Love and hate of sports

The love and hate of sports

Why do we love one team, and despise others? What is this thing we do when it comes to sports like football, where seemingly sane individuals change like werewolves to angry, hateful individuals?

It’s called fanaticism and it can happen to any sports fan that has a favorite team. But why is that, why do we embrace one team, and hate many others? I am going to blog a bit about that and tear a bit of myself so you can see where I am coming from.

Why do we choose a favorite team and forsake all others? Around here, we have family and friends that are Duke fans, UNC fans, ECU fans, Dallas Cowboy fans, Washington Redskins fans, and numerous other teams. But why? Why do we pull for one team, and against others?

This could EASILY be a much longer blog, but what I want to do is take myself, and identify some teams that I have mixed feelings about, and why. In doing this, I am sharing the human side of this writer, in that life itself is a different as every individual that lives it. The perspective of life is never, EVER seen just as one way, there are multiple ways of looking at it. Sports is no different, with the following examples of teams I have mixed feelings for:

East Carolina University. It’s odd because I don’t live far from Greenville, so many might ASSUME that I support this team. I don’t. But my reason is personal. I am a grad of Western Carolina University, but trust me, folks, that has NOTHING to do with my dislike of ECU. My reasons were actually based several years, when a cousin of mine was a very good player for his high school. ECU, then coached by Steve Logan, recruited him and he committed to the school. But the team never played him, but kept promising him that he would play. At the same time, it appeared that Steve Logan loved the barbeque meals that he got from my cousin’s dad’s restaurant. But up until his senior season, he never got to play.

Now on every college team, they have what is called “Senior day” This is the day that EVERY senior on the team is recognized as they come out on the field before the game starts, with their parents. My cousin was a senior that year, and his parents came to at least see him come out on the field before the game started….

The “forgot” to call his name. There goes 4 years of servitude.

When I was told this, I was so angry at ECU that I hoped they would lose 700 games straight. A couple of years later when Steve Logan was fired, I did a dance in joyful celebration in our house. But that was years ago, and that resentment is still there, even though years have passed. But I hold nothing against ECU fans or the students, it’s not their fault at all. But that scorching mark is a painful reminder that college football is as much into manipulation and control as they are about making money.

A second team I have mixed feelings for is Nebraska. I have never been to that state in my life, but there was a time I actually liked seeing Nebraska play. They were the powerhouse of the NCAA and were fun to watch. With Tom Osborne, this was clearly on of the best teams in the nation. After he retired time passed and they got a coach named Frank Solich. Then something stupid happened….

They fired him…because they weren’t “winning enough”.

I have never met Frank Solich, and I cannot speak for him, but I can speak as a sports fan. This coach gave Nebraska a 9-win season, AND a bowl, but the “powers that be” were not happy because they wanted to be in a National Championship. This foolish move caused a lot of raised eyebrows across the nation, and at the time ESPN had a former Nebraska player working for them, Trev Alberts.

With Frank Solich now fired, where was Nebraska going to get a BETTER coach, and why fire a man with a WINNING record? Trev Alberts made some comments on it, but you knew it was going to be pro-Nebraska, defending his people. The University actually outsmarted themselves, thinking they had someone in place to replace Frank, and found out that that person didn’t want the job…and neither did the second choice. All of a sudden Nebraska was starting to look like an idiot, getting rid of a good coach because they thought the grass was greener on the other side…and it wasn’t.

From that point I despised Nebraska for such a stupid move, and treating a good coach like crap. I saw no justification in that, but there IS a side I can appreciate, something Trev Alberts said. He said that what many people don’t understand is that unlike Texas, Florida, California or most other states, there is ONLY one Division I football team in the state of Nebraska…that IS Nebraska.

And as such, it creates a state-wide unity for this school. It’s all they have to root for when it comes to college football. And it makes sense to me, and I can respect that. So my anger is certainly not aimed at any Nebraska fans at all, I understand how you see it. Still, I think the Athletic Director or whomever was foolish enough to pull the strings on that brainless act was thinking about the pressure he got from equally brainless rich alumni. Sometimes the dumbest people in the sports world are rich alumni…but Nebraska seemed to prove that money speaks louder than words.

