Where is the hate, America?

[Dave Carlson]

I don't understand all the complaints on this board about this person disrespecting us, or that person picking St. Joe's over us or some guy's basic-cable documentary about Syracuse and Georgetown falling in love not mentioning us enough. Do you want us to be well-liked? Everyone liked Mickey Mantle in the Horace Clark years and Wilt Chamberlain when he was in the Conan movie and Attila the Hun after he died and started writing self-help books for middle managers.

I actually get upset anytime anyone on television says anything nice about UConn basketball and I certainly don't want anyone picking us to win a tournament game. I'm happiest when someone finds out I went to UConn and feels the need to bring up our one-year post-season ban or "laptops" or "mid-major conference" or "fading into irrelevance" or "your football team", because then I know the hate is alive. It's like Robert DeNiro said to one of the other Baldwin brothers (not the crackhead from Homicide or the Christian one, the other one) in a terrible movie I saw once: "It's a living thing, [Other Baldwin Brother]. It breathes. It eats. It hates." He was talking about herpes or whatever (it was a terrible movie), but it applies equally to the UConn bug living inside the head of a lot of people who follow college basketball. Call it Husky herpes: it really flares up only once a year around March, but it's always there and it's highly contagious, and though it won't kill you, it makes your life miserable. Oh, you can treat it with a post-season ban or BS tournament draws or Ted Valentine, but that's just suppressing the symptoms. There is no cure. That makes me glad.

Let fans of other teams print t-shirts about sextuple overtime victories in the quarterfinals of a conference tournament that their team lost or enjoy basic cable documentaries about that one time during the late stages of the Cold War when the team they root for lost two of the three tries they had at a national championship despite having the most dominant player on their team. Keep your t-shirts and your movie and I'll take your hatred. I just wish there was more of it and that it was a more virulent strain. A guy at MSG threw a beer in my direction after Taliek hit that shot against Pitt, and the guy was wearing a Villanova hat! Why can't I have that kind of hate every day? If there was a store that sold it, I'd be their best customer.

I just wish this year's team could find something to do over the next few weeks that would make everyone waste a few more moments of their lives hating UConn a little harder.

 

[Tenspro2002]

It's important to recognize the difference between hate and irrelevance.

I would love more hate, as that would mean people are thinking about us; irrelevance is being flat-out ignored, or being disrespected by omission. Unfortunately, what we're experiencing is a hell of a lot closer to the latter.

 

[Husky25]

I don't understand all the complaints on this board about this person disrespecting us, or that person picking St. Joe's over us or some guy's basic-cable documentary about Syracuse and Georgetown falling in love not mentioning us enough. Do you want us to be well-liked? Everyone liked Mickey Mantle in the Horace Clark years and Wilt Chamberlain when he was in the Conan movie and Attila the Hun after he died and started writing self-help books for middle managers.

I actually get upset anytime anyone on television says anything nice about UConn basketball and I certainly don't want anyone picking us to win a tournament game. I'm happiest when someone finds out I went to UConn and feels the need to bring up our one-year post-season ban or "laptops" or "mid-major conference" or "fading into irrelevance" or "your football team", because then I know the hate is alive. It's like Robert DeNiro said to one of the other Baldwin brothers (not the crackhead from Homicide or the Christian one, the other one) in a terrible movie I saw once: "It's a living thing, [Other Baldwin Brother]. It breathes. It eats. It hates." He was talking about herpes or whatever (it was a terrible movie), but it applies equally to the UConn bug living inside the head of a lot of people who follow college basketball. Call it Husky herpes: it really flares up only once a year around March, but it's always there and it's highly contagious, and though it won't kill you, it makes your life miserable. Oh, you can treat it with a post-season ban or BS tournament draws or Ted Valentine, but that's just suppressing the symptoms. There is no cure. That makes me glad.

Let fans of other teams print t-shirts about s e xtuple overtime victories in the quarterfinals of a conference tournament that their team lost or enjoy basic cable documentaries about that one time during the late stages of the Cold War when the team they root for lost two of the three tries they had at a national championship despite having the most dominant player on their team. Keep your t-shirts and your move and I'll take your hatred. I just wish there was more of it and that it was a more virulent strain. A guy at MSG threw a beer in my direction after Taliek hit that shot against Pitt, and the guy was wearing a Villanova hat! Why can't I have that kind of hate every day? If there was a store that sold it, I'd be their best customer.

