[NU Sports] Blue in Indy ...

[SjT (Stephen J. Truog)]

> What if the third car is full of USC
> alums?  :)  -Joe

:) - you made me spit up my drink with that.

In that case, I would not travel by train at any cost!:)

I do think that a similar thread to those three is that they have a lot of "subway non-alumni" who hop aboard and make their fan base all the more obnoxious.

In any case, to follow up on my original post with a few thoughts ...

- I do agree that alumni should be full of pride for their school, but I think we know the difference between Dohmers, Spoiled Children, Dookies and other boastful alumni.

- And yes, I realize many Big Ten fans would say NU alums are arrogant -- I think that is more from bitterness and disbelief that they lost to us, where as in the case of the three above, they are jealous that they have all the luck and find ways to win ... but not disbelief.

- Finally, yes, it was part bitterness/jealousy and I do admit that Duke and Notre Dame are fine academic institutions. But as a fan (i.e. fanatic), I simply don't care. It was fun to cheer for Duke when they were the underdog, but once they won those two titles, things changed. Coach K gets whatever recruits he wants so he's part of the elite programs/"haves" and not really a little school/academic school underdog anymore.

Coach K made a smart move a few years ago, though, when he started being selective on his end of his recruits. For awhile there, he was just taking the cream of the crop and as a result got a lot of "one-and-dones" that disrupted his program a bit ... now he still takes top recruits, but kids who likely won't leave for the pros (Redick, etc.) early ... just think of where OSU would be if they had Oden, Connelly, Turner and those two tall guys who (idiotically) left after a year for a starring role on the NBA bench.

But admiration can still fuel hatred, namely for ...

- Coach K seemingly getting some awfully friendly calls from the refs

- Coach K still whining and working the refs incessantly -- he's become the Dean Smith he used to hate (someone with all the talent and all the close calls going his way who still whines in the zebra's ear ... watch those leg-whips Duke calls screens again during a game and tell me that 99% of other teams aren't called for moving screens!)

- Coach K with a bit of a sanctimonious attitude -- not as big as St. Urban's ego, but still sizable

- Coach K leaving his starters in loooong after a game's decided. He's done it for years and gotten away with not having a star injured while he pads the final score, but karma may come one day.

- Coach K getting a cushy road from the NCAA this year ... yeah, the Dookies rose up for the one game where they needed it (though I think we saw the Big East exposed a bit this year), but every other step of the way they got the path of least resistance from the committee

And they spoiled a great story ... as Wilt said, nobody loves Goliath!

So it may be petty, a load of "haterade" or bitterness after a tough loss -- but while my head respects Duke and Coach K for what they've done, my fan is run by the heart and that heart HATES THE DOOKIES almost as much as the Evil Empire and Spoiled Children!!!:)

GO CATS!!!
-SjT

PS - While I think NU will always be the underdog (and I love that role, so that's fine with me), I wouldn't necessarily mind being hated either because that usually means you're on top. So the Dookies should wear this as a badge of honor (and hence that cockiness makes them even more annoying and the spiral continues) ... that doesn't necessarily apply to Dohmer fans now that they suck, but they're still too much fun to hate.


* * * * * * * * *
STEPHEN J. TRUOG
sjtruog at yahoo.com
GO CATS!!! GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Super Bowl XLIV Champions!
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