mike burv's top 5 all time "this-is-why-i-love-sports" teams!!
- By Michael Burvick
- Published 07/15/2007
Michael Burvick
Known amongst friends and colleagues as "mike-burv", "burvito" & of course "mikeywhispers", Mr. Burvick honed his argumentative craft and sharp wit, in the murky dorms (and creepy "free expression" tunnels) of NCSU. After several bloody and entertaining debates with Blickees.com co-founder Pat Williams, he realized that their powers combined could usher in a new era in online journalism and seal the fate of mankind for future generations to come.
Greetings BLICKEES.COM clergy, family, friends, and elders!! I come to you today on this VANGLORIOUS Sunday afternoon with love in my heart. Love for all my fellow BLICKEES.COM "Stephen A. Smith's in-training"....Love of life....Love of health....Love of my mom's mac-n-cheese.....and of course, a Love for SPORTS!!! With that said I thought I'd bless you all with a list of 5 teams that have molded me into the sports fan I am today.
5. '94 ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS
I remember falling in love w/ the Razorbacks back in '91. I turned to ESPN and one of their games was about to come on, and all the announcers kept talking about was "May-Day"!! "May-Day" turned out to be the backcourt combination of Lee Mayberry and Todd Day. A solid backcourt that could light it up from the 3-pt. line and also play smothering defense. And speaking of defense.....how could you not fall in love w/ a coach that lived and died by employing the "40 minutes of hell" defense!!! 40 minutes of full court, in-your-face, floor slapping (a la Mr. Wojo), turnover creating mayhem all followed by a relentless onslaught from 3-pt. range!!! Most teams were beat before they stepped foot on the court. Fast forward to '94 when all my arguing vs. duke & carolina lovers paid off when we brought "the belt" home w/ Corliss, Scotty, and Big Dwight Stewart (I need to add him to my "Where Art Thou Now" list)
4. '88-'90 "BAD BOY" ERA DETROIT PISTONS
I swear there was nothing better than coming home from church, on a Sunday afternoon, to watch my beloved Pistons play!! The classic showdowns between the Bulls vs. Pistons were legendary. I fell in love with the Pistons when they lost in the finals in '88 to the Lakers. Of course everybody was tired of the Lakers winning it almost every year, so I began to root for the underdog. After a gutsy performance in the Finals, I was hooked, and knew we had a serious shot at winning it the following year.
3. '85 CHICAGO BEARS
What's not to LOVE about "DA BEARS"??? But this was the team that sealed my fate as being a Bears fan. No I can't say i was down w/ 'em when they were losing in the late 70's (hey, I was only 8 years old when they won it all!!) But I remember everything about them that year. Walter...Coach Ditka on the sidelines about to blow a gasket.....The Fridge clogging the middle, and scoring touchdowns on goaline offensive duties....Richard Dent & Wilber Marshall killing opposing QB's on almost every play.....Jim McMahon sporting the headband around his neck!! But the one thing that has kept me faithful to the Bears during our "not-so-hot" years has been the jerseys!!! I'm sorry, but if the Bears EVER decide to change the jerseys, then I may have to become an Eagles fan!!........Well, maybe I won't do something THAT drastic, but you get the picture.
2. UNC TARHEELS & DUKE BLUE DEVILS (MEN'S B-BALL)
Now let me first say that I'm not a die-hard fan of either school. I flat out despise the UNC TARHEELS, and I think that hate was instilled by my stepfather. When Chris Rock was telling that joke about the most racist people on the planet not being white people, but old black men, he definitely had my stepfather in mind!! And it's not that he's racist, but he's just the biggest conspiracy theorist I've ever met and he hates "THE MAN". No team in sports embodies the spirit of "THE MAN" more than the UNC TARHEELS!!! Years and years of hearing that man point out how the officials worked in favor of the good ol' boys in Carolina Blue made me too question the politics behind some of the calls being made. I remember going to an exhibition game w/ a good friend of mine, and him making the statement of how being on campus made you feel like you were around a bunch of members of a fraternity. It was just some type of aura that was on that campus that made you feel like everyone around you knew some big secret but didn't want to share it with you. It was very creepy! So yeah, long story short....I DESPISE CAROLINA WITH A PASSION!!!....WOLFPACK FOR LIFE, BIDGES!!! (LOL).......Now on the other hand, we have the Duke Blue Devils. Again, I'm not a fan, but the only reason I'm not is because I was following Arkansas so heavy back in the early-mid 90's. By the time that they started to suck, the waitlist for the Duke Bandwagon was way too long. Nevertheless, I've always had a lot of respect for Coach K and his program at Duke. Now, when you add in the fact that these schools are only 8 miles apart and they hate each others guts, you now have the GREATEST rivalry in college basketball, and easily one of the top 5 rivalries in ALL sports, right in my back yard. Even if both teams were having a sub .500 year, that game would still be the hottest ticket in town!! Gotta LOVE ACC Basketball!!