I just wish this year's team could find something to do over the next few weeks that would make everyone waste a few more moments of their lives hating UConn a little harder.

Dude, Google it!!!

I'll give you the following off the top of my head: That terrible movie was called Backdraft and it was enjoyably bad. It starred William Baldwin (the second most famous of the for brothers) in his prime, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rebecca De Mornay, and J.T. Walsh as Alderman Swayzack. Robert Deniro had a relatively minor part in the movie as an arson investigator and he was talking about fire, not herpes.

Be that as it may, I suppose the underlying point of your post is valid.

 

[Kitaman]

I think it comes from the 20+ threads on this subject.

Just as I am about to forget about the subject the jack comes out of the box.

 

[jibsey]

In 2011 commentator and analyst love never came, even to the final game. We had a bandwagon of none. I love it.

 

[UCweCONN]

In 2011 commentator and analyst love never came, even to the final game. We had a bandwagon of none. I love it.

Not true. We had a bunch of commentators saying we were the team of destiny after the Big East Championship run. This year, we're irrelevant to them despite a quite successful season. Someone needs to tell them we're UCONN and still here.

 

[Mots010]

Not sure how my wife will react when I tell her I hope everyone gets a bad case of Husky Herpes, but here goes nothing.

 

[jibsey]

Not true. We had a bunch of commentators saying we were the team of destiny after the Big East Championship run. This year, we're irrelevant to them despite a quite successful season. Someone needs to tell them we're UCONN and still here.

Not true, the ESPN show The Experts (6 or 7 in the know) had nothing for us. That was a 5 hour Kentuckython. Sure there's always 1 or 2 that believe but it was thin.

 

[UCweCONN]

Not true, the ESPN show The Experts (6 or 7 in the know) had nothing for us. That was a 5 hour Kentuckython. Sure there's always 1 or 2 that believe but it was thin.

I remember ESPN's selection show showed us love.

 

[gtcam]

I remember ESPN's selection show showed us love.

only because they were obligated to admire the BET run - that's it

 

[UConnfan8]

In 2011 Bilas picked us to win the NC when the brackets came out..he was amazed by our run and literally felt that we were just gonna continue the miracle all the way to the title game. no one else did though....only Bilas

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

It's important to recognize the difference between hate and irrelevance. I would love more hate, as that would mean people are thinking about us; irrelevance is being flat-out ignored, or being disrespected by omission. Unfortunately, what we're experiencing is a hell of a lot closer to the latter.

You are something else.

 

[Dave Carlson]

In 2011 Bilas picked us to win the NC when the brackets came out..he was amazed by our run and literally felt that we were just gonna continue the miracle all the way to the title game. no one else did though....only Bilas

Well, if Jay Bilas doesn't have anything negative to say about this UConn team, I would really prefer that he just keep his mouth shut for the next few weeks.

 

[tdrink]

How does it feel when the hate gets turned into a post season ban for complete b. s.?

The worst part of watching the 30 for 30 was the part when they nostalgically showed the last big east tournament game between GT and cuse and didn't mention that Uconn was banned from the last real big east tourney because of the special brand of hate for Uconn.

Yes, it feels even better when our team overcomes the extra obstacles to win it all. But it is fair to mention that it should translate into extra respect, not less.

 

[Tenspro2002]

You are something else.

Do you have something constructive to add, or just more ad hominem attacks?

 

[Dave Carlson]

Do you have something constructive to add, or just more ad hominem attacks?

This is not the time, and this thread is not the place, for people to try and get constructive.

 

[Dave Carlson]

How does it feel when the hate gets turned into a post season ban for complete b. s.?

The worst part of watching the 30 for 30 was the part when they nostalgically showed the last big east tournament game between GT and cuse and didn't mention that Uconn was banned from the last real big east tourney because of the special brand of hate for Uconn.

Yes, it feels even better when our team overcomes the extra obstacles to win it all. But it is fair to mention that it should translate into extra respect, not less.

I get where you're coming from, and that was total BS, but I think you're missing the point about success breeding respect. Look in your history books. Brutus (Emmert) was so afraid of JC (JC), which was a form of true respect, that he knew he had to stab JC (JC) twenty-three times like a little sneak. What Brutus (Emmert) failed to realize was that JC (JC) had an adopted son Octavius (Ollie) who was going to make the empire stronger. Notice that Brutus never tried to stab Roy Williams (look it up). What does that tell you?

The ides of March was Saturday, but that dark time has passed. I'd be one nervous Pannonian right now, if you catch my meaning.