Classless clown award for 2003 - and the winner is...

[DomerPony]

Texas Tech Red Raiders

[FloridaMustang]

Wait, what'd they do again? I totally missed it, and I was watching most of the game.

[PonyFan]

I didn't see any of the game. What did they do?

Hard to believe they were any less classy than the folks at Cougar High, who started a brawl after they were beaten by Hawaii.

[PonyFan]

I just read an A.P. story about the game. Didn't say anything that appeared overly classless.

It did say, however, that the knee injury B.J. Symons suffered OCTOBER 11 will require reconstructive surgery after the season. How tough is this guy? He played more than half the season on one leg and still had the most productive passing season in NCAA history? Wow.

[Invader133]

what they did was: after they scored their last touchdown to go up 38-14 with about 2 minutes left (on a drive in which they were running flea flickers inside Navy territory) was gather about 8 guys in the end zone and did that "exploding grenade" celebration where you toss the ball up and act like it kills you all when it hits the ground-- keep in mind they're playing a service academy where some of those seniors will be facing that for real in the near future. Tastless. Maybe some of those a$$holes should go to history class once in a while and get a little perspective.

[Stallion]

this has been the best Bowl season in years but the most incredible lack of sportmeanship has been evident in almost every game-in fact it appears to be feeding off itself.

[PerunaPunch]

If those Red Raiders were smart enough to think their cute little celebration through to its logical conclusion, they would also have been smart enough not to sign up to live in Lubbock for 4-5 years.

[PlanoStang]

<img src="http://pages.prodigy.net/grego_johnson/navytech.jpg" alt=" - " />

[Bergermeister]

That "stunt" was sorry, sorry, sorry... wonder if they have concocted an explanation for that pitiful, classless, debacle. It would have been pathetic and unsportsmanlike against any opponent.... but NAVY! How crass.

[i10pony]

What do you expect? They are Red Raiders. They should be called the Redneck Raiders.This is the school that was attended by outstanding citizens such as Byron Hanspard and Bam Morris. I still can't believe Morris won the Doak Walker.I mean football,drug dealing, and not going to class was what Doak Walker was all about. Right? I have met about 100 red raiders in my short life, and I think 90 of that 100 have the intellect of gorilla. I have to give them credit for one thing.That university (if you want to call it that) has a lot of hot dumb chicks that are very easy. The people who attend Tech had Sul Ross State and Angelo State as back up schools. The only class person to attend Tech was John Denver and I don't think he graduated. I'm done with bashing tech. It's a waste of my time and energy. Happy New Years everybody!

[Hilltopper]

Originally posted by Invader133:
what they did was: after they scored their last touchdown to go up 38-14 with about 2 minutes left (on a drive in which they were running flea flickers inside Navy territory) was gather about 8 guys in the end zone and did that "exploding grenade" celebration where you toss the ball up and act like it kills you all when it hits the ground-- keep in mind they're playing a service academy where some of those seniors will be facing that for real in the near future. Tastless. Maybe some of those a$$holes should go to history class once in a while and get a little perspective.

Holy smokes. I missed the game, too, but that's the most insensitive, disrespectful thing I can imagine. I sure hope Coach Leach had the class to rip those kids a new one, so to speak. I don't care if the season's over, they ALL should be at the stadium, running until they get sick. And they damn-well should write a serious letter of apology to the Navy coaching staff, players and fans. This is beyond shameful. It's lightyears beyond the lack of class in Joe Horn's cell phone deal, Terrell Owens' Sharpie incident or any of the "look at me, I'm special, I'm bigger than the team" charades that Michael Irvin and Deion used to do. This is an enormous slap in the face.

Tech just joined TCU, Baylor and Notre Dame as the teams I'll ALWAYS root against.

[KnuckleStang]

My biggest fear is that, as this Bob Fosse choreography continues to permeate college sports, the NCAA will eventually bow to pressure from media and television, and "relax" the anti-celebration rule, for the sake of "entertainment," because the "fans like it." I do not look forward to this day, because it will effectively put an end to my college football watching days, the same way it ended my professional wrestling--er, I mean pro football watching a few years back.

