Show Telling Them All About It t By Nate Nelson Sports Editor Trash Talking is a piece in the theart theart theart art of basketball and because of it pro pm basketball players have become a bunch of bullies Steve Crofts I 1 figure just go out and prove it with your skills People believe what you do and not what you say Lee Hall HallAn HallAn HallAn An article from the sports page of the Salt Lake Tribune describes one of the primary concerns of college baseball officials in the year 1914 It tells of an Ivy League council created to create a policy banning conversation between the players Phrases such as atta way to go and come on boy were suspected as detracting from the competitive nature of the game The Ivy League council demanded complete silence from its it's players during baseball games Now 80 years later baseball chatter part of the games game's history and tradition All sports have seen changes in inthe inthe inthe the way players interact over the past ten years or so Football players for example have become far more talkative but one could hardly say they're more abusive Art Donovan was a lineman for forthe forthe forthe the Baltimore Colts during the In his book Fatso Donovan describes some of the interaction old time football had to offer There is a particular rule in football football football foot foot- ball which says once an offensive lineman is set he cannot move until the ball is snapped The defensive linemen however can move all they want if they dont don't cross the line of scrimmage So the New York Giants were playing the day after a circus had been performed in a particular stadium and according to Donovan the elephants in the circus had left droppings all allover over the field The offensive would be set in their crouches and a defensive lineman would pick up handfuls of elephant dung and throw it in the offensive offensive offensive of of- lineman's face The player couldn't even move to wipe it out of his eyes or the team would be penalized penalized penal penal- for a false start Now we have the San SanI I Francisco's Deion Sanders and Atlanta's Andre Rison taunting each other until a fight breaks out Which would the fans rather see However to see the epitome of trash talking we turn to the world of basketball The athletes play offense and md n 1 defense against each other the entire game so everything one player does is thrown in the face of the other player The recent rise in trash talking 1 spawned primarily from two players t Larry Bird and Michael Jordan l Larry Bird was notorious among fellow players for his mouth Bird with the Lakers' Lakers I along Magic Johnson revolutionized basketball during the and taunting was one of the newer things introduced to the game Michael Jordan was probably the most competitive person in the during his playing years Jordan took look the talking style of Bird and polished it The irresistible combination of the most exciting basketball player in the world and his undeniable success success success suc suc- cess prompted college and high school player to BE LIKE MIKE In reality this started today's trend of mouthy players talking the entire game The whole battle is my ego vs your ego and may the fastest mouth win And the popular opinion today is so what Heres Here's the problem Suppose Orlandos Orlando's Shaquille ONeil O'Neil dunks over Charlottes Charlotte's Alonzo Mourning ONeil O'Neil promptly turns to Mourning tells him all about it adds something about his mother and runs down the court backwards pointing all the way After three or four times Mourning Mourning Mourning Mourn Mourn- ing stops playing basketball and concentrates concentrates concentrates con con- on trying to stop ONeil O'Neil regardless of the cost This llis is exactly what ONeil O'Neil hopes he would do So basketball turns into a battle of wills Orlando wins the vital up match-up and therefore probably the game Again so what Well when one 21 year old millionaire is pitted against another 21 year old millionaire millionaire millionaire mil mil- sparks are bound to fly The integrity of the game breaks down Players intentionally foul just to stop a more dominant athlete People get hurt and the game is played far more in the mind than on the court As with most innovations to our favorite sports trash talking takes a little getting used to It is noticeably changing the nature of basketball anSI and football But lots of fans are turning off the TVs TV's because they dont don't like to see it is looking for student who have ha e a bone to pick If you qualify send your opinions comments comments continents com cont- ments and articles to Sports Editor Nate Nelson at or |