THE FRONT ROW WITH MARK NELKE: Sunday, April 19, 2015
We've all sat next to that person at a game who confides, "I don't care who wins, I just want to see an exciting game."
They must not have a dog in the hunt.
Because if they did, they wouldn't be nearly as relaxed during those games.
I enjoy those games too - if I don't care who wins.
But I know people that can't even sit through their favorite team's games - too nerve-racking.
I understand. In recent years, I've had to turn away from games involving "my" team, sometimes because the games are such nailbiters, but also because sometimes the quality of play is so agitating.
I PREFER a good blowout - as long as "my" team wins.
Much less stressful.
The NFL Network recently replayed a handful of Super Bowls, asking viewers to pick their favorite one.
Almost all were nail biters.
Not on my list, they wouldn't be.
My favorite Super Bowl was San Francisco 55, Denver 10. A super crushing, a near-perfect pummeling by Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and the rest of the 49ers.
"Oh, but those games are soooooo boring when one team beats the crap out of the other," they say.
"Mulefritters!" I say.
One of my favorite NCAA title games was UNLV throttling Duke by 30 in 1990. Tark and the boys romp to their only national title.
One of my favorite NCAA tourney games - Loyola Marymount 149, Michigan 115, also in 1990. Jeff Fryer buries 11 3-pointers as the emotional Lions, grieving over the death of teammate Hank Gathers just a couple of weeks earlier, maul the defending national champs.
I would have put that game on auto-loop on my VCR had I'd known how.
I AM of the belief that if a team has a dominant season, it would be nice to see them cap it off with a title.
I know it eliminates the "excitement" of the underdog pulling the upset, but so be it. These dominant teams that were the best all season shouldn't be denied by some upstart that puts together one good game.
Georgetown was an even better team in 1985 than in '84, when the Hoyas won the NCAA title. But that other team ruined Georgetown's bid for a repeat by playing out of its mind, shooting nearly 80 percent from the floor. Oh well, at least the Hoyas got one national title from the Patrick Ewing era, which included three Final Four trips in four years.
Same with UNLV. The Runnin' Rebels, again led by Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon and Greg Anthony, were even more dominant in 1991, and were undefeated before being upset by Duke in the national semifinals. As with the Hoyas, at least UNLV has one national title as a momento from that era - as, sadly, the Rebels will likely never reach that level again.
TWO EXCEPTIONS to "the dominant shall inherit the title" rule:
The 2007 New England Patriots and this year's Kentucky Wildcats.
At the risk of enduring the wrath of a certain Pats fan in our building, for some reason I rooted for the Giants to deny New England its perfect season - and no, it wasn't out of any great love for Mercury Morris and the 1973 Miami Dolphins, still the only perfect team in the Super Bowl Era at 17-0. Just did.
And I actually wouldn't have minded if Kentucky had finished 40-0 this year - though many people despise the Wildcats, and their coach, and suddenly became Wisconsin fans in the national semifinals.
THE MOST recent example of sustained dominance was Jordan Spieth going wire to wire to blitz the field at The Masters last week.
Lots of people wanted Phil and Rory and even Tiger to make a run at him over the last three rounds. I wouldn't have minded - as long as they didn't get too close.
After all, Spieth did all the heavy lifting - an 8-under-par 64 for the lead on the first day, followed by a 6-under 66 for a record 36-hole score of 14 under. All the pressure was on him to maintain his lead; it would have been criminal to see someone slip past him at the end.
However, let's nip all those attempts to create a new "Jordan vs. Rory" rivalry in the bud, and soon. For one thing, there are way too many other good players to challenge Rory on a given week. And secondly, other than in the majors, Spieth and Rory will rarely play in the same tournament.
The days of Jack and Arnie and Gary going at each other every week are long gone.
Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.