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Post by VBCrusin on Mar 2, 2003 14:47:14 GMT -5
There have been some comments posted on Hawaii's Costas performing some on-court celebration dances (or lack of dancing ability) in the recent victory over Pepperdine. Unfortunately I couldn't attend the matches and didn't see his antics, so I couldn't comment whether it was classless or not. However, I'm a firm believer in "celebrations" after a good hit or play, provided it isn't "trash-talking" or "rude" (why does last year's UH Dejan come to mind  ). "Giving the finger to fans" is a definite no-no, but I enjoy seeing the fist pumps, loud shouts, and cocky dances. It's part of the game. Of course, if your a fan of the losing team, no one likes to see those celebrations, but...heyyyyyyyyy, I enjoy watching a great KILL or ROOF BLOCK no matter who does it. It's called GREAT VOLLEYBALL. If my team loses at the end of a fantastic match, it's only natural to feel the loss, but I'm always glad that I just witnessed a "dogfight" between superior athletes. So when some of these young men celebrate after a thunderous kill, winning a long volley or putting up a "brickwall" block, I say, let them have their fun. I find it very entertaining and funny at times. Think about it...if you were an athlete playing in front of a huge crowd or televised event, you have the free agency to act "classy or classless" when the spotlight is on you. Celebrations are contagious and this emotional energy could lift other teammates to play with more intensity. Isn't that what a good team does? Oh wait...let's look at the quiet Pepperdine players...the "quiet gentlemenly killers." Their team celebrates little (their choice), but still wins many of their matches. There are many ways to LEAD a team, so don't criticize the "celebrations." Be entertained. I love to see athletes play with such great emotion. Enjoy this season, it isn't over yet. There are still many fantastic matches to watch...ENJOY & for some of you...lighten up!  |
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Post by mvbdad on Mar 2, 2003 15:48:28 GMT -5
I will criricize the one moment I am talking about , because he pointed his a$$ at the Pepperdine fans and then did the pelvic thrust ( totally classless ). I too , love the enthusiasm of a good game and love to see the teams get excited and pumped up . Costas took it too far that time and should make a public apology!!!!!
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Post by ufa on Mar 2, 2003 18:35:23 GMT -5
stop saying crap to the players on the bench then. you are not Wapner so dont judge. boo hoo cry me a river panty.
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Post by UH fan on Mar 2, 2003 19:05:03 GMT -5
He did make an apology, but probably not to your satisfaction. He said he hoped he didn't offend anyone, and without sarcasm (if you watched the replay on tv, you could decide for yourself). He has a habit of doing interesting celebrations to the camera, and is not know for overcelebrating or being disrespectful (never to be compared to Dejan). He was just having fun. Pepp might be the better team and will probably win the championship, so just quit your whinning and accept this one loss.
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CostasIsAnUglyBastard
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Post by CostasIsAnUglyBastard on Mar 3, 2003 14:45:02 GMT -5
I deleted this guy's entire post because of offensive material. When I traced this post, it appears it came from overseas somewhere in Europe.
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Post by bangdown on Mar 3, 2003 15:53:41 GMT -5
The bottom line here is....players are competetive! If he watched it on tape, there's a chance he would take it back. This game is played with a ton of emotion and with each play, so much happens. Coaches are yelling from the sidelines about which angles to take and where to go next and who's going to do what next....to add to that, a lot of these guys are hurt and they suck it up everyday and battle through long training room sessions so they can sell out for a teammate. I for one, love the emotion of the game and most of the time it is done with class. He's a competetive driven player, playing at extremely high level and I'm quite sure that he can care less how other people feel when he's trying to win...fans aren't playing in the match...they need to remain just fans.
I can't believe I'm defending the actions of a UH player but sometimes you parents just get plain ridiculous with your high and mighty crap.......................I'm out!
