Finally have decided to get back to what I love the most and that is write about sports. I know its been some time but I'm back in action and read to throw out my crazy opinions on sports. This well be a weekly blog and I will update every Sunday from here on out. Well lets get to it.
This week is what I like to call JIMMER WEEK! Every time I turned on the TV this week all I heard about was Jimmer. First off to take a quote from Coming to America. His mama named him James, I'm gonna call him James. It was a helluva week for him, taking down the powerhouse SDSU at home dropping 42 on the Aztecs. He is amazing and so is his story. I think he is one of the best college basketball players I have every seen. Definitely up there with the likes of Larry Johnson, Jason Williams (duke), JJ Reddick, and Carmelo. These players would just take over the game and you knew your team wasn't going to lose. James is just the same way. He can take over the game and your team knows it can relax and play because you have him. Don't get me wrong I wish UNLV had a player like this. The kid is just amazing but what I want to talk about is why he is disliked by most team and fans in his conference. A lot is because of how good he is but I think most of it is who he plays for.
BYU! Its an all Mormon institution that has its own religious beliefs. BYU fans are probably the most hated fans in all of the west coast. Why you ask? Well its one thing ignorance. They think they are better than everyone else because of there beliefs, there code of conduct, and their school. They only know their beliefs and are not aware of anything else. One thing you have to keep in mind here when I'm writing this I have nothing against the religion. Believe what you want but don't look down on others because their beliefs are different. No one in the world is better than another because what they believe in.
BYU fans have complained for years about other teams fans. One example comes to mind at the MWC tournament. UNLV beat BYU in the championship game and the fans rushed the court. Just like fans do in every conference they rush the court after a big win. Its a basketball tradition. When you beat someone in your conference tournament and guaranteed a spot in the big dance you rush the floor and celebrate by dancing with the players. Its a symbol stating we are going dancing. Sure it happens during the year when an unranked team beats a ranked one. BYU doesn't follow these rules. They got the MWC to put up barriers to keep students and fans off the floor during the conference tournament. Parents and spouses of BYU complained enough that the conference listen to them and surrounded the arena with barriers to keep fans out. It didn't really work it just caused more problems. Like fans being arrested and chased by security for something that is a normal tradition. I believe one BYU players wife was involved in an altercation with a few fans because she tried to stop them from running on the floor. Once again sign of ignorance. She felt she could police the rules because she was better than the other fans.
What I witnessed on Wednesday night after #9 BYU beat #4 SDSU was something so shocking. BYU fans rushing the court after beating the Aztecs. I thought they said this was dangerous and that it causes altercation that can be avoided, if you weren't allowed to rush the floor. So why are they doing it? Because they are ignorant and think they can do what they want. They aren't educated enough to know that when another top 10 team in the Big East beats another top 10 team they don't rush the court. It was a great win for them and I wouldn't take that away from them but don't complain about other teams when your doing the same things. BYU has long been known for playing men against boys. There players are older and more mature because they get to go on missions and still have there eligibility when they return. When you have a 22 yr old sophomore vs. a 19 yr old sophomore the older player is not going to make as many mistakes. This gives them a little more advantage. But they see nothing wrong with that because they don't do anything wrong. But if a kid college kid from another school decides to have a beer at a game they think this is wrong. I mean a big part of college is having a couple of drinks before a game and enjoying yourself. They see this different.
Ill never forget a trip I took to BYU's Marriott Center. It was probably the worst experience of my life. I was with a few friends who all made the 4 hr drive up. Somehow we got tickets in the student section. Which they had us kicked out of. Some of my friends had signs and they were taken away and ripped up. One friend of mine was put in hand cuffs and escorted out of the arena no more than two minutes after entering the arena. He really didn't do anything but have a couple of words with another BYU fan who said something to him first. The looks and taunts you get when you enter that arena in support of the other team are the looks your parents gave you when they were disappointed in you for messing up. You know that look that your like wow I really screwed up. But the only thing you screwed up is not being one of them. I'm all for rivalries but this is a whole other level.
You can ask any MWC fan from any team who is the most hated team in the conference and I would bet 80% would say BYU. That is why James is hated so much in his conference. If he played for any other team in the nation he would be loved but in his own conference he is hated.
The kid is definitely a scorer no doubt about it. But something has to be said for the experts that have him going late first round in the NBA draft. NBADRAFT.NET before last weeks game had him the last pick of the first round. Maybe you cant guard him. Maybe he will be really great! I would love to see him as a shooting guard in the NBA. But right now he is all BYU has. They did go down yesterday to New Mexico only 72hrs after beating SDSU. Once again James had 30 something points but the rest of the team has to be there to help out for a win. The season is getting interesting but I think JIMMER MAINA will pass and BYU can take their "Harvard of the West" attitude out of the MWC over to a weaker WCC conference because they know without JAMES they will not be able to compete with the best teams of the MWC. This is the only way they will continue to win and keep that sacred home court advantage they have.
That's a story for another day.
SIMSZEE
