Some sports teams are inferior to their rivals. Other sports teams are inferior to their rivals, but mistakenly believe they are equal or better. Finally, some sports teams are not inferior to their rivals, but they do not get as much attention or support as their inferior rivals. No matter which category the following teams or players are placed in, they all have one constant: an inferiority complex.
10) New York Mets (inferiority complex to the Yankees): Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of Mets fans and plenty of people that hate the Yankees. But most baseball fans in New York are Yankees fans and most people that hate the Yankees cheer for the Red Sox. Hypothetically, if the Mets were to make it to the World Series and the Yankees did not, there would be much more discussion about the failures of the Yanks and the future of its players and manager than there would be the Mets' success. On the other hand, the Mets get quite a bit of attention when they fail -- like last season when they blew an 8-game division lead in less than two weeks before the playoffs.
9) Andy Roddick (to Federer and Nadal): After watching this year's Wimbledon final between Federer and Nadal, I came to the disappointing conclusion that Andy Roddick will never win another Grand Slam event (he has 1 -- 2003 US Open). He cannot hang with them. Roddick's rivalry with Federer and Nadal falls in to the actual inferiority category. He is not as good as them and he knows it. He has the ability to beat either of them on a given day, but he mentally psychs himself out in major tournaments -- even when he is not playing one of them.
8) ACC Football (to SEC football): It pains me to admit this one, but it is true. The ACC expanded to 12 teams in hopes of becoming an elite super-conference with a compelling Championship Game. It has not exactly worked out as planned so far. A 1-9 record in BCS games over the past decade has not helped. Miami and Florida State have fallen from grace recently. Clemson has not been able to break through into a consistent top 10 team. Virginia Tech has disappointed in BCS games. Virginia has been too distracted by the brie cheese and smoked salmon at its tailgates to make a legitimate run at a major bowl. Most reasonable ACC fans will admit that the SEC is a better football conference, but ACC fans still hold out eternal hope that the ACC will work its way back to national recognition as an elite conference.
7) SEC basketball (to ACC basketball): In my opinion, the gap between ACC basketball and SEC basketball is AT LEAST as big as the gap between SEC football and ACC football. SEC basketball is Kentucky and a two-year run for Florida. Tennessee is an up-and-coming program, but they have proven nothing yet. LSU has some sporadic success -- but so does Georgia Tech football. UK hoops have become as mediocre as FSU and Miami football --- all will recover in time, but SEC basketball will not get respect until UK returns to its elite status (same goes FSU and Miami football in relation to ACC football).
6) Air Force football (to Army and Navy): Hear me out on this one. I realize that Air Force has a much better football program than Army and arguably a better program than Navy. However, does anyone ever talk about Air Force? Army and Navy can each be 2-9 going into their game against each other, and it will still be compelling television. People want to watch Army-Navy. If one team has a shot at going to a bowl, it becomes even more interesting. Air Force could be 10-0 and playing against an undefeated team -- say, BYU -- in a late season game, but if the game falls on the same day as Army-Navy then it will not get as much attention. Air Force gets no respect compared the other armed forces -- at least when it comes to football.
5) LA Clippers (to Lakers): Does anyone outside of LA even know that the Clips play in the same arena as the Lakers? Granted, the Lakers have had much more success than the Clips so I can understand why most fans in LA ignore the Clippers. However, even when the Clips made the playoffs in 2006 for the first time in 13 years, no one cared. When Kobe was a free agent a few years ago, he considered an offer from the Clippers and people reacted as if he had considered an offer for the clap.
4) Texas A&M football (to Texas): This game is obviously huge in the state of Texas, but few people care about it nationally. It is the third longest-running rivalry in Division I-A football, but Texas has dominated the series (73-36-5). Most football fans around the nation would agree that Texas-Oklahoma is a bigger rivalry and a more important game -- often with national championship implications.
3) NC State basketball (to UNC and Duke basketball): This one falls into the "inferior but think they're equal" category. Most NC State fans think it is still 1974. David Thompson is not walking through that door. Even the fluke that was the 1983 national championship (I love Jimmy V but that team was not that good) does not keep State among the elite teams in the country 25 years later. I hate Duke and have a strong aversion to UNC, but -- as an objective observer -- those two programs shit on NC State. Herb Sendak brought modest yet productive results as the coach of the Wolfpack, but the fans did not embrace him because he brought no Final 4 appearances. Sendak jumped ship for Arizona State (who could blame him) and the school's "national" coaching search went nowhere. Did they really expect John Calipari to come to Raleigh and have to recruit on Tobacco Road? They settled for Sidney Lowe -- he led them to an improbable ACC tournament run in 2007, but the high expectations for 2008 were quickly turned into disappointment and whispers about Lowe's job security. I would like to see Lowe turn the program around, but it is time for the fans to lower their expectations. An ACC title is a more reasonable goal than a national championship at this point in time.
2) Phil Mickelson (to El Tigre): Most golf fans would agree that Phil is the 2nd best golfer in the world and has been for the last decade. He is certainly capable of winning a tournament even if Tiger is in the field -- as long as he is not paired in the same group with Tiger and as long as Tiger is not in contention on Sunday. Also, memo to the next Ryder Cup captain: don't pair Tiger and Phil in the same twosome. They don't like each other and are too competitive even when on the same team. Not only is Tiger better than Phil at golf, he is also mentally stronger. Phil should see some success this year since Tiger is out with a knee injury.
1) Chicago White Sox (to Chicago Cubs): Talk about no respect. This is the same White Sox team that won the 2005 World Series (and the same Cubs team that last won the World Series in 1908). I would guess that the Cubs are the third most popular baseball team in the country (behind Yanks and Red Sox). I would also guess that the White Sox are a distant second most popular team in Chicago. I have heard nonstop talk about the Cubs' success this year. I only knew that the White Sox were winning their division because I looked up the standings after their trade for Ken Griffey, Jr. Speaking of that trade, don't you think the media would have made a bigger deal about the trade if Griffey went to the Cubs? Me too.
I am sure I inadvertently left out many inferiority complexes in sports. Let me know what I missed. Does anyone read this blog?
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Good column. The only others I would offer would be Lance Armstrong's dominance over Jan Ulrich in the Tour DF; Steve Spurrier over Ray Goff at Georgia and Phillip Fulmer during the 90s; and the AL over the NL. Jan Ulrich had 3 Tour championships before Lance came on the scene and during Lance's run Ulrich finished 2nd two or three times. You know that bothers the shit out of him to think that if Lance weren't born that he would be the all-time great. There is a great YouTube of Lance taunting Ulrich in the Alps that proves it all. Secondly, I haven't researched the numbers but its almost self-evident that Spurrier owned the SEC East competition last decade.
Speaking of the SEC, I may be able to agree with you on the ACC-SEC basketball-football gap going both ways, respectively. However, I think that your column brings up some fodder about sports and television audiences. I agree that SEC basketball would be stronger if Kentucky was better, and that ACC football would be too if FSU and Miami stepped up their game. But are we, the fans of a given conference, dependent upon the greatness of traditional powers to draw the interest of the national television audience in order to prove our strength?
(a) To a large extent I would say "yes." Baseball is relevant when the Saux-Yanks are at their best. Hockey only when Detroit or Pittsburgh play a Canadian team. Football when the Cowboys and Redskins, or Colts and Pats are at each other's throats. Same with the NBA and the Lakers-Celtics rivalry. It gives us a story line that is different than a Anaheim-Florida World Series.
(b) On the other hand, conferences tend to fluctuate. SEC won't always be on top now that scholarships are evenly dispersed among FBS (the former D-I) teams and mid-majors are commanding a new TV audience.
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