Participation Required: Best and Worst of Sports
Which is a highly subjective thing. So if someone spouts the long winning history of the Yankees with a mile of stats, your banned for ever. Kidding.
If you hate all sports, feel free to explain why, because participation is required!
Best: Greatest baseball team? Colorado Rockies. In fact, they are the greatest team of any sport ever. I bleed purple. Why? Because I love Colorado. The Rockies have a man in the team who debuted in MLB as a Rockies batter. He will retire from that position likely this year, and retire from baseball. He started in 1997, hit to date 354 Home Runs and 1346 RBIs in 7582 at bats. He was in contention for 6 MVPs, but was MVP all six times in my book, been an All Star 5 times, has 4 Silver Sluggers, and 3 Gold Gloves. As a young man, he hung out with another celebrity in Colorado, Peyton Manning. They fancied playing football together, but man, am I glad he chose Baseball. The greatest MLB player in the history of Major League Baseball is none other than Todd Helton.
Worst: I hate the Dodgers. They can all be struck with festering boils. They buy their way into things, and still come up short. They stuff their heads full of roids, and award players who do such nonsense.
Manny Ramirez is the most vile human on the earth.
Also, The NY Mets, because Phil Naessens likes them. He will have to explain why.
Best: Football team, BRONCOS! I used to hate football. It was because I grew up in a football family, where you got the heck home from church on time to watch the game, and then everyone lost their voice about half way through yelling at the TV, and sometimes furniture went from one side of the living room to the other in protest for bad calls. Almost as if throwing the couch at the TV hard enough would make the ref feel the protest. My mother and father were legendary in their arm-chair quarterbacking. People came to watch them rather than the game.
But, as years and years away from home allowed me to find my own interests, I began to watch football, much to my wife’s disappointment. She hates football, thinks they are a bunch of overpaid gang bangers.
We had Elway, the greatest ever. We had Tebow whatever his name was. We now have Manning. We own this planet with sports.
Worst: Oakland Raiders, because they used to be the LA Raiders, and I HATE LA. Especially the Dodgers.
Does anyone else play golf? I do. No fun to watch though.
Whatever, sports, or anti-sports, here we go, participation required!
Photo Courtesy Reuben Mills from the best seat in the house.
Well….we have the Titans. I actually have always enjoyed watching football and grew up in a family with some pretty good football players. My dad and I always rooted for the Cowboys and one of my brothers always for the Redskins. Whenever those teams face each other, even though I don’t follow the Cowboys anymore…I am brought back to a great fondness for that childhood rivalry.
But, yeah. The Titans. Ugh.
My husband has been an Indianapolis Colts fan since childhood. His mom still has his Colts mug from when he was about 7. He also went to the University of Tennessee and has great season ticket seats. We went to see Peyton play when we were dating. We loved watching the Colts with Peyton…that was the only game we would get tickets to for the Titans…when they played the Colts. And we cheered for the Colts.
Honestly, I haven’t watched NFL since Peyton left Indianapolis.
We watch hockey. My oldest plays ice hockey and inline, so we have become great fans. My husband’s father has been following hockey in TN since the Dixie Flyers. One of the Dixie Flyers players gave Zachary a helmet…a friend of Steve’s dad.
We have the Predators. We’re so-so. We’ve made it to the playoffs the last few years, and done a little better each year. We have some really great players, and several okay players.
Shea Weber is our Captain, along with Mike Fisher. Mike Fisher came here because he married Carrie Underwood. I have a friend who wrote the biography on Fisher…he is a believer and a pretty great guy.
Weber is a local favorite. He plays hard, hits hard…and is one of the nicest men you will meet. Zachary has a poster in his room of he and Weber standing together. The Preds always show up for at least one practice with the kids…they’ll send a few players who will run drills with the kids. They give us free tickets and helped pay for the inline rink.
We love our Predators. Even if we’re only so-so. Here’s a video of the Preds doing a smashmob for the hockey league Zach plays in…
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBMjPc69Tuk&w=560&h=315%5D
You gotta fix that 6 MVP thing on Todd.
Sports is a wonderful venue for the highlighting of men and women of Christian character.
