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Post by raleighrebel on Jul 29, 2008 11:33:44 GMT -5
Ohio State cornerback Malcolm Jenkins isn't sure how the Buckeyes became one of college football's most hated teams.
Maybe it's the way many Buckeye fans refer to their school as "The" Ohio State University. Maybe it's coach Jim Tressel's sweater vests.
Or maybe it's just all the winning.
"It doesn't surprise me," Jenkins said. "Half the nation doesn't like Ohio State."
On the eve of the 2008 season, many college football fans can't stomach the thought of the Buckeyes once again playing in the BCS championship game. Ohio State lost to Florida 41-14 in the 2006 national title game and 38-24 to LSU last season.
"We lost the games," Jenkins said. "If I was a fan, I'd probably say the same things."
Now that Notre Dame isn't winning very often, the Fighting Irish are no longer the team college football fans love to hate. Teams such as Ohio State, Florida, Oklahoma and USC are the ones that have fans' veins boiling with hatred -- or, worse, envy.
With teams across the country opening preseason camp next week, the sport's best collegiate teams are the ones attached to dart boards. And there are many reasons college football fans love to hate them:
Michigan hates Ohio State because the Buckeyes added four more Ls to Lloyd Carr's first name. The Buckeyes hate Michigan because Carr no longer coaches there.
Florida hates Georgia because the Bulldogs last season danced in the end zone -- and because Urban Meyer didn't think of doing it first. The Bulldogs hate Florida because Tim Tebow dances with stars.
Alabama hates Tennessee because Phillip Fulmer became a sleuth. The Volunteers hate Alabama because the Crimson Tide finally have someone who can coach.
Notre Dame hates Navy because it can't even beat the Midshipmen anymore. Navy hates that it doesn't have coach Paul Johnson anymore.
Florida State's Bobby Bowden hates that Penn State's Joe Paterno won't just quit. Fans of both schools hate that neither one of them has quit.
West Virginia hates Michigan because Rich Rodriguez coaches there. Pittsburgh hates West Virginia because Rodriguez still isn't there.
Texas hates Oklahoma because the Sooners beat the Longhorns with players from Texas. Oklahoma hates Texas because the Horns win their bowl games.
The ACC hates that it hasn't become the SEC. The SEC hates that it leads the country in parolees.
LSU hates that it opens the season against Appalachian State. The Mountaineers hate that they don't get to play Michigan again.
USC hates UCLA because the Bruins hired a cheater. UCLA hates USC because the Trojans still haven't been caught cheating.
LSU hates Alabama because Nick Saban referred to a Tiger fan in not the nicest of terms. Alabama hates Mike Shula because the team Saban inherited can't beat anyone's butts.
Notre Dame hates Illinois because Ron Zook outworks the Irish in recruiting. The Illini hate Iowa because the Hawkeyes still outcoach them.
Louisville hates Arkansas because Bobby Petrino coaches there. The Cardinals hate Petrino because he left them his players.
Stanford hates that it upset USC but couldn't even beat Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish hate that each of Charlie Weis' victories cost more than $1 million.
Kansas hates Missouri because the Tigers beat it. Missouri hates the Jayhawks because it really didn't matter when the BCS invitations were delivered.
Alabama hates Auburn because Tommy Tuberville has two thumbs. The Tigers hate South Florida because the Bulls turned them into bums.
Tennessee hates Duke because the Blue Devils stole its best coach. Clemson hates Arkansas because the Razorbacks didn't hire its coach.
Miami hates Virginia for running up the score. The Cavaliers hate Wyoming because the Cowboys barely let them score.
Steve Spurrier hates that he can't teach South Carolina how to win a title. Georgia fans hate that Spurrier didn't forget how to beat them.
At least there's one thing in which all college football fans can agree: We hate that there are still five more weeks until college football season begins.
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Post by raleighrebel on Jul 29, 2008 11:34:35 GMT -5
The ACC loves to hate Miami
Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich
You might remember a game that was staged as Good vs. Evil.
Penn State, the clean-cut athletes in their suits and ties -- a.k.a. the poster boys for what college football players should be -- against Miami, the chest-thumping, trash-talkin' program whose players showed up for the 1987 Fiesta Bowl dressed in fatigues for a war of, well, morality.
If there is a reason for Miami to be deemed as the most hated team in the ACC, it's because of its longstanding tradition of Evil -- and this T shirt.
When the Bullies of the Big East joined the ACC, somebody somewhere deemed it the "All Canes Conference."
