Perception is Reality

by 78Bruin on Mar 5, 2007 1:31 PM PST

Yesterday morning I was listening to Doug Gottlieb being interviewed on ESPN Radio. The topic was tv ratings for the NCAA tournament and the host was commenting on last year's ratings, specifically the Final Four, being down considerably from the previous year. Gottlieb remarked that the ratings declined in large part to the absence of the marquee schools like "Duke, UConn and North Carolina." When the host mentioned that UCLA was in the FF, Gottlieb replied that UCLA is a "Johnny-come-lately."

My initial reaction was to dismiss the comment as just another cheap shot by Gottlieb who never has a kind word for the Bruins (ostensbily due to the fact that his Okla. St. team was eliminated by the Bruins in the'95 FF). I then seethed at the notion that the most storied BB program in history could be characterized as a "Johnny-come-lately." (How dare he!!!!)

When I finally calmed down and thought about it, I realized that Gottlieb's comment was not that far off the mark. First, in sports, at any level, it's all about "what have you done lately." Other than last year's run in the tourney, the Bruins of late have not distinguished themselves -- let's face it.

My blood boiled again when I thought about the reason why UCLA had faded from the spotlight and the mental picture of the slick-haired snake oil salesman who masqueraded as our coach for 7 years came to mind. Had UCLA made it to just one Final Four in those 7 years, it might have been enough to keep them in esteem as one of the elite schools. Some Elite Eight appearances, other than his first year, couldn't have hurt either. Instead, we had 2 impressive second round upset wins which were immediately followed by humbling defeats. Those 2 wins turned out to be mere abberations. Otherwise, the Bruins became, as has been mentioned quite often here, a laughingstock and they fell from grace. A whole generation of kids saw UCLA has an occasional upsart but nothing more as there was no consistency whatsoever. Worse, astute viewers saw the team as unprepared and soft, among other things.

The reality is that the Bruins really are, to a large extent, a "Johnny-come-lately," thanks to Steve Lavin and the school's athletic administration's pathetic hiring practices.

Anyone who reads this should be offended by Gottlieb's remarks, but, at the same time, should be realistic about UCLA's place in the current landscape of college basketball. The comment should also remind us how imperative it is for the Bruins to get back to the FF so we can regain some of our lost prestige and solidify the future. Finally, we must thank our lucky stars that we have a coach who fully understands all of this and is doing everything he can possibly do to resolve the situation.

GO BRUINS!!!

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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Comments

I agree

Hey, it would have been nice to have a consistent run from the 70's to now. More than nice, it would have been fantastic. But depending on your definition of elite, you could make the argument that we were floundering for 15-20 years before Howland arrived, which does sever some ties with the "glory days". The tradition will always be there, but our current status is an elite team on the rise, and that's just the reality. It's a reality that should scare the rest of the country because we made it to the Championship game and are still finding ways to improve.

"Johnny-come-lately", that's fine, just know that we're here now, and that's really all that matters.

by Tydides on Mar 5, 2007 1:40 PM PST reply actions

The Problem With Our Tradition ...

is that it is dismissed by many observers as being achieved during a totally different era of college basketball. Not only was the tournament field drastically reduced, but the number of quality programs could be counted on two hands. (Did Georgetown and UConn even have BB programs in the 60's?)You are correct in that the post-Wooden years after Bartow were the original cause of the fall from grace and the reputation of the program might have been preserved had there been some level of consistency during that period. Had there been better teams in the 80's, we would not have been in the position to hire the clowns we did during the following decade.

by 78Bruin on Mar 5, 2007 1:59 PM PST up reply actions

Different eras?

I don't buy the 'it happened in a different era so it's not as important' argument.

No one goes around denying Alabama or Notre Dame's tradition in college football. And if they ever became relevant again, I don't think anyone would have the gall to suggest they were 'Johnny-come-latelys' to the national scene. They would be laughed out of a building.

Why that doesn't happen to Gottleib after making this comment is beyond me.

by CAJason80 on Mar 5, 2007 6:20 PM PST up reply actions

Gottlieb

He is criminal,literally.

So I am not going to get all worked up over some asinine remark by him.

UCLA is such a Johny Come Lately school that even with a douchebag like Lavin coaching, it went to 5 Steve-16s.

Bruins are back and it is just not sitting well lot of the Duke/ACC worshipping tools over at Bristol.

Whatever. Screw DSPN.

by Nestor on Mar 5, 2007 6:49 PM PST up reply actions

whatever

Man I hope I'm not judged for some of the shit I did as a freshman in college. Calling that crap out whenever he says something you don't agree with is low class. Yea, yea, he was 18 and all but give me a break - he did it, got punished, and seems to have straightened himself out.

by njbruin on Mar 6, 2007 6:11 AM PST up reply actions

Credit card fraud

yeah I am sure everyone knows tons of freshmen who were engaging in credit card fraud/petty theft in college.