I very much love sports but I more and more hate what I love. Sports these days breeds dishonesty, cheating, lying, and more. It feeds the worst bits of our hearts. Sports fosters violence, not on the field where it is has some appropriate expressions but in the fans, the stands the streets.
My lifelong love was baseball. It simply was in my soul the purest expression of competition and the records of baseball were venerated accomplishments. Since the steroid era it has become a sham a fraud. Steroids removed the beauty from those numbers. For me the home run was glorious now it is popcorn. Who really holds the record? Who knows? Some kid in the playground is more worthy than these brutes.
Lance Armstrong was absolutely a hero. Got up early and watched every day of every race that I possibly could for those 7 Tour victories. No way the cancer survivor cheated! Right? Ugh. Don’t ever want to see a bike race again. More fraud.
Football, who doesn’t love the NFL? Oh my I am obsessed but steroids made men bigger and stronger than pads can protect. Now they turning the thing into flag football. Who nees it?
Best Sport? Don’t worry I will play. I love them and loath them and hate myself for both. Not really, but they make me sad.
I was and am a Red Sox fanatic, was and am a Manning fanatic.
It is hard to have a TEAM that you love, free agency, moving franchises, and our own mobility robs that. My real affection is for kids who grew up in my home state of Mississippi or in Peyton’s case, the son of my Mississippi hero. I root more for guys from my home than I do for teams. So I take my pride in guys who hale from my lowly and despised Mississippi home. Guys with no cheating scandals. Weirdos like Bret, but my peeps.
Don’t play golf. It is FLOG spelled backwards. It is a miserable long demonstration of how incompetent and hopeless you are. But LOVE to watch it. Marvel at the skill of good golfers. Despise regit sdoow the low life superstar of flog. He is despicable, arrogant, unkind, unloving, ungenerous, eros driven pig of a man. Dishonorable, and if I go on I will have to repent. Too late I already must. But like him I won’t.
“your banned for ever.” This is what happens when you have Coloradic hallucinations! 🙂
My saddest memory as a young boy….. Going to see Henry Aaron and the Atlanta Braves towards the end of his career only to learn he wouldn’t be playing as it was a day game following a night game.
“But, as years and years away from home allowed me to find my own interests, I began to watch football, much to my wife’s disappointment. She hates football, thinks they are a bunch of overpaid gang bangers.”
No Sweet Husband, I don’t like football because I think they are all a bunch of over paid jocks. They make too much money and their celebrity status is just wrong. They are treated like Gods. It is WRONG. The game makes no sense to me and they make me want to vomit. Their huge giant egos make me sick. Even Tim Tebow has a “look at me I’m a Christian!” I will say Peyton Manning is a heck of lot more humble person than most especially more humble than Tebow. So I do have one nice thing to say concerning football.
Yes, the Rockies are the best team. They have the best fans. And Dante is back! Now they did let Matt Holiday go! That was bad because he is good and he is eye candy. I like going to Coors field with my Husband. It is a good time even when the Rockies loose. Dinger is too much fun. We have the best colors out there.
Hockey! It is a sport that needs more recognition. It takes talent to skate and play a game on ice. I come from an ice skating family. This sport is appreciated by me. Anything done on ice is appreciated by moi! Maybe they should start playing football on ice!
Other sports. Dog sledding. I bet all those huskies/sled dog mixes have more stamina than any human sportsman.
And I cannot believe I participated in a sports page. Carry on.
Reuben,
This Todd Helton??
http://larrybrownsports.com/police/todd-helton-mug-shot-dui/173874 😉
Like to play baseball but not a fan. We have a pro basketball team here in Portland but haven’t had much to cheer about in recent years. Tried golf…spell it backwards and that’s how I play. To me the best athletes are wrestlers and distance runners. There is a team score but they work hard for the money
I grew up a L.A. Rams fan, my dad was a season ticket holder. Saw some greats: Van Brocklin, Crazy Legs Hirsch, Tom Fears, Jon Arnett. I have recently become a fan of the 49ers, a team I used to hate! I have always been a fan of Payton Manning, so Denver is my second choice.
Grew up a Yankee fan, but eventually switched over to the Dodgers. I haven’t had much to cheer about in recent years. I live in Giants territory.
Sacramento has a basketball team, but Seattle is trying to steal them, we’ll see.