So, no, the brash attitude did not disappear with Jimmy Johnson, or the 11- and 12-win seasons.
If wins alone were enough to determine the most hated team, the award would go to Florida State, but the Seminoles were more feared than hated during their prime. Did Bobby Bowden deal with his share of off-field incidents? Certainly.
But none that rivaled this.
The infamous brawl between Miami and FIU in 2006 had to make ACC commissioner John Swofford cringe. You buy the wins, you buy the reputation, too.
Has outsiders' disgust for Miami fizzled with its 7-6 and 5-7 records? You bet. Does that mean opposing fans actually LIKE this program anymore? No. In fact it's become an opportunity to point the finger and say the Hurricanes are the reason the ACC is "down."
There was another T-shirt sold at last year's game between Miami and Florida State, targeted toward Seminoles fans and meant to be an insult to the Hurricanes. It had the word THUGS across the front, with every letter in green but the U, which of course, was the U logo. Miami fans wanted to know where they could get one.
They embrace everything the U stands for.
Love it or hate it.
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Post by raleighrebel on Jul 29, 2008 11:35:10 GMT -5
The Big 12 loves to hate the Longhorns
Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin
Even a revered figure like Walter Cronkite can inspire hatred and jealously in the Big 12.
"Uncle Walter's" dulcet tones have been used for an advertising campaign to hype enrollment at Texas, a school that he once attended.
"We're Texas," Cronkite booms out during commercial breaks for Longhorn games at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and on network broadcasts. "What starts here changes the world."
But to most other rivals across the conference, that advertising slogan encapsulates all that they detest with the Big 12's largest and wealthiest school.
That attitude has helped many Big 12 rivals detest all things Longhorn -- from the Big Bertha drum and Bevo to "The Eyes of Texas" and the "Hook 'em" hand sign.
Longhorn fans are considered arrogant and privileged by some of their Big 12 opponents. The school's vast accumulation of wealth through the Permanent University Fund helped provide it with a huge early head start over most universities. That largesse has grown over the years, enabling Texas to have the largest endowment in 2007 of any public university in the nation.
That money, along with a deep collection of big-time boosters, has helped fuel an incredible facilities push for the Longhorns over the last few years that has left most other Big 12 schools choking in their dust. Texas coaches typically are paid more than their counterparts across the nation and most don't want to leave the Austin lifestyle if they can help it.
The Longhorns' sports marketing program made history in the euphoria of their 2005 national championship by generating more royalties than any college or university.
Recent additions at DKR Stadium have made it the conference's biggest facility and the one with the coolest trinkets. The massive Godzillatron scoreboard is the world's largest HDTV, a 55-by-134 foot conversation starter that is only 11 yards narrower than the football field.
The natural propensity of some Texans to be loud and boastful about their team's successes tends to rub many of those from outside the state in the wrong manner.
"We don't keep up with the Jones," Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds once famously said. "We are the Joneses."
Try telling that to fans of the 11 other Big 12 teams who struggle to keep up with their neighbors with the biggest house and largest budget.
The Longhorns are considered the biggest rival for all three Big 12 Texas-based schools and Oklahoma, too. Ask any Arkansas fan who they love to hate the most and you'll still hear Texas mentioned, even though the Longhorns and Razorbacks haven't been conference rivals in 17 years.
Other schools have their haters as well. Oklahoma is perceived by many Longhorn boosters on par with athlete's foot and increasing gas prices. The Sooners have also rubbed many in Texas over the years by plundering state for many great football players like Greg Pruitt, Jack Mildren, Brian Bosworth and Adrian Peterson. And the Sooners' recent success in the Red River Rivalry under Bob Stoops has been difficult for Texas fans to swallow, along with their history-making back-to-back Big 12 titles.
Colorado fans are considered to be apart from the rest of the conference because of how different the Rocky Mountain lifestyle is with many other schools in the conference. Texas A&M's military traditions, although beloved by former students, aren't exactly embraced by many rivals. And Nebraska still is perceived by many other rivals as "The Big Red Monster," no matter how quaint their fans' tradition of clapping for vanquished opponents at Memorial Stadium might be.
But everybody else sits behind Texas -- at least in the Big 12.
Why? The slogan says it all.
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Post by raleighrebel on Jul 29, 2008 11:35:39 GMT -5
The Big Ten loves to hate the Buckeyes
July 29, 2008 10:51 AM
Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg
Buckeyes logoMidwesterners are generally regarded as nice people, not the types to be categorized as haters. But one football program has rankled this normally genial crowd for most of the last decade. One program has earned the title as the Big Ten's most hated team, or, as Ohio State would put it, The Big Ten's Most Hated Team.