This clown went out of his way to repeatedly diss UCLA hoops last year and is now trying to jump on the bandwagon. Like you said whatever.

by Nestor on Mar 6, 2007 6:39 AM PST up reply actions

Yea

Since when does engaging in credit card fraud 13 or 14 years ago (which he got convicted of and lost his scholarship at Notre Dame) have anything to do with dissing UCLA on TV?

People deserve a second shot. I don't know the circumstances of his actions. He was young and stupid and got punished for it. It's not like he's doing that now, or even did it again after he was caught. So I'm not gonna hold that against him. Like I said, I think it's low-class.

by njbruin on Mar 6, 2007 7:09 AM PST up reply actions

Yeah

Just like Bilas Gottlieb is another Southern California kid who is now a "analyst" on TV, who always had an antagonistic relationship with UCLA.

Last year he went out of his way in a classless way to smack down UCLA time after time on ESPN. Came across as nothing short of a bitter bitch. And now that he is saying some nice things everything is fine.

In terms of getting busted for stealing credit card, yeah it shows me something. This is the same loser who along with other ESPN clowns were trying to push people like Pat Douglas and Brad Holland as the best fit for UCLA when Lavin got canned.

Gottlieb just like Lavin is another low class ESPN idiot. If you want to keep sticking up for them, keep at it.

by Nestor on Mar 6, 2007 7:38 AM PST up reply actions

I will (except I never defended Lavin)

Criticize what they say all they want. You don't have to like the guy at all and I never said you did. But attacking him for something he did a long time ago and got punished for it is below the belt in my opinion. I really don't see anything from him nowadays that says he's still the type of sleaze that would do that. There's a big difference between saying foolish things about a sports team on TV and committing a crime.

That's the only problem I had with your comment. If you think he's an idiot or a fool based on what he says now, I have no problem with that (the "Johnny Come Lately" comment is absurd). Unless the roommate who he stole from was a big UCLA fan or something it has no bearing on his behavior today.

by njbruin on Mar 6, 2007 7:55 AM PST up reply actions

finally

We're not talking about Salisbury who showed off "Lil Sean" to some female employees six months ago or Irvin who was caught riding dirty last year... that's different too. They did that recently. Surely we have all changed a lot in 11 years. I just don't think that has anything to do with what Gottlieb says today. That's all. Thanks for reading.

by njbruin on Mar 6, 2007 7:59 AM PST up reply actions

We will have to agree to disagree

I don't have high opinion of some OC punk who got breaks which wouldn't have been available to others just because he had connections via his dad (a prominent coach in the AAU ranks).

Sure everyone make mistakes. But Gottlieb always had a reputation of being classless SOB when he was coming through the high school ranks. And he only got his second shot at OSU because of his connections via his Daddy. Hey guess it's Daddy's connections that has given us a cocaine sniffer as the President, so I guess its all par for the course. I am done with this.

by Nestor on Mar 6, 2007 8:06 AM PST up reply actions

DSPN

I don't worry about those clowns any more. With Coach Howland is charge I feel like we are going to win every game. And from hereon out Bruins will probably have something absurd 90% winning percentage.

As for the NCAA I am not going to get into expectations game. This regular season has already been a huge success for me. Sure I have dreams of Atlanta in my head, but all I am going to ask from this team is to just go out and play balls out every game taking it one half at a time. We have the coach and players to make some good things happen. We just need to stay focused and not get into any expectations game.

Go Bruins.

by bluestreet on Mar 5, 2007 2:13 PM PST reply actions

forget about it

UCLA thoroughly destroyed their reputation after the 95 championship. The scandals from Harrick and that fool Lavin did no favors for the team. In hoops 10 years is a long time and UCLA did nothing in that 10 years except get beat by Arizona and lose in the Sweet Sixteen. It's fitting, perhaps, that the UCLA game everyone remembers from that era is the loss to Princeton in 1996.

However, that is over. UCLA is back and will be a powerhouse for a long time. What the hell has UConn and Duke done this year anyway?

by njbruin on Mar 5, 2007 5:51 PM PST reply actions

Disagree

I actually could care less when ESPN bags on the Bruins. I am imune--I am sure they are talking about how we should be a 2 or 3 seed in this year's Tourney because we didn't play enough Big 10, ACC, or SEC schools. whatever.

However, the biggest reason that I don't care about Gottlieb's comments is because they are facially ridiculous. That is why his co-commentator had to remind him that UCLA was in the Final Four last year.

I disagree that we are a Johnny-come-lately school on the national scene. Sure, we've had some down years--but even then we were in the Sweet 16 a lot of seasons. Duke and UNC--sure, they have great traditions. But, UCONN--we have 100 times the tradition as UCONN.

by rfirpo on Mar 6, 2007 7:48 AM PST reply actions

Hey, let's just win it all!

That'll solve these problems. And try no to get too worked up about reporters, especially sports reporters. There's so many of them they'll say/do anything to stand out. Gottlieb is seemingly always trying to pick a fight to accomplish this, like with Jim Boeheim.

by greatgymnasticsschool on Mar 6, 2007 1:08 PM PST reply actions