Classy Winners vs Obnoxious Winners...
Posted: Wed Nov 24, 2021 2:11 pmSo i'm watching the 2nd half of Marquette vs St Bonaventure, rooting for the Warriors of course.
And wow, what a bunch of effin douchebags in the Bonnies crowd and on their roster. You know, the St Bona program has sucked sh-t over the past 40 years, with a couple of exceptions like one Sweet-16 a few years ago. So they would automatically have a sympathetic vibe to them from the average neutral couch potato fan. Plus JPSchmack is so likeable.
But geez, talk about pissin away any kind of goodwill with neutral fans, or fans like us that mightve pulled for them since we have some old-skool history with them... taunting Shaka, singing "Hey Hey Goodbye", strutting around with every basket; holy cow STFU.
And imagine St Bona having the stones and unawareness to do this to Marquette?
It got me thinking about past examples of these types of programs. This is my short list of teams during my sports life goibg back to the mid-70s:
ANNOYING UNGRACIOUS WINNERS:
1. Duke 1991-92, etc... ok, by far the most obnoxious, guilty program for this behavior is Duke. Coach K arrived in 1981 or so, sucked and cried for a few years, then lost in the 86 finals. Then he subjected us to annual cry-fests in the late 80s whenever they got bounced from the NCAA's, culminating in absolute dismantlings by 89 Seton Hall and 90 UNLV. But wouldn't you know, they finally win a title in 91 and 92 and act like total douchebags.
2. NY Mets 1986... the lovable, likeable fun Mets of the 70s and early 80s turned into a bunch of arrogant a-holes in 1986-- some roided up, some just obnoxious, just a group of a-holes. And not just cuz i'm a Red Sox guy. As an AL fan, i had hoped the neat Mets would get their day in the sun, but holy crap they were a-holes.
3. Dodgers 1981... geez, the poor Dodgers got whacked in 1974, then broke Red Sox hearts in 77 and 78 by not being able to stop the Yankees... ok, i loved Providence's own Davey Lopes who i would often bat like on the wiffleball field, lol... anyway, that 1981 LA team had fun vibes with Fernando, but benefitted from a split season (Cincinnati had a better overall record in the NL West), bounced Montreal, then did finally knock off the Yanks... good for them. So why did we then have to watch the late Jerry Reuss, late Jay Johnstone, and Steve Yeager, etc, on the talk show circuit singing "We Are The Champions"...? Obnoxious.
4. KC Royals 2015... ok, let's all feel bad each Spring Training for the poor Royals, who went 30 years without a playoff berth after the 85 title. Then let's watch them act like entitled a-holes after winning the 2015 Series.
5. Packers 1996... the first 20 years of following the NFL, there was always this poor Packers mantra about returning to the Vince Lombardi glory days... an occasional crest would occur like the fun 82 Pack during the split season, but there was a lot of suckitude over 20+ seasons... the 96 team was annoying with "gunslinger" Brett Favre... plus CBS was openly rooting for them vs New England in the Super Bowl. Bleeech.
6. Australia 1983 America's Cup... geez let's cry for the Aussies every 3 years... then watch them cheat with the bogus winged-keel, then act like a-holes in victory... probably got liquored up and overstuffed with vegemite afterwards, bleeech... sure i'm bitter about Newport losing this competition, i admit it...!
GOOD EXAMPLES:
1. Sixers 1983... for a bunch of years the Sixers under Billy Cunningham had some crushing postseasons... after pucking up Moses Malone for 83, they cruised to the championship, sweeping LA. And they treated as a relief, unhooking the millstone from their ankles, and even as a Celtics fan i was actually happy for them.
2. Raiders 1976 and 1980 and 1983... this is a little odd cuz they had jerks on their roster, including headhunters who paralyzed Patriot Darryl Stingley; plus the 76 Pats beat them 48-17 then got cheated in the playoff game... but after a decade leading up to 1976 where Oakland kept losing tight AFC Finals perennially to Pittsburgh, etc, their win vs Minnesota was treated as more of a relief for their old tyme veterans of those close calls, and John Madden too of course, plus Mark Van Eeghen was from Cranston. The 80 and 83 teams were cool if only because of my love for Jim Plunkett.
3. Reds 1975 and 1976... after five years of close calls and great teams, and a tough 75 Series, they classily just won a couple of Series with professionallism and likeability.
4. Braves 1995... like the Reds above, the Braves after several great runs finally broke through in 95 and were gracious in victory.
Ok i've run out of time and energy... sorry if i've stepped on any fanbases' toes here. I tried to make a varied and fun list and didn't shy away from criticizubg Big East cities' teams, lol.