I bleed Dodger Blue! At the same time, I can’t remember how many World Series banners the Rockies have . . .
Love to play golf. Not good at it but I enjoy getting out on a warm, sunny day.
My dad also was an LA Rams season ticket holder, and I began going to games in the days of John Arnett.
Here we need to differentiate between sports (football, hockey, rugby), games (baseball and basketball) and hobbies (golf and car racing).
I love sports, hockey in particular, can tolerate games and ignore the hobbies.
I’m a Pittsburgh fan, Penguins, Steelers and the lowly Pirates (who, by the way, lost to the stupid Dodgers on purpose just to show charity, that’s my theory). I’ve already got my tickets for the Angels when the Pirates come to town in June.
I’m also a fan of the Anaheim Ducks (my local team), and am therefore obligated to cheer against the Kings (sorry Michael).
My dream/nightmare Stanley Cup final would be the Ducks vs. the Penguins.
I was fortunate enough to marry a woman who loves sports and the best moment of our marriage was when we were both yelling and jumping up and down as the Penguins defeated the Red Wings for the Stanley Cup a few years ago.
Sunday’s have evolved into family time watching football, and since she loves, loves, LOVES, the Cowboys, and my son loves the Dolphins, Sundays (and Mondays and some Thursdays) have become a sort in intrafamily competition.
Go Waterfowl!
David
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the US rugby 7’s national team, the Eagles. Rugby is back in the Olympics, and while the US won’t make the podium, we are the defending gold medal champions!
Utah Jazz. My 3 years in SLC made me a fan of affordable, small-market pro basketball. Great facility, safe downtown. The Jazz are the one team I will pull for no matter where I live. In regards to other sports, I adapt to my geography. As far as baseball, I prefer minor league to major. Football? I am a man without a team since the LA Rams high-tailed it to St. Louis. years ago. Hockey? Meh. Small puck, too many fights, low scores.
Dodger Dogs when I was a kid. Loved em!
Football…..come home from church click on the local heros….snore snore and snore some more.
Rip Van Winkle your fired.
Best Football Team: Minnesota Vikings-I bled purple since 1978 and I have never liked the local L.A. teams.
Worst Football Team: The Green Bay Packers-Growing up here in L.A. I never encountered a Packer fan until the year they won the Super Bowl in 1996 and then everybody jumped on the band wagon. It was pretty sad talking to so called Packer fans and knowing more about their team than they did.
Best Baseball team: Minnesota Twins-i jumped on the wagon in 1987 and never jumped off.
Worst Baseball Team: New York Yankees-too many band wagon fans. They weren’t even the most popular team in New York in the 80’s
Best Hockey Team:St. Louis Blues-beacuse the North Stars moved to Dallas from Minnesota.
Worst Hockey team: Detroit Red Wings: I just loathe them, they be4at St. Louis in arguably the most exciting Hockey game ever in 96 or 97, double overtime game 7 round 2 of the playoffs. Consolation was that we tired out the Redwings so much from that series that they got beat in the next round by the avalanche in the conference finals.
Best NBA Team: Miami Heat; I love that Lebron left the barren wasteland that is Cleveland OHIO and went to greener pastures in Miami.
Worst NBA team: Cleveland Cavaliers-Their fans whined and cried that Lebron left the way he did yet they would do the same if they were in the same position. Free market baby!
Best College: Minnesota Golden Gophers: new football stadium, new basketball coach, whupped on UCLA in the tourney, Verne Gagne, Ric Flair, Brock Lesnar and Greg Gagne all went there.
Worst College: Duke-football program sucks and their BBALL program bores me
Minnesota Vikings…I’m wearing a Tarkenton jersey as I write this.
My beloved L.A. Kings in hockey…can’t afford a jersey, but I still love the team.
Red Sox and Giants in baseball…Willie Mays and Yaz.
Used to love our Blazers…but the NBA has left me cold.
Dick Lane and Roller Derby was fun to watch as a kid.
