Hating Eric Devendorf Officially Recognized As A Sport
by Sean Keeley on Mar 23, 2009 2:04 PM EDT
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PrintThere are three major newsstories that every outlet in America has run in the last week.
- The economy is bad.
- Natasha Richardson died.
- Eric Devendorf is the most hated person in the world.
Seriously, from The Big Lead to Sports Illustrated to Slate and beyond, we've been hearing about just how hated Devo is and why he's everything that's wrong with America.
Here's the funny thing about that...when a story snowballs and catches fire like this, it's only a matter of time before it gets back to the guy himself. Pat Forde took it upon himself to let Devo know about his status. It was, simply, not much of a surprise.
"They probably think I'm an a-hole, man," the Syracuse shooting guard said with a smile on his face. "I know they do. I know everybody thinks I'm an a-hole."
He knows that because he hears it in every opposing gym, and he can read about it online as well. One sports blog, The Big Lead, compiled a list of the five most hated players in this NCAA tournament, and Devendorf was No. 1, followed by Tyler Hansbrough, Greg Paulus, Hasheem Thabeet and Jon Scheyer.
"That's pretty good company right there," Devendorf said, laughing, after shooting Arizona State out of the NCAA tournament, 78-67.
Forde rightly wonders aloud why the bulk of that list is white players and righly says it's a discussion for another day. But as for Devo, it's pretty obvious to see why he's so despised. He's loud. He talks trash. He carries himself with a "F-U" swagger. (not to mention the tattoos and "the incident") And probably his worst offense...he backs it all up when it matters.
Of all people, Gerry McNamara stepped up to defend Eric and shine a different light on that intensity that can rile others up so much:
"They don't understand him or know who he is," said former teammate Gerry McNamara. "They think they do but they're wrong. He's the best teammate I ever played with. He would do anything for this team."
Strong words from a source that Syracuse fans stop and listen to when he speaks. At a certain point, the hate for Devo has to level off. If it gets louder from here on out, it's not because they've found new reasons to hate him. It's just that new opponents need a good reason to hate Syracuse. Says Devo...
"We keep winning and people will get madder and madder," he said.
That's a problem that Devo, and all of us, are surely fine dealing with.
H/T: Daily Orange
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Interesting Point
On how the list is overwhelmingly white. I never thought about that – but that’s VERY interesting. It’s a whole ‘nother can of worms, but I think someone has to start facing it. I don’t understand it – nor can I truly justify it, but it makes sense to me.
Tattoos
I think it’s funny that people bring up Devo’s tattoos. I mean, granted, they’re hideous. But LeBron is everyone’s darling, and he’s tatted up like it’s no one’s business. I mean, probably 75% of all NBA athletes are covered in tattoos, and maybe half of the kids with scholarships in Div 1 basketball have tattoos.
So why are Devo’s tattoos evidence of his punkishness?
@ MSG
“Jumping on the Madison Square Garden press table and screaming an F’ Bomb into the stands”
Sorry, but that is so wrong and yet so awesome at the same time.
Keep winning...
…and I hope that the hating of him reaches the crescendo when he leads the Orange to the national title. Eat it, haters.
"(BARF)" - Donovan McNabb, during his game winning drive against Virginia Tech in 1998
What I really want is a follow up story on the Eric Devendorf "incident" with some actual journalism.
Because people frequently refer to Devendorf as “punching” or “hitting” or “slapping” the girl, but according to the Post Standard:
The board found that Devendorf had violated codes of conduct that included harassment, but it cleared him of physically harming the student.
While wrong (plus he was already on probation), the evilness level is significantly lowered when you realize he never actually punched or hit a woman.
I think someone that has already formed an opinion about him would probably say I’m nit picking, but I think it’s actually a very important point because “he hit a girl” is normally the thing that gets this fiery snowball of Devendorf hatin’ rolling down hill.
The Chin Strap
I wouldn’t mind him at all if it weren’t for the chin strap beard he has going on. Goatee, fu man chu, mutton chops: anything would look better. Then again, as long as he is hitting big shots, I guess it could be a lot worse.
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