Would love to hear some of your contributions too.
And wow, what a bunch of effin douchebags in the Bonnies crowd and on their roster. You know, the St Bona program has sucked sh-t over the past 40 years, with a couple of exceptions like one Sweet-16 a few years ago. So they would automatically have a sympathetic vibe to them from the average neutral couch potato fan. Plus JPSchmack is so likeable.
But geez, talk about pissin away any kind of goodwill with neutral fans, or fans like us that mightve pulled for them since we have some old-skool history with them... taunting Shaka, singing "Hey Hey Goodbye", strutting around with every basket; holy cow STFU.
And imagine St Bona having the stones and unawareness to do this to Marquette?
It got me thinking about past examples of these types of programs. This is my short list of teams during my sports life goibg back to the mid-70s:
ANNOYING UNGRACIOUS WINNERS:
1. Duke 1991-92, etc... ok, by far the most obnoxious, guilty program for this behavior is Duke. Coach K arrived in 1981 or so, sucked and cried for a few years, then lost in the 86 finals. Then he subjected us to annual cry-fests in the late 80s whenever they got bounced from the NCAA's, culminating in absolute dismantlings by 89 Seton Hall and 90 UNLV. But wouldn't you know, they finally win a title in 91 and 92 and act like total douchebags.
2. NY Mets 1986... the lovable, likeable fun Mets of the 70s and early 80s turned into a bunch of arrogant a-holes in 1986-- some roided up, some just obnoxious, just a group of a-holes. And not just cuz i'm a Red Sox guy. As an AL fan, i had hoped the neat Mets would get their day in the sun, but holy crap they were a-holes.
3. Dodgers 1981... geez, the poor Dodgers got whacked in 1974, then broke Red Sox hearts in 77 and 78 by not being able to stop the Yankees... ok, i loved Providence's own Davey Lopes who i would often bat like on the wiffleball field, lol... anyway, that 1981 LA team had fun vibes with Fernando, but benefitted from a split season (Cincinnati had a better overall record in the NL West), bounced Montreal, then did finally knock off the Yanks... good for them. So why did we then have to watch the late Jerry Reuss, late Jay Johnstone, and Steve Yeager, etc, on the talk show circuit singing "We Are The Champions"...? Obnoxious.
4. KC Royals 2015... ok, let's all feel bad each Spring Training for the poor Royals, who went 30 years without a playoff berth after the 85 title. Then let's watch them act like entitled a-holes after winning the 2015 Series.
5. Packers 1996... the first 20 years of following the NFL, there was always this poor Packers mantra about returning to the Vince Lombardi glory days... an occasional crest would occur like the fun 82 Pack during the split season, but there was a lot of suckitude over 20+ seasons... the 96 team was annoying with "gunslinger" Brett Favre... plus CBS was openly rooting for them vs New England in the Super Bowl. Bleeech.
6. Australia 1983 America's Cup... geez let's cry for the Aussies every 3 years... then watch them cheat with the bogus winged-keel, then act like a-holes in victory... probably got liquored up and overstuffed with vegemite afterwards, bleeech... sure i'm bitter about Newport losing this competition, i admit it...!
GOOD EXAMPLES:
1. Sixers 1983... for a bunch of years the Sixers under Billy Cunningham had some crushing postseasons... after pucking up Moses Malone for 83, they cruised to the championship, sweeping LA. And they treated as a relief, unhooking the millstone from their ankles, and even as a Celtics fan i was actually happy for them.
2. Raiders 1976 and 1980 and 1983... this is a little odd cuz they had jerks on their roster, including headhunters who paralyzed Patriot Darryl Stingley; plus the 76 Pats beat them 48-17 then got cheated in the playoff game... but after a decade leading up to 1976 where Oakland kept losing tight AFC Finals perennially to Pittsburgh, etc, their win vs Minnesota was treated as more of a relief for their old tyme veterans of those close calls, and John Madden too of course, plus Mark Van Eeghen was from Cranston. The 80 and 83 teams were cool if only because of my love for Jim Plunkett.
3. Reds 1975 and 1976... after five years of close calls and great teams, and a tough 75 Series, they classily just won a couple of Series with professionallism and likeability.
4. Braves 1995... like the Reds above, the Braves after several great runs finally broke through in 95 and were gracious in victory.
Ok i've run out of time and energy... sorry if i've stepped on any fanbases' toes here. I tried to make a varied and fun list and didn't shy away from criticizubg Big East cities' teams, lol.
Would love to hear some of your contributions too.