1. '95 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS
MAAAAAAAAAN!!!! Where do I start?? I fell in love with the 'Huskers back in '91 also. Now, being that I'm from NC, most people my age fell in love with college football teams from outside the state of NC. Most cats I knew either fell in love with Miami (FL), FSU, or Notre Dame (i.e. all the flashy teams: Deion, The Rocket, Those cocky players from "THE U"). So what does a young lad like myself see in a "boring" team from the midwest?? Easy. Try 300yds per game.....RUSHING!! That boggled my mind to know, that a team could AVERAGE that much on the ground!! And how did they go on to steamroll teams like that on the ground?? The intricate playcalling of Sen.(R) Tom Osborne!! He was to the running game what Steve Spurrier was to the passing game. They ran the option to PERFECTION!! There's no way a slow fullback should break a 40 yard touchdown on a triple option. The ONLY way that happens is by consistently getting yardage between the QB (Tommie Frazier) & the HB (Lawrence Phillips). Then once the defense is sleeping, hand it off to that FB and watch him take it to the house!! It takes a former high school lineman like myself to see the beauty in seeing something like that develop! Fast forward to '95, we're already coming off a 24-17 win against Miami to win "the belt" in '94. This time we smashed everyone on route to facing Danny Wuerfel and the Gators. Was there ever any doubt? All that razzle-dazzle fun-n-gun mess got shut down by playing some good ol' smashmouth football between the trenches!! I still got that game on VHS!! Final Score 52-17!! I LOVE IT. I'm still a 'Husker fan to this day, but since they switched the offense around, it just hasn't been the same. But oh well, I still got some great memories!
Well there you have it folks, the 5 (6 really) teams that molded me into the sports fan/BLICKEES.COM blogologist that I am today!
5. '94 ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS
I remember falling in love w/ the Razorbacks back in '91. I turned to ESPN and one of their games was about to come on, and all the announcers kept talking about was "May-Day"!! "May-Day" turned out to be the backcourt combination of Lee Mayberry and Todd Day. A solid backcourt that could light it up from the 3-pt. line and also play smothering defense. And speaking of defense.....how could you not fall in love w/ a coach that lived and died by employing the "40 minutes of hell" defense!!! 40 minutes of full court, in-your-face, floor slapping (a la Mr. Wojo), turnover creating mayhem all followed by a relentless onslaught from 3-pt. range!!! Most teams were beat before they stepped foot on the court. Fast forward to '94 when all my arguing vs. duke & carolina lovers paid off when we brought "the belt" home w/ Corliss, Scotty, and Big Dwight Stewart (I need to add him to my "Where Art Thou Now" list)
4. '88-'90 "BAD BOY" ERA DETROIT PISTONS
I swear there was nothing better than coming home from church, on a Sunday afternoon, to watch my beloved Pistons play!! The classic showdowns between the Bulls vs. Pistons were legendary. I fell in love with the Pistons when they lost in the finals in '88 to the Lakers. Of course everybody was tired of the Lakers winning it almost every year, so I began to root for the underdog. After a gutsy performance in the Finals, I was hooked, and knew we had a serious shot at winning it the following year.