The hate for Ohio State can't be pigeonholed.
Despite the Maurice Clarett saga and several other off-field stains, this isn't Miami. Jim Tressel is lampooned for his sweater vests, more suited for professors or politicians than football coaches. In many ways, he's the anti-Woody Hayes -- composed, reserved, even bland at times -- but he projects an image seen by some as arrogant and inauthentic. Still, Tressel doesn't stoke the fire like the Head Ball Coach, Phil Fulmer or, more recently, Charlie Weis. Ohio State's fans, regarded by some as crude and classless, probably heighten the hate more than anything else. The rioting after the 2002 game against Michigan certainly didn't help the image of Buckeye Nation. But there's more to it.
Success breeds contempt and Ohio State is enjoying more of it than any other Big Ten program. Since 2002, the Buckeyes are 66-11 with a national championship, four shared or outright Big Ten titles and three national title game appearances. The program has produced a Heisman Trophy winner in Troy Smith and dozens of NFL players. As annoying as it is to hear former Buckeyes introduce themselves as coming from "The Ohio State University" on Monday Night Football, it's also a testament to the program's ability to recruit and develop talent.
Ohio State has been condemned nationally for its flops in the last two BCS title games, and cries of "Overrated!" can usually be heard when the Buckeyes are brought up. But in the Big Ten, Ohio State continues to dominate, losing just two league games in the last three years. The Buckeye vitriol has undoubtedly increased among Michigan fans, accustomed to seeing their team as the Big Ten's best, and, consequently, the most hated. But after four consecutive losses to Ohio State and six in the last seven seasons, Michigan, like its Big Ten brethren, is looking up at the Buckeyes. Michigan used to be the league's most arrogant team. Now the Buckeyes have earned the right to that title.
For the Buckeyes to get knocked off their perch atop the hate-o-meter, the rest of the Big Ten has to catch up. Ohio State has consistently recruited better than any other league team, culminating this spring with the signing of quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who botched the school's official title ("University of Ohio State") and left out the all-important definite article before the name. Rich Rodriguez's arrival at Michigan could shift the league's power balance, and Illinois' recent recruiting surge puts it closer to Ohio State. But for now, the Buckeyes are the clear choice.
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Post by raleighrebel on Jul 29, 2008 11:36:01 GMT -5
The Pac-10 loves to hate USC
July 29, 2008 11:00 AM
Posted by ESPN.com's Ted Miller
The most-hated program in the Pac-10?
This could go the predictable way or the more nuanced way.
USC is the obvious answer. Why? Because everybody hates a winner.
Everybody hates a six-time champion. Everybody hates a pro football factory that celebrates seven players taken in the first two rounds of the 2008 NFL draft and may nearly duplicate that number in 2009.
Everybody hates a strutting bully. Everybody assumes the worst about one, including that he may be cheating (see Bush, Reggie).
What about that band? Stop for a second, will 'ya? It's almost enough to make a guy pine for "Rocky Top." (Operative word being, almost).
Only one horse in the world makes college football fans dream -- oh, he's so ... white -- about a case of graffiti paint.
And the Song Girls just standing there lazily doing scissor fingers at you? Could a fellow get an Oregon cheerleader or something?
Pete Carroll? Guess what... he's PUMPED! He's EXCITED! He LOVES TO COMPETE!
He talks really fast and it's annoying how much fun he appears to be having.
He's so, so... media friendly. He's SO AVAILABLE. With his OPEN PRACTICES. He acts like COLLEGE FOOTBALL SHOULD BE A FUN THING TO BE AROUND.
(Wait... that's a really cool thing).
Want to see hate? Walk up to a UCLA fan and go, "Stinks about USC, eh? Boy they really own you guys. At least you have basketball, right?"
So, yeah, you can find plenty of hate for those Trojans.
But let's at least acknowledge a strong second place... let's salute the program that a couple of seasons ago had Carroll dropping a series of F-bombs at the opposite sideline for a national television audience to absorb.
(You guys in the Northwest already know where this is going, don't you)?
Let's send out a Pac-10 salute to ... the Oregon Ducks... Nike U... Phil Knight's play pen.
You know: The guys who put up billboards in Times Square for a quarter million dollars. And wear the ugliest uniforms in the history of the world. And brag about it.