Became a true fan at the age of 12. I like the local teams. I got to see Nolan Ryan’s last game in Anaheim. Never saw so many cameras flashing. Chris Spier and Willie Mays I saw hit back-to-back round trippers. Got to see Bo Jackson bust off a 90 yard TD.. best back ever in my opinion. Saw the Lakers beat Phoenix and the Van Aarsdale brothers in the infamous 71-72 33 game win streak season. Saw the Globetrotters wasn’t impressed…. too many missed shots. Can’t stand hockey. All time favorite memories were watching my kids play sports thru high school. A foul ball down the left field line came straight to me. My glove was on my son’s lap. I bobbled the ball and it landed behind the back of the lady sitting in front of me. I was too chicken to grab it so she turned around and grabbed it and said sorry as she put it in her purse as the fans booed me. Early on with my wife we went to the drive in a bit near Angels Stadium and whenever something good happened the big halo flashed. I immediately turned the sound down on the movie to listen to the game. Wife loved that!! On a marriage retreat our hotel room had a paper on the television that said tune into each other. While the wife was with the other women I turned on the Dodgers game… it was the year we beat the Mets and Soscia hit the homer off Doc Gooden. I hope I’m forgiven!!
Best Pro Wrestler: Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka- Wsa a trail blazer in the high flying style that is seen today, yet he smart about how to incorproate it into a match unlike many of todays stars that do crazy moves just for the sake of it yet get almost no reaction.
Worst Pro Wresler: John Cena-Complete channel changer
“If you hate all sports, feel free to explain why, because participation is required!”
…not that I hate all sports, only the “jock” mentality that permeates the scene.
Reuben,
My favorite discovery is that our local arts community, Laguna Beach, onetime called it’s high school sports team “The Artists”. 😉
“Civic pride with Laguna’s art community culminated in a student body vote on June 4, 1936 to change the nickname to “Artists” after only 19 months as the Breakers. In 2003, the student body voted to return to the “Breakers” nickname.”
Yeah, “Breakers” is better branding!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laguna_Beach_High_School
@ Bob Sweat #10 . . . lifelong Rams fan till Georgia took them to StLoo. , had Jack Youngblood Jersey, watched and believed Vince Ferragamo would complete the dream, only to watch Pat Thomas and Rod Perry get shredded by Swan and Stallworth. Cheered through even the Dieter Brock era, Eric D, used to go watch spring training at Fullerton and met Jackie Slater (what a nice man) . . . then they tore my haaaaht out (borrow boston accent for ‘heart’ cause is sounds cooler) and went to StLouieee.
Now I take my kids down to San Diego to watch preseason and cheer the Cha-jahs up to (hopefully) mediocrity. (Dreaming of my team’s ascent to the middle!)
UCLA Bruins cause my Grandpa went there and I must loathe SC because they’re eevill.
Golfing for me = trenching and re-sodding. Avoid.
I like MMA and have been told that’s just one more sign that I am obviously not saved.
Rob,
Jack Youngblood was at my daughter’s wedding 20 years ago. I enjoyed talking to him about his days as a Ram. I ask him about Fred Dryer, who played as the other defensive end. The program always listed Dryer at 260lbs. Youngblood said Dryer weighed around 215 wet!
Okay, I must jump in on this one. First of all there is a glaring error in the main part of this article. The Colorado Rockies are clearly NOT the greatest team in baseball. Nothing against the Rockies, they are a nice team and all. But the greatest team in baseball is clearly the Philadelphia Phillies. 😛
(I also think Reuben might have been taking advantage of those new Colorado marijuana laws when he referenced Todd Helton having 6 MVPs. But he was spot on, at the least, when he mentioned those Mets as being the worst in sports.)
I’ll give 3 recent reasons while the Phillies are the best in sports.
1. Chase Utley – The man gives 100% effort 100% of the time and plays the game the right way.
2. Harry Kalas – God rest his soul. For you Californians, Harry was the Vin Scully of the Phillies.
3. The Phillie Phanatic – Years of watching the Phanatic and how he interacts with fans, the Phillies, the opposing team, the umpires, etc. leads one to realize how he is head and shoulders above any other mascot in all of sports.
As for the Worst in Sports, I am also a Penn State football fan. Nothing more needs to be said as to the worst things that can happen in sports.
Well since participation is required:
The Raiders were in Oakland before they moved to LA. They stayed a few years and then went back. As for cities, compared to Oakland, I love LA But then again, I don’t like cities.
