robert said it best, and that is the reality of it. I am out there every week trying to win games, and I don't care about the rest of it."
Dolphins tight end Anthony Fasano is similarly touchy about the situation.
"It's sick actually. I can't even fathom those thoughts of those people that conjure up that stuff," he told WFAN-AM in New York (via SportsRadioInterviews.com). "They have never played sports and pretty much aren't really our loyal fans. I can't really put any weight into that and I know the players don't listen to it."
It's easy to understand the frustrations of Saturday and Fasano, but NFL players are also hard-wired to treat every game as vital and relevant. Knowledgeable fans don't have that same perspective, leading to the disconnect of what the balance of the schedule really represents. Can't we all just get along?
