Wednesday, December 06, 2006

A Nation ... In Quotation Marks

It’s so funny to see a fool make a fool of himself. It’s also sad. These days it’s exponentially funny and sad, because we’re watching a self-proclaimed “nation” of fools make fools of themselves.

You know what I’m talking about. All the f-words and other profanities spewing out from the bruin “nation” like a busted sewer line releasing seven years of raw frustration and inferiority complex.

We know the profanity is just a cover for their inability and unwillingness to compose a defensible point of view or engage in worthwhile debate. But it’s the lack of respect for their alma mater, let alone our rivalry, that is so foolish.

The latest case in point comes from a “nation” blogger named “Tydides” who attempted yesterday to take Erik McKinney of WeAreSC.com to task “for his whiny little rant about how the Big Bad Bruin fans bruised his ego on Saturday.”

We’ll let McKinney defend himself in full, if he cares to dignify “Tydides” with a response, but we only need a few paragraphs to illustrate the point here. Wrote “Tydides” (if you can call it writing):
I can see taking this stand if you were a guy who doesn't like the trash talking, and doesn't participate in it. Who attends the games to merely support his own team. But what do you say to a guy who cries about not only getting beaten and taking his lumps after what his own fanbase had been doing for the past 7 years, but then readily admits to this:
Now, I'm a huge supporter of taunting at athletic events. I hate Duke basketball with a passion, but I appreciate every single clever chant the Cameron Crazies come up with. The guy who got to Phil Jackson by reading aloud, during a game, from Jackson's basketball memoir, "Maverick," is one of my personal heroes. I even love the "Hey batter, batter" chant in Little League.
You heard it yourselves. This "humanitarian", and I don't mean that in the Pom Pom way, is a staunch advocate of taunting. And not just adults like Phil Jackson, but taunting Little Leaguers too apparently. 12 year olds. Yes, we should all take a lot of stock in what this asshole defines as being a "classy fan".
Unlike my buddy UCLA Jay, this “Tydides” character apparently knows a little something about purposely taking a statement out of context. Or perhaps, just like UCLA Jay, “Tydides” simply failed to understand the point McKinney was trying to make. Reading a better portion of McKinney’s piece provides that understanding:
I could honestly not imagine a fan base behaving worse than the Bruins on Saturday. I know that every team has its loonies and people who go a little too over the top. And I understand that this is a rivalry game, and a recently lopsided one at that. But seriously? Is this what the USC-UCLA game is going to turn into?

Now, I’m a huge supporter of taunting at athletic events. I hate Duke basketball with a passion, but I appreciate every single clever chant the Cameron Crazies come up with. The guy who got to Phil Jackson by reading aloud, during a game, from Jackson’s basketball memoir, “Maverick,” is one of my personal heroes. I even love the “Hey batter, batter” chant in Little League.

But for UCLA fans, apparently clever taunting is a foreign concept. It’s not like they were hurting for options. At the time, Reggie Bush was faring considerably worse in the NFL than Maurice Drew and he still has the whole housing thing hanging over USC. Matt Leinart wasn’t exactly lighting things up in Arizona. O.J. Simpson overdosed on crazy pills and wrote about it. The Trojan quarterback has an obviously anatomical last name. And they handily defeated the team who beat the Trojans. They could have gone after any and all of those.

Heck, they could have even gone after the question of back-to-back championships, explored the basketball angle or taken the academic superiority stance.

But they didn’t do that. Instead, they decided to learn all the various uses of the “F” word and how to raise only the middle finger on both hands.
Again, what kind of fans make up this “nation”? McKinney gives this “Tydides” person all the anti-USC material any bruin worth his salt could throw in our faces. And yet, “Tydides” chooses to end his post (without a single link or empirical reference to support his argument) like this:
You reap what you sow.
Fuck you, Erik.
Fuck southern cal.

GO BRUINS.
It’s a shame really that one of UCLA’s greatest moments of triumph should be dragged through the knee-deep crap continually dumped by a “nation” of idiots.

Make no mistake … we’re not talking about a group of renegade bruins on a bandwagon. This is a “nation” of UCLA graduates … so they claim. These aren’t gap-toothed [put any SEC school here] fans with 8th grade educations, who couldn’t spell “yooniversity” let alone get on the internets and start a blog.

These aren’t drunken or adrenaline-pumped fans getting carried away at a game or post-game party. The people of this “nation” are lucid and typing at their computers with a top-notch U.C. system education at their disposal … supposedly.

Just ask our friend UCLA Jay. He’ll tell you all about … or maybe not.

Turns out UCLA Jay is “UCLA” Jay, if you know what I mean. Turns out his real name is UNLV Jay … or maybe something different altogether. This he admitted when he thought no one was looking:
Few Things....

Joe Francis the "Girls Gone Wild" guy went to UNLV not UCLA. As a UNLV alum, I remember a frat there that everyone wanted to be in because of Joe Francis, problem is, they're all dorks. But from what I hear, he donates big time to the frat. And before everyone starts talking shit about UNLV, all the rumors are true. You have never seen paid athletes until you have been on campus at UNLV, and yes, anyone can get accepted, as I am living proof. Also, since a certain un-named SUCk website is calling me out as to when I became a UCLA fan, I was born and raised in LA, have had season tix for football since I was 10 years old and yes even as a student at UNLV I made the drive home for the games. […]

by UCLA Jay on Thu Nov 30, 2006 at 09:35:51 PM EST
Oh, no. Say it ain’t so, Jay! Did you really just tell us that you’re living proof of your own low standards. Did you really just brag to us that you have first-hand knowledge of cheating athletes at your true alma mater? Did you actually know Joe Francis, or are you one of those dorks?

