From: iselivl@ucunix.san.uc.edu (Victor L. Iseli)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.college
Subject: Bearcat respect: final thoughts
Date: 6 Apr 92 20:59:45 GMT
Article-I.D.: ucunix.1992Apr6.205945.26778
Organization: University of Cincinnati


Alas, the UC Bearcats struggled to a 4 point loss to Michigan... both teams
played beneath their abilities, and it was close enough that the game 
really could have swung either way (IMHO).  In other words, neither team was 
able to dominate the game completely -- UC held the pace the middle 20 min. and
Michigan owned the first and last 10 min. of the game (especially the 
last 10 min.)  ...my congratulations to the Wolverines and their success!  I
was indeed impressed with the talent of the Fab Five, and especially the 
bench contribution, particularly by Voscuil (sp??).  My best wishes to your
team against Duke.

About the championship game: If the F5 are able to sustain their maturity
(read: cool heads) as they did against the Bearcats, and receive the kind of 
positive input that Voscuil and bench were able to provide, then I think
Duke will finally be worn down, and basketball fans might not be as bored
as they were during the Duke/IU game (read: hopefully less whistles).

About respect for UC: There has been a moderate amount of backlash from readers
of this newsgroup about the Bearcats' pleas for respect.  I cannot claim
to be an official representative of UC, nor a spokesperson for Cincinnati in
general, but I do know that there is a prevailing mood in Cincy that our team
was rarely appreciated for their accomplishments.  In other words, I am not
the sole person on the soapbox -- Bob Huggins, the team, other UC fans and
Cincinnati media (both TV and print) have all come around to making such 
comments.  I offered a quote from a Cincinnati paper (the Enquirer) in one 
of my previous postings, to show that I wasn't off of center.  Neither
do I feel that UC/Cincy's opinions are unsubstantiated -- I can dig up 
the necessary examples to show that people continuously overlooked UC's 
potential, and sometimes did it in such a way as to be offending.  If I were 
a Michigan fan, I would have been slightly insulted by the contrast of 
treatment by CBS' commentators from the Mich/UC game to the Duke/IU game... 
I think one of the commentators actually said "and now for a REAL game" when
Indiana and Duke were warming up.

I maintain that UC's fans have been, on the average, more dignified than
our friends in Columbus, just as the game between UC and Michigan was more
sporting than the Woverine/Buckeye contest.  This was largely due to
interconference rivalry, but also due to the jawing and finger pointing from 
OSU players.  Our plea for a long-awaited game between UC and OSU is
constructive, and OSU's continuous snubs negative.  We ask for a chance to 
play a good game, and OSU coaches and athletics instead give us diminutive 
criticism.

Recall OSU's comment when asked about a game with UC: "We shouldn't have to 
play every small school in Ohio."  (UC enrollment >35,000).  Recall
newsgroupies' comments about an OSU game with UC: ...not in the interests of a
Big10 school to play a small school in a small arena (Shoemaker size >13,500,
and if necessary, Riverfront >17,000).  Recall a recent poster's comment about
UC asking for a game with OSU: "...why should tOSU do them a favor of granting
them a game?"  (Who did UC beat in '61 and '62 to win the NCAA championships, 
and what is this about "favors"?)  Another poster, this time from 
OSU, blatantly insults UC without any concrete reason why: "...they [Michigan] 
seemed pretty mature after they beat the river-rats, i mean 
bearcats."  (Capitalization retained...  Who ended up in the Final Four, 
and gracefully accepted defeat... no head butting necessary...?)

Some people subscribe to the point of view that unless you kill a big name
team, you are illegitimate.  What about beating the teams that beat the big
name teams?  Doesn't that count for anything?  At tournament time, we pretty
much abandon the ranking systems with the assumption that the survivors have
proven their worth.  Wouldn't the teams that UC beat have been ranked much
higher after their respective games against big name teams?

Of course, the establishment (read: national media and NCAA powers that be)
kept writing off the UC Bearcats from the start.  I was with some 6,000 fans
at the "Bearcat Madness" season kickoff when celebrity host Dick Vitale 
squirmed after he revealed that he'd predicted that UC would end up 3rd in 
the Great Midwest Conference and wouldn't make it to the NCAAs.  As UC climbed
in the ranking system, mention of it on ESPN was virtually nonexistent.  We 
saw UC ignored when conference coach and player of the year were selected.  We 
all know what UC fans have thought about the #4 seed that the team received.  
We saw predictions (even in this newsgroup) for UC to be upset in the first 
round by Delaware.  We heard about Michigan State's "comeback ability", and 
about how it was likely for them to repeat it against the 'Cats.  We heard 
the CBS commentators play out the improbabilty of one team beating another 
FOUR times in one season.  We saw the media leave during the 'Cats practice
sessions in the Metrodome.

There were a few lone voices out there with the UC team: Roby Wright (Miami U.
of Ohio), Rick Pitino, Pete Gillen, UC fans, Cincinnati press (finally) and,
strangely enough, the gamblers (UC beat the point spread more often than almost
any other college team this year).

I suppose that Cincinnatians should grow accustomed to a national reluctance to
acknowledge Cincinnati sports, since it extends to the Bengals and Reds (this
year has been somewhat of an oddity with people watching the Reds' spring
training games so closely).  But, these teams have come through of late: in 5
years we have seen a Superbowl appearance, a World Series Championship and a
Final Four appearance (along with, of course, the Xavier BBall successes...  
some sportscasters still say ex-zavier).  Others may call our comments for
respect "whining" and "spew", but I think it is more of a pride in our 
teams' accomplishments and an attempt to define these accomplishments in
the proper light.


Go 'Cats, and GO 'VRINES...

--Victor Iseli
iselivl@ucunix.san.uc.edu

			...WAY TO GO 'CATS!!!

NCAA Midwest Regional Champs	|| ||__		Great Midwest Tourney Champs
Great Midwest Co-Champs	 	\\_//--		NCAA Final Four
				   \\__
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Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.college