The team with the absurdly luxurious locker room, weight room and training center: Thank you Uncle Phil!
And that Autzen Stadium... hey, Quacks, can you give it a rest for just a moment? It's just a second-quarter punt -- no need to make like 54,000 jet engines for the ENTIRE GAME!
And what about that Mike Bellotti. He's so, so... media friendly. He's SO AVAILABLE. With his OPEN PRACTICES. He acts like COLLEGE FOOTBALL SHOULD BE A FUN THING TO BE AROUND.
(Wait... that's a really cool thing).
And, you know, win a Rose Bowl in the Modern Era before you act like you invented football.
So, sure, USC, by virtue of its annoying dominance, is the Pac-10's most-hated program.
But more than a handful of conference fans will tell you they find it surprisingly easy to muster about as much hate for the Ducks.
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Post by raleighrebel on Jul 29, 2008 11:36:34 GMT -5
The SEC loves to hate Alabama
July 29, 2008 11:05 AM
Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low
Maybe it's the fact that Alabama once dominated this league like nobody has since or before.
Maybe it's the fact that Paul W. "Bear" Bryant is the most iconic figure in all of college football history.
Maybe it's the fact that Alabama has been caught cheating each of the last two decades, serving three years of NCAA probation in the mid 1990s and five years of NCAA probation from 2002-'07.
Maybe it's that obnoxious elephant roar at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Maybe it's Bryant's gravelly voice still being piped in over the loudspeaker at Bryant-Denny Stadium before every game.
Maybe it's the fact that Alabama is ... well, Alabama.
Love the Tide or loathe the Tide, how many college football programs stoke the passions of so many in one state the way Alabama does -- not just every Saturday -- but 365 days a year?
Just an extracurricular activity? Yeah, right.
At Alabama, it's a way of life. If you don't believe so, Tide fans will gladly tell you. They talk about past glory as if it happened just yesterday.
Never mind that they've won just one SEC championship in the last 15 years.
Yep, there's a myriad of reasons for the rest of the SEC to hate Alabama. But right there at the top is this belief among many in the Tide Nation that they're an elite program even if their record over the last decade or so says otherwise.
The operative word here is "was" an elite program. After all, Alabama is on its eighth head coach since Bryant retired in 1982. Since 1997, Alabama has lost five or more games in a season eight times.
For those keeping count at home, that's eight five-loss seasons or more in the last 11 years. And in the last five seasons, the Crimson Tide have lost 30 football games.
Elite? Mediocre sounds more like it.
With Nick Saban and his $4 million price tag aboard, Alabama fans are convinced that better days are ahead. Saban's track record suggests they're right.
He's already won one national championship while coaching in the SEC when he was at LSU.
But even Saban will tell you that this is a more daunting rebuilding task than what he faced at LSU. Saban, too, has implored fans to quit talking about winning championships and what's been done in the past at the Capstone.
He's right, because talk is cheap.
Saban said last week at the SEC media days that the Crimson Tide needed to earn their respect.
And just because Bryant won six national championships at Alabama -- the last one coming nearly 30 years ago -- nobody ever said the Tide would get a lifetime exemption into college football's most exclusive club.
Just don't tell the crimson-coated masses that.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2008 11:59:01 GMT -5
No big long article about the Big East? pfft...
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Post by nvajacketsfan on Jul 29, 2008 12:00:29 GMT -5
The first is wrong. Notre Dammit is still the number one college football team fans love to hate.
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Post by SEE SPOT RUN on Jul 29, 2008 12:07:43 GMT -5
"West Virginia hates Michigan because Rich Rodriguez coaches there. Pittsburgh hates West Virginia because Rodriguez still isn't there."
Oh no he didnt.. He didnt just say Pitt thought WVU was a cupcake did he? Awwww.
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Post by raleighrebel on Jul 29, 2008 12:10:38 GMT -5
damn did i skip the big east?
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Post by raleighrebel on Jul 29, 2008 12:11:29 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2008 12:17:38 GMT -5
Fuckin ESPN....
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Post by nvajacketsfan on Jul 29, 2008 13:18:22 GMT -5
Damn they even have the MAC. BE must really be irrelevant...
Or with 8 teams there isn't enough for a sample.
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Post by Pirate Joe on Jul 29, 2008 13:21:30 GMT -5
I didn't know the Big East played football? I thought they just played basketball...... ;D
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Post by bcsbbad on Jul 29, 2008 13:21:34 GMT -5
I don't hate anyone.
Well maybe Chi but PJ hated him first ;d
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