After 18 years, Real Madrid wins the Copa del Rey cup again. It has been a long drought for the Madridistas but the win makes everything worthwhile.
When Real Madrid finally won the cup I had mixed emotions…I was happy that they won the cup again after almost 18 years, the last time being that of 1993. At the same time a little sad because my idol Raul was not part of the win. When he said goodbye to Real Madrid which I wrote about in my post Raul says Adios to Real Madrid, he was considered finish and he wanted to show he wasn’t ready to retire yet and so he changed his sportswear from whites to blues but knowing the fact that he is forever etched in Madridismo he is certainly happy for this win.
Typically it is Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo who has been the focus of headlines; it was his goal in the extra that has made the score. But let us not forget that it was goalkeeper and the Los Blancos captain Iker Casillas’ saves and outstanding stops that made sure the Barca’s assault did not score. He should be the one receiving the praise for his exceptional saves in the last 15 minutes that denied Barcelona a goal.
First, Spain's World Cup-winning goalkeeper flung himself low to his right to block a fierce shot by Lionel Messi.
Casillas then launched himself high to his left to tip away a shot by winger Pedro.
Finally, the man who is widely regarded as the best in the world at his profession threw himself down and to his left to turn away Andres Iniesta's goal-bound shot with a fingertip save.
And Iker did it all in a space of a 15-minute vigorous attack from superb players who more often than not score a goal. The decisive goal of Ronaldo came on a swift counterattack from a ball that was passed from Marcelo to Angel di Maria that was met by Ronaldo who arched backward and then flung himself forward to power the ball into the corner of the net. And Barca’s goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto was powerless to stop that.
And Madridistas all over the world rejoiced with the win. Celebration was held at the Cibeles plaza where the wins are always celebrated, Iker Casillas then wrapped the flag on the Cibeles statue and gave her a kiss amdist the We Are the Champions and chants from the thousands celebrating the cup. Though there is a funny addendum to the history because after waiting for 18 years to get the cup, Sergio Ramos dropped it and the bus taking the team to Cibeles run over it. Good thing thought that the makers always have a duplicate.
A friend of mine sent me a link, he thought it was funny and he knew that anything about sports is something I love to blog about…this one took the words out of my mouth. I mean who would in her right mind wear such an atrocious knows that anything about sports is something I love to blog about. jersey. Here’s what I am talking about…see for yourself and let me know that I am wrong in my observation. Atrocious, dreadful, appalling, hideous…what other adjectives do you want me to say? I wonder what was on the mind of Guazzini when he approved this new shirt - one of the official game jerseys- of Paris pro rugby club, Stade Français.
On the other hand, team owner Guazzini has been in pursuit to find younger, affluent new enthusiasts and have also courted the large gay-community in Paris. Indeed he has even made major changes such as embracing pink as an official team color, have orchids as one of its symbols, and marketing a team calendar with all the players in the nude as models. I would have to say that he was actually effective in gaining more fans, not only gays but also women and heterosexual backers too. But this latest jersey, dubbed “the Crowd”, worth $102 is indubitably the worst marketing strategy he has made.
But Guazzini is not alone in making this maistake. There are so many out there that could be the ugliest sports uniforms ever in the history of mankind. Well, some may disagree with my choices, I can only say we all have our own opinions, and these uniforms, IMHO, are the most appalling uniforms ever worn by a professional sports team. It honestly makes me wonder how the players really felt when they were wearing it. So here it is, my list of the ugliest sports uniforms ever:
Houston Astros, 1975 – 1993
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team located in Houston, Texas. In the 1975 season, they introduced the new-look uniforms for Astros with multi-shade stripes of orange, red and yellow in front and back with a large dark bluestar over the stripes. The same stripes run down the pant legs. Although the critics criticized it, the public though loved it and it and versions of it even started to appear at the high school and little leagye leve. I can understand how the colors look very bright, enough to be appreciated by kids, but I have to disagree because I really don’t like it, most especially not on a baseball team. And the team certainly did not win championships during the years they were wearing this team wear.