If anything, I think officials have been too lax with the individual-celebration penalties this year. The game itself should be entertainment enough.

[MrMustang1965]

O.K. I was at the game. This swings both ways, folks. Navy wasn't exactly playing sportsmanlike football, either. Roughing the passer (one hit on Tech QB B.J. Symons was so hard it knocked a tooth out!), roughing the kicker, blatant pass intereference (tackling the intended receiver with the ball still 10 yards away!), etc. But...that's football.

As I said in another post, it was one of the best bowl football games I've ever been to...but there was definitely a lack of decorum and, I'll admit, the Tech team got its share of penalities for unsportsmanlike conduct...I can recall at least 5 such calls. I told my friends who are Tech faithfuls that Leach needed to 'settle his team down' before it got really ugly. Obviously, that didn't happen.

But, once again, you're not getting the 'full story' thanks to the biased media. During the halftime events, the Tech band dedicated its performance to a band member who was killed in a car wreck returning from last year's bowl game in Florida. All the Middies stood up and took their hats off during the moment of silence for her. Classy. And I would not expect any less of military men and women. I even stopped a few Middies and thanked them for it after the game and wished them a safe journey home. Also, after the game, the Tech football team went over to the Navy side of the field and stood with them, side-by-side, as the Navy band played the school song...and the Navy team did the same when the Tech band played its school song. There's a photo on the front page of today's Houston Chronicle of it. So, in the end, true sportsmanship was displayed.

I agree that the 'exploding bomb' was tasteless and Tech was heavily penalized for it. I don't think I've ever seen a kickoff following a touchdown from the 10-yard line! :wacko:

<small>[ 12-31-2003, 09:00 AM: Message edited by: MrMustang1965 ]</small>

[Hilltopper]

Originally posted by MrMustang1965:
....But, once again, you're not getting the 'full story' thanks to the biased media.

You're blaming this on the media? If the Red Raiders don't embarrass themselves like that, there's nothing for the "biased" media to comment on. I'm not a big fan of the media, but it's hard to pin this one on the press.

.... During the halftime events, the Tech band dedicated its performance to a band member who was killed in a car wreck returning from last year's bowl game in Florida. All the Middies stood up and took their hats off during the moment of silence for her. Classy. And I would not expect any less of military men and women. I even stopped a few Middies and thanked them for it after the game and wished them a safe journey home. [/QUOTE]
So Tech has respect for its own band members, which it should .... but not for the military. Hmmm. It sounds here like the class that was shown was displayed by Navy.

.... Also, after the game, the Tech football team went over to the Navy side of the field and stood with them, side-by-side, as the Navy band played the school song...and the Navy team did the same when the Tech band played its school song. There's a photo on the front page of today's Houston Chronicle of it. So, in the end, true sportsmanship was displayed. [/QUOTE]
At least Tech had the class to recognize the Navy song. I wonder if Leach made them do it? I hope he did. It sounds like those clowns wouldn't have known that it would be the right thing to do. If there's anyway to penalize everyone involved with that TD celebration -- including any outgoing seniors -- Leach should administer it. HE should set the tone that such displays are absolutely unacceptable.

[MrMustang1965]

Hilltopper: what I meant by not getting the 'full story' was about the other acts of unsportsmanlike conduct as well as sportsmanship that was displayed on BOTH sides! You wouldn't have known about them if I hadn't told you, right? No mention of it in any reports that I've read anywhere. Hence, the biased media comment by me.

Let me make it VERY clear that the Tech fans were VERY respectful during the observances for the Naval academy before, during and after the game...hats were taken off, applause was given, etc. I know that a lot of us Mustangs don't like some Tech fans after this year's game in Lubbock and the classlessness that was shown by a few jerks in the visitor's section (I witnessed it and got the police to escort the a**holes away, in fact) but yesterday was a different crowd, in my opinion. I thought, for the most part, that the Tech fans displayed class, too.

I agree with you on your point about Leach and disciplining the team members.

<small>[ 12-31-2003, 09:48 AM: Message edited by: MrMustang1965 ]</small>