Spartacus. ESPN going to feature the conflict

[amory]

I think its less about ESPN and more about the fact that UCF had no interest whatsoever in a rivalry with uconn. Why force it?

We'll never know if UCF would've taken the trophy if Diaco had given it to them. All we know is that they didn't run over and get the thing themselves, which isn't surprising.

I dunno. It was definitely a dumb thing, but ultimately I thought it was kind of a cool idea on Crazy Bob's part. Too bad it never got fully implemented

 

[epark88]

Next year, I honestly don't care so much if we win or lose against UCF as I care if we obliterate anyone in gold/black attempting to run with a football. Win or lose, I want them to completely despise The University of Connecticut before we leave Orlando. I hope HCBD has the testicular fortitude to pull that off.

But first things first: publicly dispose of/destroy that damn trophy, and promise to bring the hurt in 2017...

 

[epark88]

Yeah, and about our "TV Partner:"

These Bristol slights against UConn have been happening, in various forms and outlets, since 2003. It used to be clandestine and underhanded, but now it's much more blatant. Bad UConn news in the forefront, good UConn news either ignored, downplayed or tethered to past bad UConn news.

Say what you want about me or my often-stated personal feelings about the Bristol Cartel, but look: is this stuff really just some crazy conspiracy theory if it's actually happening?...

 

[Showballot]

Next year, I honestly don't care so much if we win or lose against UCF as I care if we obliterate anyone in gold/black attempting to run with a football. Win or lose, I want them to completely despise The University of Connecticut before we leave Orlando. I hope HCBD has the testicular fortitude to pull that off.

But first things first: publicly dispose of/destroy that damn trophy, and promise to bring the hurt in 2017...

What if he has the, "Testicular fortitude" but we don't have the players to 'pull that off?'

 

[whaler11]

It's not ESPN's fault UConn gave them something to make jokes about. It wasn't even that mean spirited.

Van Pelt I can't remember ever going after UConn for anything and Stanford Steve said he was going to the UCF game on his podcast.

 

[zls44]

Say what you want about me or my often-stated personal feelings about the Bristol Cartel, but look: is this stuff really just some crazy conspiracy theory if it's actually happening?...

Yes. It really, really is.

 

[gtcam]

It was really stupid for HCBD to even start this
BUT I am on ESPN bandwagon - they didn't need to do it
I hope the whole ESPN complex gets sucked into a sinkhole and takes all those cuse grads with it

 

[epark88]

Van Pelt I can't remember ever going after UConn for anything and Stanford Steve said he was going to the UCF game on his podcast.

Well, there was that time in '06 while doing UConn highlights on SportsCenter when he cracked, "There's Rudy Gay - he was worth the money." Other than that, I guess he hasn't been too bad-mouthy about us...

 

[Caronimo]

Watching the World Series. A news after the game preview just informed me they'll discuss Diaco being mocked on social media and it then cut to him stating "I don't understand how it was a bad idea." Yikes.

 

[zls44]

Watching the World Series. A news after the game preview just informed me they'll discuss Diaco being mocked on social media and it then cut to him stating "I don't understand how it was a bad idea." Yikes.

FOX 61 IS OUT TO GET UCONN!!!!!!!!!!!111111111111

 

[epark88]

Yes. It really, really is.

-__-

It is NOT my intention to get bogged down with this crap anymore - I choose to live a happy life both within and outside of UConn Sports.

But man, you gotta open your eyes, open your mind, and most importantly learn to read and comprehend sentences to their completion. ESPN takes every opportunity it can, across all its various media outlets, to overtly and covertly denigrate and devalue the University of Connecticut, and it has been happening for over a decade. It is not a conspiracy, because it is currently. taking. place.

You are welcome to have the last word on this - I'm finished...

 

[Marty Jackson]

You know what creates a rivalry... Beat them.
Then beat them again. Bad.

 

[UConnNick]

Well, there was that time in '06 while doing UConn highlights on SportsCenter when he cracked, "There's Rudy Gay - he was worth the money." Other than that, I guess he hasn't been too bad-mouthy about us...

Understandable...he went to Maryland and is a huge fan of the Twerps. He makes no attempt to hide that fact on air. Gary "Flopsweat" Williams still hasn't gotten over losing Gay. He thought he had him in the bag, and Calhoun cheated to get him.

 

[zls44]

-__-

It is NOT my intention to get bogged down with this crap anymore - I choose to live a happy life both within and outside of UConn Sports.

But man, you gotta open your eyes, open your mind, and most importantly learn to read and comprehend sentences to their completion. ESPN takes every opportunity it can, across all its various media outlets, to overtly and covertly denigrate and devalue the University of Connecticut, and it has been happening for over a decade. It is not a conspiracy, because it is currently. taking. place.

You are welcome to have the last word on this - I'm finished...

Can't fix stupid.

 

[uconnbill]

I am on ESPN bandwagon.

How can you reside - and since I am NOT a taxpayer nor citizen of the fine state of Connecticut (but a stakeholder in the University) these are call on your legislators - and think you will never draw fire for the repeated disdainful behavior of this deserving State University. Many have said on the BY over the years that Government shouldn't be involved at this level ... why the hell not. Be a Public Servant and stand up to Bristol. It's time.