Pittsburgh Pirates, 1976 – 1986
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a major league baseball (MLB) team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Aside from the color, the cap with stripes make quite a look that’s not suited for a baseball team but more for the circus or a band or drum corps. It’s no wonder that the Pirates had a hard time winning any game while wearing this sports uniform; they were even regarded as the worst baseball team during the mid ‘80s.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1976-1995
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (often shortened to Bucs) are a professional American Football team based in Tampa, Florida. Tangerine on a team doesn’t do much for fan support or respect. Unfortunately, it didn’t do well on their journey to the championships because since they wore that sports uniform in 1976 they started losing big, losing their first 26 games and suffered 14 consecutive losing seasons. It was only in 1996 when the new owner Malcolm Glazer jettisoned the new uniforms to oblivion and hired a new coach when they started picking up again.
John Daly
John Daly is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour who had bouts with his weight as well as other misdemeanors. He had a lap-band surgery in 2009 which limits the amount of food intake and so he said he is down to less than 200lbs since the surgery. Also at that time when he was with the European Tour he started wearing the Loudmouth Golf Apparel which he now officially endorses. I think maybe he liked the so loud colors and designs. Whew!
Vancouver Canucks, 1978 – 1984
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. What I consider a very bad taste of team wear consisted of a huge yellow, red-orange, and black striped V coming down from the shoulders. The V suggested “victory” according to designers though it never gave the team that. What it actually gave was several criticisms for being one of the most unpopular in NHL history. Just like other teams with hideous sports uniforms, the Canucks was a mediocre player having only one significant playoff which was in the post-season of 1982.
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Chicago, Illinois. White Sox have always been noted for uniform innovations that have really been the best such as putting players’ last names on the back of the jerseys. But when they came out in 1976 for a doubleheader against Kansas City Royals wearing a new team uniform, it was something unmatched. The new uniforms featured collars and were designed to be worn out, not tucked in, and worse they were wearing shorts. Not only were they critiqued for that but it really is not practical to wear shorts at play because it is not conducive to sliding, which is a way of life for baseball. After a lot of teasing from the rest of the league, the Sox changed their team wear.
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. When the Broncos first appeared for a game, their original uniforms were criticized by the public. Imagine wearing white and mustard yellow jerseys with vertically striped socks on brown pants with satin sheen and a brown helmet. Two years later the Broncos got rid of their ugly uniform and in celebration they held a public bonfire to burn the striped socks. In 2009, they wore this set of throwback uniforms again in honor of their 50th anniversary season as one of the eight original American Football League team.
The trend that I realized while writing about these ugly uniforms is that unwittingly how horrendous their uniforms look affected how the team played. Yes, how great one play is determined by how hard they trained for it. But, we all know that when we feel good and look good we also perform better. And maybe that is how these players felt when they were wearing these revolting uniforms.
What do you think? Share me your point of view by leaving a comment. Thanks and have fun reading one of my lighter blogs.
When everyone else was assuming it would be a sweep by both the LA Lakers and Boston Celtics over their opponents, Phoenix Suns resoundedly and defiantly disagreed thru an overwhelming victory over Lakers in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals last Sunday at the US Airways Center. The hero turned out to be none other than Amare Stoudemire who scored a high score of 42 points with 11 rebounds.
During the first two games of the Western Conference finals, Stoudemire played poorly according to critics and came under attack because of his poor rebounding as well as his comments about Lakers’ Lamar Odom “luck” in Game 1. But in this third game, Stoudemire said he wanted to dominate and indeed that’s what he did. And because he was, they defeated the Lakers.
The Suns saw a different Stoudemire during the practice, and the Lakers saw and experienced a different Stoudemire during the game and they weren’t ready for him. He was driving to the baskets, making jumpers, drawing fouls and the Lakers couldn’t stop him. Added to that was the fact that Robin Lopez also followed Stoudemire's lead and scored 20 points while Steve Nash scored 17 points and 15 assists. The Suns’ zone defense in the second quarter until the end dared the Lakers to beat them from the outside. Unfortunately, the Lakers were not up to the Suns game and so they lost. They were not sharp to the execution against the zone and bomb away outside instead of forcing their way to the middle. And according to the Lakers themselves, it was an accumulation of numerous miscues like foul trouble, missed shots, missed layups, some turnovers and more of those little mistakes that create a bigger one.
And so we still can’t say it’s going to be Lakers vs. Celtics for the 2010 NBA Playoffs. Game 4 is in the Suns’ turf and unless the Lakers come up with better execution they might just come back to Los Angeles tied at 2-2. For now, it’s not a good time to be wearing a teamwear of the Lakers of Celtics because we still don’t know the outcome of the next games.