We already know the answer to one of these questions, because we know that Joe Francis didn’t attend UCLA, and we know that he didn’t go to UNLV, either. He’s actually a USC alum. Not that we’re necessarily proud of this fact, but it is a fact … which is more than can be said for anything coming from UNLV Jay, apparently.

And, yes, I did question UNLV Jay’s fandom … thanks for the answer. LOL.

So, now we have to ask: What other lies, imposters and other idiots make up this bogus “nation"?

Keep in mind that this “nation” represents an institution that produced such dignified and respected sports figures as Arthur Ashe, Rafer Johnson, Karem Abdul-Jabbar, and perhaps the greatest athletic hero of the socially conscious 20th century, Jackie Robinson.

Keep in mind that this is a “nation” of fans who supposedly revel in the rich history of an unmatched basketball heritage, while properly honoring at every home game the living legend who created it.

And so, we have to ask this presumed bruin “nation”: What would John Wooden think if he read your “trash talk” in absence of thoughtful argument? What would Robinson or Ashe think of your simpleton profanities?

Do you really believe they would be proud to read the crap oozing out of your “nation” … or would they smack you upside the head?

You know the answer. It’s not funny, actually. It’s just sad.

Again, I ask … is there any dignity left?

WE ARE SC! Fight On!
.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not that it matters, but unfortunately, Joe Francis did go to SC, he was in a class of mine in 1994 or 95. He was sort of a class clown type. He had a big nose at the time.

Anonymous said...

Very well done.

What is happening at BN is almost like a collective implosion resulting from a critical mass of idiots and children. It's like a train wreck with each new day bringing more and more savagery.

Here's how bad it has become: I showed a friend of mine, who grew up in a Ucla family and is an alum of both the Ucla undergrad and grad programs. He has no love for USC, and very little for Cal. After he read only a couple of the posts with all their comments he said that he was embarrassed that those people at BN could be associated with him in any way, and that for the first time in his life he wished he wasn't a part of Ucla.

It was that big a letdown for him.

And you hit the nail square on the head when you called on the legacy of Wooden. But then he was from a different Ucla. This one is just ugly.

Go Bears

Anonymous said...

relax.

Do you see how that the continual push and pull of this stupid mini-rivalry of egos between you and some Bruins Nation posters are just getting a little out of hand? Go back to your day job, stop focusing on this bickering, and stop bitching about the frivolity of an already frivolous situation.

Insults come along with rivalries. Just deal with it.

Displaced Trojan said...

proud. bruin.,

If you don't think I'm having fun with this, then you're the one who needs to "relax."

As you say, "insults come with rivalries." It's all just fun and games.

displaced. trojan.

Mr. B. said...

I wish we could all carry ourselves with the same class as those who scream "FUCLA, Westwood High, UCLA is so gay (nice homophobia), and F*** the Bruins.

Glass houses, pots and kettles, and all that stuff. I am mockingly outraged at your mock outrage.

Anonymous said...

Blog fight! Blog fight!

Wow, nerd wars are so cool.

Anonymous said...

the gap toothed SEC fan thing was really classy. Is the rumor true that half the girls at USC have STDs

Anonymous said...

http://www.bruinsnation.com/story/2006/12/6/111240/625#commenttop

Read some of these posts, seriously. How could the grapes still taste so sour for the Bruins after a win?

Hilarious.

Anonymous said...

I'm a UCLA fan and have had season tickets for many years. When I was in HS I would work at the Coliseum taking tickets for USC and UCLA home games. I also worked as an usher at the Rose Bowl games.

I was at this game and did not witness the profanities or rudeness of UCLA fans, however I left the Rose Bowl immediately after the game. I walked back to my car with mostly SC fans and was suprised that they didn't say anything to me. In fact they were polite.

Over the years this is not what I was use to out of SC fans. I use to attend USC-UCLA games at the Coliseum, but the SC fans became so rude and belligerent that I stopped going.

Apparently many SC fans forgot what happened two years ago at the Rose Bowl. SC was well on its way to the Orange Bowl having the game in hand. SC fans then began throwing oranges onto the field. When the field wasn't enough they began throwing them at the UCLA fans.

UCLA fans do not have a monopoly on bad behavior. There is plenty to go around and I've seen a lot from SC fans. So I wouldn't be so quick to pass judgment and say SC fans would never act that bad.

Displaced Trojan said...

Anonymous (@ 9:07):

Pleass read this post more carefully. I am not calling out fans at games. This is about lucid members of the bruin "nation" who chose to "celebrate" their win versus USC with lewd, crude and profanity-strewn posts using the f-word and other names in direct reference to USC fans and USC in general. Period.

Anyone who has been to a USC-UCLA game, or any rivalry game for that matter, knows that there are idiots on both sides who do and say stupid things.

Anonymous said...

I wasn't responding to you per se, but rather the repost of McKinney’s writing: "I could honestly not imagine a fan base behaving worse than the Bruins on Saturday. ..."

Well, I've seen a USC fan base just a bad. But if you want to talk about a bad fan base you have to look no further than the Oregon Ducks. I don't know how they act at SC games, but they are terrible at UCLA games.

Displaced Trojan said...

Anonymous (@ 9:54):

Fair enough. BTW, I'm on record with some personal experience regarding the vulgar Oregon fans.