I have called my legislature's and have gotten the run around from.them in how we need ESPN to stay in Connecticut. I have said let them stay without taxpayers footing the bill. I would rather the money went to UConn then to a corporation that has been a thorn in our side for the past seven years or more.

 

[amory]

You know what creates a rivalry... Beat them.
Then beat them again. Bad.

But rivalry games are a thing and they're cool. And in rivalry games you play for a trophy.

Look, I get it. We didn't ask for this, and he's nuts, and a rivalry with UCF makes zero sense, and....he's nuts.

But at the same time, the groundwork was laid. Whatever embarrassment we'd have to endure already happened. UCF isn't the powerhouse they were when the trophy was created, so they're certainly not above a rivalry with UConn anymore. Everyone in this conference now knows they're stuck here. The garbage trophy Diaco went out and bought at Things Remembered has its own mythos. There's a story there.

And you know, if we can't keep this rivalry game then we're never going to have a rivalry game, because this is how any rivalry game we're in will have to be formed. Like it or not we can't go back in time and make a rivalry game that's actually based on something, and even if we could we probably wouldn't be in the same conference as that other team today.

It's a damn shame if they call it all off now. It is!

My girlfriend went to Northeastern so she didn't have a football team when she was in school, and she's been coming with me to UConn games and has adopted it as her team. There was nothing terribly special about going to a game against a mediocre team in the cold and rain, but I told her about the backstory surrounding the ConFLiCT and she was all about it.

"So Diaco created this out of thin air, like, just for fun?"
"Yep"
"And it's just called the conflict?"
"Well, he capitalized the FL and CT for Connecticut and Florida."
"That's actually pretty good. So we've won it every time?"
"Uh, sort of...Yeah. Well they beat us the first game but Diaco didn't put that game on the trophy for some reason."
"That's hilarious.....this is kind of awesome, we have to win."
"Yes, yes we do"

Long live the damn ConFLiCT.

 

[Waquoit]

I don't understand how it was a bad idea either.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

I don't understand how it was a bad idea either.

Seriously?

As I have said...it doesn't really bother me that BD tried to make this work..i like that he is trying to build some excitement within the fan base. I like outside the box thinking.

But...how can you not see this is a bad idea? What other example do you have where a school created a rivalry with another school THAT THEY HAD NOTHING IN COMMON WITH other than they were forced into a conference together a few years ago? If he tried this with natural rivals...people would love it BC....RU...Cuse...even Temple. But he picked a school that UConn has virtually no history with. UConn even has more history with USF. And the school is over 1200 miles away from UConn. Usually rivalries have a local flavor.

It's just odd....it didn't work...but...really..who cares. Credit to him for trying..i just wish he picked a school that had more relevance.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

At the time UCF by all appearances was the biggest kid on the block and for us to publicly claim we were going after them (considering where we were at the time) was a very bold move and a statement to the entire team as to what he was aiming for.

The bulk of this was lost once UCF's 2015 season turned into a dumpster fire but at the time Diaco went public with this, nobody thought UCF was about to take the nose dive they ended up with.

 

[Bomber36]

Remember how it felt walking into the Rent when we played Rutgers? That was a rivalry. We don't have that feeling with a single team on our schedule, so why would ESPN make light of this? I thought it was silly, but it makes more sense in the context of trying to recapture some of the excitement that we've lost these last few years.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Say what you want about me or my often-stated personal feelings about the Bristol Cartel, but look: is this stuff really just some crazy conspiracy theory if it's actually happening?...

"Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you."

 

[UConnNick]

Remember how it felt walking into the Rent when we played Rutgers? That was a rivalry. We don't have that feeling with a single team on our schedule, so why would ESPN make light of this? I thought it was silly, but it makes more sense in the context of trying to recapture some of the excitement that we've lost these last few years.

I think we should make every effort to schedule Rutgers, Syracuse or BS College so we play at least one or more of them every season. We had developed a real rivalry with these teams, particularly Rutgers. They're all close enough to bring a significant number of their fans to games at PAWS-ARF, which adds to the interest and excitement of playing against them.

Picking a team like UCF for a rivalry game made zero sense. They already have an arch rival in the same conference, USF. Very few of their fans will be at games in E. Hartford, and the same goes for our fans in Orlando. It was always a hair brained idea that was doomed to failure.

 

[Caronimo]

Just look at our real rivalries in basketball in the big east... Cuse, BC, Pitt... even St. John's. Calhoun never created some dumb trophy and came out and said these were rivalries. They just happened. You can't just come out and tell someone they are your rival. They are created with close, competitive games where fan bases hate each other. I definitely don't hate UCF... To be honest I like them even more now for making a mockery of the situation.

 

[Marty Jackson]

But rivalry games are a thing and they're cool. And in rivalry games you play for a trophy.

Look, I get it. We didn't ask for this, and he's nuts, and a rivalry with UCF makes zero sense, and....he's nuts.