3. '85 CHICAGO BEARS
What's not to LOVE about "DA BEARS"??? But this was the team that sealed my fate as being a Bears fan. No I can't say i was down w/ 'em when they were losing in the late 70's (hey, I was only 8 years old when they won it all!!) But I remember everything about them that year. Walter...Coach Ditka on the sidelines about to blow a gasket.....The Fridge clogging the middle, and scoring touchdowns on goaline offensive duties....Richard Dent & Wilber Marshall killing opposing QB's on almost every play.....Jim McMahon sporting the headband around his neck!! But the one thing that has kept me faithful to the Bears during our "not-so-hot" years has been the jerseys!!! I'm sorry, but if the Bears EVER decide to change the jerseys, then I may have to become an Eagles fan!!........Well, maybe I won't do something THAT drastic, but you get the picture.
2. UNC TARHEELS & DUKE BLUE DEVILS (MEN'S B-BALL)
Now let me first say that I'm not a die-hard fan of either school. I flat out despise the UNC TARHEELS, and I think that hate was instilled by my stepfather. When Chris Rock was telling that joke about the most racist people on the planet not being white people, but old black men, he definitely had my stepfather in mind!! And it's not that he's racist, but he's just the biggest conspiracy theorist I've ever met and he hates "THE MAN". No team in sports embodies the spirit of "THE MAN" more than the UNC TARHEELS!!! Years and years of hearing that man point out how the officials worked in favor of the good ol' boys in Carolina Blue made me too question the politics behind some of the calls being made. I remember going to an exhibition game w/ a good friend of mine, and him making the statement of how being on campus made you feel like you were around a bunch of members of a fraternity. It was just some type of aura that was on that campus that made you feel like everyone around you knew some big secret but didn't want to share it with you. It was very creepy! So yeah, long story short....I DESPISE CAROLINA WITH A PASSION!!!....WOLFPACK FOR LIFE, BIDGES!!! (LOL).......Now on the other hand, we have the Duke Blue Devils. Again, I'm not a fan, but the only reason I'm not is because I was following Arkansas so heavy back in the early-mid 90's. By the time that they started to suck, the waitlist for the Duke Bandwagon was way too long. Nevertheless, I've always had a lot of respect for Coach K and his program at Duke. Now, when you add in the fact that these schools are only 8 miles apart and they hate each others guts, you now have the GREATEST rivalry in college basketball, and easily one of the top 5 rivalries in ALL sports, right in my back yard. Even if both teams were having a sub .500 year, that game would still be the hottest ticket in town!! Gotta LOVE ACC Basketball!!
1. '95 NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS
MAAAAAAAAAN!!!! Where do I start?? I fell in love with the 'Huskers back in '91 also. Now, being that I'm from NC, most people my age fell in love with college football teams from outside the state of NC. Most cats I knew either fell in love with Miami (FL), FSU, or Notre Dame (i.e. all the flashy teams: Deion, The Rocket, Those cocky players from "THE U"). So what does a young lad like myself see in a "boring" team from the midwest?? Easy. Try 300yds per game.....RUSHING!! That boggled my mind to know, that a team could AVERAGE that much on the ground!! And how did they go on to steamroll teams like that on the ground?? The intricate playcalling of Sen.(R) Tom Osborne!! He was to the running game what Steve Spurrier was to the passing game. They ran the option to PERFECTION!! There's no way a slow fullback should break a 40 yard touchdown on a triple option. The ONLY way that happens is by consistently getting yardage between the QB (Tommie Frazier) & the HB (Lawrence Phillips). Then once the defense is sleeping, hand it off to that FB and watch him take it to the house!! It takes a former high school lineman like myself to see the beauty in seeing something like that develop! Fast forward to '95, we're already coming off a 24-17 win against Miami to win "the belt" in '94. This time we smashed everyone on route to facing Danny Wuerfel and the Gators. Was there ever any doubt? All that razzle-dazzle fun-n-gun mess got shut down by playing some good ol' smashmouth football between the trenches!! I still got that game on VHS!! Final Score 52-17!! I LOVE IT. I'm still a 'Husker fan to this day, but since they switched the offense around, it just hasn't been the same. But oh well, I still got some great memories!
Well there you have it folks, the 5 (6 really) teams that molded me into the sports fan/BLICKEES.COM blogologist that I am today!