So when Nebraska lost this weekend to Missouri, I felt to superficial loss for the Huskers because to me, the university brought this on themselves…but I DO feel sorry for the fans, and part of me wanted to see them win, for the fans and the state of Nebraska.

Notre Dame is another team I have mixed feelings for. I was never a big Notre Dame fan anyway, though it cannot be argued that some great players have come out of Notre Dame…in fact I think at least one was on my list of “Greatest Running Backs EVER”.

But I never really pulled for Notre Dame much, I just kinda resented the idea that NBC caters to them like a rich brat. But I started rooting for them when Notre Dame hired Tyrone Willingham. I mean, Tyrone Willingham seemed to emphasize not just playing well, but getting a good education. Nobody is going to argue against what he stood for, and for a moment it seemed like Notre Dame was showing the country exactly where the USA SHOULD be as far as seeing that African American coaches deserve equal chances to coach. It just seemed like the best thing to do, not because they were giving him a “favor”, but because they believed he was the BEST man for the job.

So I became a big Notre Dame fan because as much as I love college football, one very UGLY part about it is the fact that even in the new millennia, racism is a big a part in college football as it has ever been. So we all needed to see Tyrone Willingham do well for everybody, regardless of what color you were.

But this was too good to last.

Tyrone Willingham was then fired from the coaching ranks and was the first time Notre Dame has ever FAILED to let a coach finish his contract. Tyrone Willingham barely had time to get his recruits in the system before the university threw him out. I know people can argue about his record, but his predecessor, Charlie Weis, has not done any better in the same length of time, in fact has done worse, but was rewarded with a contract extension much faster than Willingham could ever hope for.

There was some talk that Notre Dame alum never really wanted Willingham anyway, and even darker words that they wanted Willingham to draw more African American athletes to the slowly slumping football team. This could be seen in the fact that with the negative media blast they got from firing Tyrone Willingham, they went and got Tim Brown (a former Notre Dame player) to work for them in the recruiting field.

Let’s just call it “damage control”. Some African American families with high school athletes were starting to back off from Notre Dame because they felt the school was not justified in firing Willingham. So to offset that, Notre Dame gets an African American legend in Tim Brown to work for them…it’s still damage control.

Even the head of the university was quoted as saying that this is one of the most embarrassing days of his career. He KNEW what Notre Dame did was wrong, but money speaks greater than God, apparently….remember, Notre Dame is a Catholic University…or I guess that’s the impression they give.

So I don’t root for Notre Dame at all, to me, they made a complete mockery of the equality that this nation is supposed to stand for. In the end, it’s all about rich old men and women who like tradition, rather than opportunity….kinda like the SEC, since they’ve only had 1 African American head coach in their history…but don’t let me get started on that.

But you see my point. Just as I can sit here and justify why I don’t like certain teams, 100 people could counter with why their team is great and all the others are crap. And they would not be wrong. We all have our beliefs and this is no different when it comes to sports. To look at any team and think it is only one dimensional in what they do is foolish. I am an Oakland Raiders fan, but right I think what Monty Burns…oops, Al Davis, is doing is absolutely insane.

The Raiders are NEVER going to see success as long as his talons are gripping the flesh of the team. And I know it is his team, and he can run it the way he wants, but he better be ready to embrace that failure just as much as the success. I hope they lose 100 games, and I hope if they play the Buccaneers, that Gruden beats them by 395 points. I hope when they play the Broncos, the Raiders lose by 3,201 points.

Oh, I’ll still be rooting for the Raiders, but NOT for Al Davis. Let the Raiders now inherit the wind, and reap the barren fruits. I still love the Raiders, but no love is going to change how terrible this team is now. I thought awhile back that Sapp retired because he saw the handwriting on the wall, and apparently that is true based on what Warren Sapp has recently said. It is sad because they have a very good quarterback in Russell and two very good backs that can get them some wins…if they had kept Randy Moss, this MIGHT have been an AFC power again. But NOOOOOOOO, Monty Burns…excuse me, Al Davis had to have a hand in it.

(Note: If you are wondering why I keep saying “Monty Burns” check out the Simpsons cartoons….and when you do, find out what Monty Burns’ catch-phrase is…you’ll get the idea)

Oh well, that is enough for now, hope you catch me on my next blog.