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Post by Psychopotamus on Mar 3, 2003 16:03:04 GMT -5
I will criricize the one moment I am talking about , because he pointed his a$$ at the Pepperdine fans and then did the pelvic thrust ( totally classless ). But if he pointed his a$$ at you and did a pelvic thrust, then wasn't he gesturing in the opposite direction? Just a thought. |
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Post by Rollshot on Mar 3, 2003 16:46:01 GMT -5
I will criricize the one moment I am talking about , because he pointed his a$$ at the Pepperdine fans and then did the pelvic thrust ( totally classless ). What if it was an uncontrollable nervous tick? Okay, I don't buy that one either. If the guy does it once, it's shockingly amusing. Twice, it's annoying. Three times, and I'm going to start wondering what he's doing in volleyball? He's in the wrong field! I say he should take his act on the road and be like Andrew Dice Clay, the one-time king of rude vulgar sexist disgusting humor! But then again, some nights, I don't mind all the antics. Passion is good for sports. What if Tiger Woods didn't do the fist-pumping? What if Jimmy Connors didn't point a finger at his opponents and shouted obsenities at them ...during the middle of the match? What if John McEnroe didn't throw a tirade "What are you TALKING about!" ...AND his racket? What if Reggie Miller didn't display his choke signal at opponents? What if the Detroit Pistons didn't refuse to shake the hands of the Chicago Bulls in 1990 when the Pistons lost to the Bulls in the NBS Conference finals. You of course, remember the feud, right? Dennis Rodman viciously shoving Scottie Pippen which was followed by Pippen refusing to play because of an alleged "migraine"? Yeah, these are all acts of classless unsportsmanlike behavior (well, except for Tiger Woods' fist pumping) but boy, did they create some exciting drama and memorable moments that made their respective sports larger than life! Take a boring match with lots of extracurricular post-game activities. Yeck. Alternatively, take an exciting match with NO extracurricular post-game activities. Boring.... Now, take a great game AND some extracurricular post-game activities coupled with some great inflammatory quotes from coaches and players! Now that's a memorable match! "They will pay the next time! That #12 is gonna wish he never crawled out of bed when we play them again in the MPSF. We'll be gunning for him. We have a bounty out for that idiot!" said a player on the losing team. "The other team's coach was out of control! He was out of line with his towel wipes and yelling at MY players! The bastard!" said a coach. "Wasn't it funny when I smashed that guy's face? I gave new meaning to the term 'shovel face' !! Heh heh!" said another player. Something like that... Now, that's DRAMA! That makes the game larger than life! I'm not saying I want this to happen all the time. I'm all for the players being natural and letting it all hang out. If it doesn't happen, so be it. If it happens, great. The point is, if the guys are doing stuff that's remotely related to volleyball, and people are getting excited about it and more importantly, TALKING about it, then it's a good thing. Yeah, yeah, I hear you. You say the game doesn't need the histrionics and theatrics! The game is good enough as it is and gosh, it's all about integrity and sportsmanship and classy behavior. I say, let the players play and show their colors. What does the men's game have to lose? Nothing. |
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Post by Mars on Mar 4, 2003 1:52:02 GMT -5
Costas' celebratory antics don't bother me. But did anyone see his reaction when Dunphy called a timeout after he smashed an ace over the net? He gesticulated wildly and appeared to be swearing at the Pepperdine coach for interrupting his serving.
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Post by H2O on Mar 4, 2003 13:49:48 GMT -5
Costas pointed at his ass and did a pelvic thrust? After I think about it, he is Greek after all!
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Post by Anonymous Beachman on Mar 4, 2003 14:17:54 GMT -5
Rollshot, I would like your perspective on something. It seems that people defend the guys when they act rude, crude, crazy, overzealous, etc. However, when the women do ANYTHING that remotely resembles this type of behavior folks on this website "demean the crap out of them" Do we have a good ol double standard here?
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Post by Rollshot on Mar 4, 2003 14:37:14 GMT -5
It seems that people defend the guys when they act rude, crude, crazy, overzealous, etc. However, when the women do ANYTHING that remotely resembles this type of behavior folks on this website "demean the crap out of them" Do we have a good ol double standard here? I can't speak for others. I can only speak for myself. I personally LOVE it when the women act over-the-top! Just to take your team as an example, I've seen Cheryl Weaver stare down an opponent (other girls usually back down or pretend they didn't notice when in fact, they are shaking in their Reeboks). And who can forget the Jessica Sudduth-Cheryl Weaver handshake controversy ("She tried to twist and injure my already-injured hand during pregame handshakes!" "No, I didn't!") that made the 2000 Long Beach State-Hawaii NCAA tournament match that much more special. Kim Willoughby and Kristee Porter are also good at stare downs. I've even seen the Stanford bench laugh at girls on other teams when those girls got six-packed or fell on the floor in an awkward way. Classless? Maybe. Maybe not. Double standard? Not by me! I'm looking forward to the day when Stacey Gordon jumps on top of the scorer's table after a victory and give the Penn State fans some gesture of her appreciation, i.e., the finger. Volleyball is a great sport but today, it needs more color to get new converts. Hey, the day Tonya Harding got her boys to whack Nancy Kerrigan in the knee was the day figure skating reached a new level of audience appreciation! All for the wrong reason, of course, but at least future generations of figure skaters benefitted. |
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Post by Makawao on Mar 4, 2003 15:11:01 GMT -5
Antics are fun, but they need to be controlled. I don't think flicking the finger at anyone is acceptable nor should it be tolorated. Just one flick of the finger and all kinds of crap can happen...road rage, riots, violence of all sorts. Spectator games can be fun and great, but what happens when the fans go psycho...oakland raiders, soccer, college football...this past year we saw all kinds of crazy violence. This is not the WWF. Let's have fun and celebrations but above all show sportsmanship.
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Post by kolohekeiki on Mar 5, 2003 0:47:35 GMT -5
Costas' celebratory antics don't bother me. But did anyone see his reaction when Dunphy called a timeout after he smashed an ace over the net? He gesticulated wildly and appeared to be swearing at the Pepperdine coach for interrupting his serving. First off how would you know if he was swearing at the Pepperdine coach. The reason he got mad when Dunphy called timeout is that, the top official already blew the whistle to serve and then let Dunphy call his timeout. So Costas wasn't mad at Dunphy he was mad at the ref. Because by rule once the top official blows his whistle to serve it is too late to call a timeout or make a substitution. And that was when Costas was on fire so the timeout definately cooled him down. That is the reason for his anger at that time. |
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Post by IdahoBoy on Mar 5, 2003 17:19:24 GMT -5
Kim Willoughby and Kristee Porter are also good at stare downs. My favorite antic in sports is to see the intensity of a Kim Willoughby stare-down. Her stare-down is the most intimidating by any player in any sport I've seen. |
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