But at the same time, the groundwork was laid. Whatever embarrassment we'd have to endure already happened. UCF isn't the powerhouse they were when the trophy was created, so they're certainly not above a rivalry with UConn anymore. Everyone in this conference now knows they're stuck here. The garbage trophy Diaco went out and bought at Things Remembered has its own mythos. There's a story there.

And you know, if we can't keep this rivalry game then we're never going to have a rivalry game, because this is how any rivalry game we're in will have to be formed. Like it or not we can't go back in time and make a rivalry game that's actually based on something, and even if we could we probably wouldn't be in the same conference as that other team today.

It's a damn shame if they call it all off now. It is!

My girlfriend went to Northeastern so she didn't have a football team when she was in school, and she's been coming with me to UConn games and has adopted it as her team. There was nothing terribly special about going to a game against a mediocre team in the cold and rain, but I told her about the backstory surrounding the ConFLiCT and she was all about it.

"So Diaco created this out of thin air, like, just for fun?"
"Yep"
"And it's just called the conflict?"
"Well, he capitalized the FL and CT for Connecticut and Florida."
"That's actually pretty good. So we've won it every time?"
"Uh, sort of...Yeah. Well they beat us the first game but Diaco didn't put that game on the trophy for some reason."
"That's hilarious.....this is kind of awesome, we have to win."
"Yes, yes we do"

Long live the damn ConFLiCT.

I agree with you. I am not a 'rivalry expert', but in order to have a rivalry the games need to matter to the fans.
you're traditional football fans and those that have given up on Diaco will probably look down on this as a stupid stunt that only provides negative exposure.
I think it's kind of funny and actually 'peppers the gumbo' for next year's match-up.
Almost to the point of 'hmmmm', was all this done on purpose?

Would be awesome for Uconn to go down next year, put some whooping on the Knights, maybe even run up the score, and then bring out that trophy.

People complain about everything. here's a guy that took a shot, tried to generate some juice in the league and you'd think he just molested someone's dog given some of the reactions.

 

[ShakyTheMohel]

At the time UCF by all appearances was the biggest kid on the block and for us to publicly claim we were going after them (considering where we were at the time) was a very bold move and a statement to the entire team as to what he was aiming for.

The bulk of this was lost once UCF's 2015 season turned into a dumpster fire but at the time Diaco went public with this, nobody thought UCF was about to take the nose dive they ended up with.

Well that's just silly. It would be like Tulane declaring UConn their rival in hoops. What would that get them?

 

[whaler11]

The stupidest part was
A: Picking the one FBS team they beat year 1 seemingly for the reason it was the only FBS team they beat.
B: Building a trophy that left the prior year's UCF blowout off of it

 

[Marty Jackson]

Well that's just silly. It would be like Tulane declaring UConn their rival in hoops. What would that get them?

actually it would be nothing like that. Uconn hoops is a blue-blood program. Tulane hoops, not so much.
A better analogy would be Tulane declaring UCF their rival in hoops.

Last time I looked, UCF football was not a top 5 program.

 

[Pudge]

Come on ...

Diaco did it in jest. If that seems quirky; if that seems odd ... that was entirely part of the presentation. And, it still resonates as odd. I bet the Team found a reason to target UCF (despite the miserable last Saturday). Be angry at Diaco for not returning punts or throwing 89% of passes target to #5 or not blitzing really fast big guys. The trophy crap is done.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

But...how can you not see this is a bad idea? What other example do you have where a school created a rivalry with another school THAT THEY HAD NOTHING IN COMMON WITH other than they were forced into a conference together a few years ago? If he tried this with natural rivals...people would love it BC....RU...Cuse...even Temple. But he picked a school that UConn has virtually no history with.

I don't think it was a bad idea either. If the schools you mentioned (excl Temple) played us every year they would be perfect rivals, but they don't. I would imagine that if lowly G5 UConn tried to set up a rivalry game with a P5 school, we'd be publicly mocked again. We've got very little in common with anyone in our league. He's trying to build interest in games we otherwise could care less about if not for being in conference. What is your idea for making USF, UCF, Tulsa, Tulane, etc... interesting games to the casual fan? If they're not ranked coming in then it's just another game. Even when I looked at the schedule, outside of 'Cuse & Virginia, I had no great desire to see any of them. If I wasn't a season ticket holder, those might have been the only games I would have purchased tickets for.

 

[Marty Jackson]

I don't think it was a bad idea either. If the schools you mentioned (excl Temple) played us every year they would be perfect rivals, but they don't. I would imagine that if lowly G5 UConn tried to set up a rivalry game with a P5 school, we'd be publicly mocked again. We've got very little in common with anyone in our league. He's trying to build interest in games we otherwise could care less about if not for being in conference. What is your idea for making USF, UCF, Tulsa, Tulane, etc... interesting games to the casual fan? If they're not ranked coming in then it's just another game. Even when I looked at the schedule, outside of 'Cuse & Virginia, I had no great desire to see any of them. If I wasn't a season ticket holder, those might have been the only games I would have purchased tickets for.

assume you forgot BC (and local rival Maine )...