I don’t care for professional baseball, football, or basketball. Something about over-privileged, over-paid individuals going out on strike turned me off to the whole ideal.
Set the record straight. God created the Angels (whether they are called the Anaheim or Los Angeles Angels) they will always be God’s team!
erunner, I was a regular at the Stadium drive-in. I had friends that worked there and they would sneak me in. Spent many summers there and even watched a movie or two 🙂 great memories.
It’s still all about the Angels, the SF 49’ers, the L.A. Lakers & Tiger Woods
Dinger owns Phanatic’s mother. Plus, my son is not scared to death by Dinger.
covered, They need to bring back the drive-ins. You know… to show Angels games!!
“E”
Does BuenO Park have a professional team? 😉
erunner, I agree about drive ins. There’s one here in our little town that’s only open from June-August. It even shows a cartoon and 2 movies!
Great memories of Anaheim Stadium
Saw Nolan Ryan pitch several times
Was in an elevator with Jim Fregosi and Bobbi Grich
Saw Bo Jackson hit a lead off homerun at the 1989 All star game while sitting next to a scout from the Pittsburg Pirates and a guy named Sandy Alderson while he was working for the Oakland A’s
Season tickets in 1996 for entire family
Season tickets for the Rams when they played in Anaheim
Thanks Reuben for allowing old memories to come back.
Todd Helton was voted for as MVP 6 times, but he may as well have been MVP 6 times, because all those other chumps are worthless.
“…not that I hate all sports, only the “jock” mentality that permeates the scene.”
I don’t mind the jock mentality as long as it doens’t go into a win at all costs attitude. Every genre has it’s quirky sub culture. I work in downtown L.A. among all these Hipsters and many of them have this melancholy artsy mentality that I just don’t get.
“I work in downtown L.A. among all these Hipsters and many of them have this melancholy artsy mentality that I just don’t get.”
Solomon,
You mean the artsy-fartsy, deep and tortured, prone to break rules, gone retro, filtering digital photos to look Lomographic, typing on pink Royal typewriters in the corner of a Free-Trade alternative anti-corporate coffeehouse, listening to The Lumineers / Mumford and Sons playlist on smartphones, while being ironic and just so, :: sigh, eyes roll ::
…that Hipster scene?
We’re each just livin’ a meme!
yup that’s the one
Hipsters? HIPSTERS?!? That is not a sport, unless you count beating them to death for being such anti-poser posers.
😛
1970’s Big Red Machine:
Pete Rose
Johnny Bench
Tony Perez
Dave Concepcion
Cesar Geronimo
Now those were some great baseball years!
Reuben, apparently you don’t know how much effort goes into being a truly great hipster. It’s a sport with flair!
We get a big kick around here out of seeing Missy Franklin! (Olympic multiple gold medalist swimmer)
She’s a hometown hero, even if this town ain’t so small. The high school kids all claim her as their own, no matter what school they go to.
@37 Apparently not.
I have a child who is a professional athlete. Well I guess it would be more accurate to say semi-pro. Of course I am his biggest fan and follow his career and his statistics etc.
Reuben, you cannot leave up on the Internet the claim that Todd Helton won the MVP six times.
Oh for heavens sake, I changed it! 403 votes for MVP over the years! 119 votes for rookie of the year! An overall batting average of .319, with a career season high of .372!
Beat that Vet!
Why do I like the Mets?
Hmmmmm…..I suppose because everyone in my family are/were Yankee fans…..but I guess it’s really because the 1969 Mets were the first team I was able to sorta understand ( I was only 4 then) and what I understood was that everywhere we went in the city there were billboards of Tom Terrific right next to Broadway Joe….and that’s probably why I’m a Jets fan as well….those two teams were overachievers who became the best when I most most impressionable and while there have been many lean years from then until now every so often they give me a reason to smile, and remind me that anything is possible if you just believe….the Knicks were also great during that time and this season those young fellas are bringing tears to this old mans eyes at what they’ve accomplished…..
“Dinger owns Phanatic’s mother.”
Reuben, that newly legal Coloradon medicine must be getting to you again.
