Most hated Pro athletes.....

I will try to teach my kid not to be selfish or immature like swindle did, ON A FEW OCCASIONS. I will try to teach my kid not to run his boat up on a concrete slab like Ike did ON ONE OCCASSION(or two), but as far as the two fishermen go. They don't scratch the surface of being a bad person.

Do this, take each person, weigh the good and bad of each, and see which is heavier. That is what matters the most. This is my opinion on that.

"all of us have acted immature when it comes to fishing, I'll admit it, it's because we are not created perfect, but we are all good people who have ethics that are capable setting a good example just like these two. Like I said before, drama makes the world go round, and these two kept it spinnig a while. lol.
These guys are successful whether we like it or not, I am not a fan of swindle unless he makes up for the bad, and you guys are the same for Ike, but I will definately want my kid to grow up with the talent and endurance that these guys are capable of.

You said it, if someone takes all the fun out of fishing, or at least brings too much drama into it, they are cheating themselves. I get nervous in a tourney, and testy when I am pushed for time, not much weight, and I backlash and eagle's nest, funny now but not then. But I don't think I would take it too far. They are both successful though and put extensive time into the game, maybe they need a long break.

What bothers me most concerning the likes of Ike, Charlie Moore, et all, is that it seems that they have played a huge role in what I call the "Wrestle-ization" of bass tournaments. I, like a huge number of the rest of you, have been watching bass fishing on television since the early eighties. I got some of my first exposure to the sport while watching Bill Dance and Jimmy Houston saturday mornings with my great-grandfather. Those guys and their contemporaries came to personify what a bass fisherman should be. They were all gentlemen who displayed gentlemently conduct as well as being able to deliver a great deal of information and produce fish consistantly. They presented themselves as someone, who if your child turnd out to imulate, you could be proud of their conduct.
Ike, Skeet Reese, and the others don't exhibit the kind of traits that many of us still hold dear. There is no humility or good sportsmanship, it's all about them and their unrelenting drive for self gratification at the end of a 7' pole. To some extent I think that a digreee of their porularity is due to the attention to their antics produced by the ESPNs of the world in an effort to generate raitings by presenting someting foreign and unfamiliar to those of us who have been enjoying the sport for years. They are in essence attempting to capitalize on shock value coupled with some digree of success on the water. Ike and Co. are more than happy to perpetuate the immage crafted and distributed by the producers of the shows/events because the face time generated results in more exposure for their sponsors, which results in larger checks with more lucrative sponsor ships to follow. Do I think Ike is genuinely excited by the fact that he lands a 3lb'er on the second day of a tournament, no. I think that he feels obligated to preform his antics because he feels that that is what expected of him by his fans and sponsors, their expectations fufilled by their floating jester, in turn their acceptance fufilling his need for gratification.
Ike personally aside, this whole "act", wether genuine or not, is the result of the effect of producers who have no insight into the culture or mentality of the fishing community. This effect seems to have become more pronbounced now that ESPN has taken holds of the reigns of telivised BASS events. More than likely the producers of the programming wish to broaden the viewership of their product by presenting programming they are more comfortable with, all the while ailenating the core of their constiuentancy. The producers of ESPN's outdoor programming appear to be more concerned with their own version of Political Correctness, than they are in continuing the traditions founded through three decades of successful programming. They are obviously concerned with the traditional demographics of the fanbase of the sport and have enacted measures that have begun to focus on anglers from less traditional geographic origins, such as New England and the west coast, and doggedly promote this "new school" of fishermen.
The producers are to blane because of the way in which they have sought to manipulate the traditional face of the sport by focusing on the more spectacular or outrageous actions of this new generation. What they have in then end produced is a product that has lost some of it's credibility to those who for years have been devoted fans and viewers. Nothing illustrates this better than the simple fact that they sandwiched coverage of the BAssmaster Clasic this past year with reruns of the world eating championships (no pun intended). Nuff said......

Keep On Chuckin'

Denny Brauer won the bassmasters classic in 1998 and fininshed in second place in 1999.Denny is an old school guy and is very well respected by his peers on tour.He has made numerous comments about "ike's" antics over the last couple of years and if a veteran like denny has a problem with this guy then i'd have to believe that what he says is legitimate.We all know ike does his screaming and dancing to attract attention and if thats what he has to do then let him do it but i prefer the guys who let their fishing draw attention to themselves.I fished against ike on okeechobee back in 2000 and he didn't carry on then the way that he does now.Like someone else said,the more attention he gets the more sponsorship money he's gonna get,thats why he does it plain and simple.

I agree with Calvin's post.

Viper & Stonewall

WELL SAID..........

That's an awesome thing that your club does. My hats off to you--what a great way to bring a little joy into those kids lives. I agree that some kids take well to fishing and some don't. Both of my sons love actually catching fish but neither has a lot of patience when the bite is tough. The nice thing about it is that they enjoy just cruising around the lake when we are checking out new spots. I honestly get a bigger charge out of teaching and helping them catch fish than catching them myself. I hope they never grow out of wanting to hit the water with their old man. For now they get really excited when we plan a trip to the lake but I worry about the rapidly approaching teen-age years ahead. It will be a sad, sad day if they are ever "too cool" for it.

You are right...Let's get the sponsor shirts off, no more boat wraps, no television coverage of the pros, boycott ESPN and their ownership, no more Lucky Craft crankbaits, Brush Hogs or Terminator Titanium Spinnerbaits...SARCASM!!!

Things change and the sport of fishing in no exception...I am not saying that Ike or Swindle are role models to our children, but they are only humans that are, in some ways, playing the part...I am a role model to my children and I will be the one that discusses appropriate behaviors with them....Just because these men are, at times, loud and animated DO NOT make them bad people...

For me, I enjoy watching the evolution of this great sport...Matter of fact I would love to se Ike win next the '07 Classic and dance a jig right there on stage with the lights and fireworks....Oh wait, they have to go with all the other advances...Never mind....

Get the net!!!

Since when has bass fishing been a Southern Christian event????

I guess everyone forgets about the slew of drunk rednecks that take to the water every year.

Personally, I'm a huge Ike fan. He is his own person and doesn't try to conform to please the majority. He chased his dream and attained it. Besides, mostly around here, "southern christian" means intolerant, prejudiced against anyone not like themselves, racist, shallow, superficial rednecks. In other words, the opposite of Jesus. Anyway, I'd be proud if my children saw Ike as a role model. A person who goes his own way, believes in himself, never gives up, overcomes great obstacles, and chases and catches his dreams.

If you think IKe is his own man you'd better wake up and smell the coffee. He's prostituted himself to ESPN/BASS and is willing to make a fool of himself in front of millions for the MONEY that a lot of the folks around here claim that fishing is all about these days.

He didn't prostitute himself. They didn't even like how he acted at first. He acted that way AGAINST their wishes. BASS and ESPN came around to his way when and only when he became so popular. Ike is smart, like him or not, he knows how to market himself. Ultimately it is good for the sport. People with charisma draw more viewers. More viewers = more interest = more sponsors/contributors = more money = more respect. Also BASS needs more diversity such as Ike and the Japanese fisherman. It is a new world and dixie is just gonna have to learn to be more open-minded and accepting. I live on a farm in kentucky and always have but I welcome the new spirit in the sport.