I leave you with this one example of the Phanatic’s genius. This is a very amateur video shot from the crowd, but you can figure out what is going on. No other mascot is good enough or clever enough to pull this off:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxYGXa8VXwM
And tell your kid to roughen up. Everybody loves the Phanatic. 🙂
Not everyone loves the Phanatic Kevin 🙂
Roller Games. Now there’s a sport for ya! Best team: The Los Angeles Thunderbirds; Best players: #6 – Danny Reilly and #5 – Ronnie Rains.
Then there’s pro wrestling. Not the fake junk they show on TV now, but the really good fake junk they showed on TV back in the 70’s. Favorites: Mil Mascaras and John Tolos. Those were the days!
Phil.
I’d post a clip just for you from the Conan O’Brien show from a few years ago that involved the Phillie Phanatic and Mr. Met, but unfortunately I can’t seem to find the video posted anywhere on the internet anymore. Maybe you remember it. It was based off the theme of the end of the 2007 season. Maybe you remember what happened that year. 😛
LOL….I vaguely remember what happened…..I missed a LOT of baseball living in Greece Kevin but thanks to technology (and my junior high age students) I caught up LOL 🙂 I have a show to do now…..be well friends 🙂
Make sure you throw the Phanatic some love in your show. 🙂
http://youtu.be/SzjOK1nZPoE
Yeah, well I offer you this Reuben.
Disclaimer: I apologize to anyone offended by the nudity. 🙂
http://youtu.be/OGk0fyb0iok
Phil might remember that little dinger. That was against his winners, the Mets.
http://youtu.be/eTvWj82EYEU
#50 – why is Dinger in a gay bath house? Oh! that’s the rockies locker room… my mistake.
So… are the Rockies going to get slaughtered by the Padres too?
Rockies + pitcher’s parks = 🙁 Rockie fans.
To answer your question, I had to put a lot of thought. I don’t have a favorite team. I love the sport. I love seeing two titans of a sport come together and see who wins. I love trying to guess who will win. That’s the fun for me.
I guess my long-time hero is Peyton Manning (but I don’t believe in heroes). It was kinda perfect storm when he came to the Broncos which is Brian’s team. His family is from Denver and Wyoming and he’s a die-hard fan. So HE became the ultimate Peyton fan, he has the jerseys, memorized the stats, has the wallpaper. I kinda got turned off.
Sorry, I’m the habitual wagon-hopper. Comes from growing up in LA and having a new favorite football team every year.
I do love basketball and I do love the Lakers. I love watching and analyzing basketball. As much as everyone loves to hate them, the Heat are a fun team to watch. So are the Bulls with Derrick Rose. I love the Spurs and the Pacers, but if I had my choice of tickets, the Heat, Clippers, and Thunder would be my top choices.
Best college teams: University of Louisville Cardinals. Great year for UofL, joining the ACC, winning the Sugar Bow and the men’s Final Four and getting to the women’s national championship game. Men’s team is an extremely talented and likeable group of guys. Old school in the sense that the best players stay for a few years, unlike UK down the road, which will seemingly have massive turnover as long as Calipari coaches.
I like them both, but at the moment UofL is my preference.
Worst college team: DUKE.
Best baseball team: The Reds.
Worst: The Nationals, because of how they treated Stephen Strasburg and killed their chances at a pennant by sitting him down. Runner up; The Marlins, because of how they treat their fans ,and that hideous thing in center field.
Worst sanctioning body: The NCAA. I hope Calipari gets his way and that the best 64 or 80 or whatever schools end up leaving it behind, and soon.
Baseball, live in good weather with my son, is the best. Almost nothing else really makes the cut.
Although Sundays when my wife and I have 35 minutes between meetings to eat a fast food burger between meetings and any X Games stuff is on usually wins my attention.
My son and I just made a 5′ longboard together, and I just turned 40. Ha ha. Apparently parts of a rebellious skater never escaped me….
BrianD, good to see you here. And congrats to your UofL men’s basketball team national championship. And hoping and praying that Kevin Ware recovers just fine.
Favorite: Drag Racing is a sport. It’s loud, and fast. I’ve loved watching it since I was nine years old. The racers are accessible and generally really nice people. I miss the likes of Al Hofmann, a cranky independent who liked his fans.
I dislike modern NASCAR. It’s no fun to watch, and I think it’s rigged.
It doesn’t have to have a ball to be a sport.