Most hated Pro athletes.....

[Danny]

Thanks to a link from bassfan, I found a little piece about the 6th most hated pro athlete: Mike Iconelli.

Now please don't hate the messenger, I'm just pasting the link and the posted article.

http://men.style.com/gq/features/ful...4103&pageNum=3

Now the article:

"""6. Michael Iaconelli

We give you America’s biggest basshole. As one rival puts it, Iaconelli, a loud, brash New Jerseyite, has “disgraced” the predominantly southern, rural, Christian sport of angling. “When he catches one,” says celebrated fisherman Denny Brauer, “you’ve got the fist pumps, the running around the boat, the lying flat on the boat. He’ll stare at the fish, yell at it, point at it. He’ll shake his finger at it.”

Iaconelli has repeatedly defied the sport’s time-honored codes. Among them:

Respect a man’s water. “He sees somebody catching fish and pulls right in front of ’em,” angler Brent Chapman explains. At an event on the Potomac River in June 2005, Chapman says, Iaconelli observed him hauling in a six-pound bass. “He proceeded to start fishing right in front of me. I asked him, ‘Are you really gonna fish here?’ He proceeded to yell profanities at me.”

No wakes means no wakes. “A lot of times, he has eight to ten boats following him,” says Brauer. At Lake Wissota in 2005, Brauer adds, “He would come charging into our area with his group and just totally ransack the whole little basin for an hour and then be gone. He ruined the water.”
Lose with honor. At the Bassmaster Classic—the Super Bowl of angling—in Charlotte in 2004, Iaconelli “was suffering from a bad day of fishing,” says rival Bernie Schultz, “and he deliberately fished out-of-bounds to get himself disqualified. It’s very difficult to even get qualified for that championship, and he turned it into a circus act. It was an inexcusable way of keeping himself in the forefront with the media. I know it was calculated. I know he did it purposefully.”

“Iaconelli is a big-city angler and a product of the street,” Schultz adds. “Our sport should be portrayed more like golf or tennis or sports of that nature.”""""


As I said, I did not write this stuff, I just read it, and knew we had discussed it here, so I wanted to share it.

Danny

[TritonKTB3]

I could do without the yelling, dancing and such but I have been to a Bassmaster University where he was speaking and he is a very good speaker. He doesn't talk over your head or act like his way is the only way to catch fish. One thing is for sure, love him or hate him the man can catch fish. I think that is what has irratated pros the most. That a "Yankee" has been kicking their butts and he got his start through the Federation.
My 2 cents

[BankBeater]

I like Ike, Because he really can fish, And he really fishes hard. I've never seen him cut anyone off or blow someone on the bank, But maybe he does.

I do think the yelling and screaming and rolling around on the deck is phoney and contrived, I can't believe anyone is that happy to catch a 3 pounder. If the other pros focus on his "Act" and get off their game he will beat them, And IMO thats why he does it.

[ChampioNinKYJerryCole]

I had the pleasure of fishing with Mike in Canada a couple of weeks after he won the Classic. He is the most focused fisherman I have ever met, and he gets just excited when fishing for fun. He will talk fishing with anyone that wants to till the cows come home. When we got to the Airport to come back to the US he posed for pic's with any one that asked and signed autographs for anyone that asked. Before I met him I did'nt think much of him, but now I think he is very good for fishing because he appeals to the younger generation and if gets some of them into fishing more power to him. And I have been lucky enough to catch a couple of fish in my life that if I could break dance I would have. And every keeper I catch at T-ville I'm screaming at the top ooof my Lungs inside as YOU ALL are!


Jerry

[BassBest]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jan-21-06 AT 11:45AM (EST)[/font][p]The first time I saw Ike fishing, I was a little worried about the screaming and such, but the more I watched him, the more I like him. The guy won a classic and kicked, screamed, danced (whatever you call that rolly polly thing he does, I like it), the whole way. He probably did the other anglers a favor by WAKING THEM UP. Most other fishermen whisper in the tourneys. We don't want fish to get used to silence, let them get use to noise, evidently it didn't hurt!! I can't remember Danny's post but was it Denny Bruar who said to think of our sport as golf? Denny Denny Denny, you should be ashamed. I don't think he has won a Bassmaster classic but I could be wrong. Look at the group that hates him, mostly non-classic winners who have tried the last 20 years. I don't hear Rick Clunn or Kevin Van Dam or Mark Davis slammin him. As long as the guy truly fishes fair and honest, let's have more of him. Go Ike!!!

Ok I reread the post it was Schultz who said think of fishing like golf. hahahaha Schultz, another non-classic winner. Wasn't it Bernie who pulled Mike in the middle of the lake in the UMF series? Although it was totally tourney legal because the rules tell them to do whatever it takes to beat the other guy and do it any chance they get. I sure wish they would have left that part out of the compitition, make that another series like "Ultimate Slamfishin" or something.

[Danny]

BB,

I did not think Denny was slammin' Ike. I thought his comments were taken out of a comment on Ike, and so the term out of context might apply.

I think it was Schultz that said that about the golf, but I did not go back and check, so I too could be wrong.

WOW, how hard would it have been for me to go check??

I just and went and checked, yes it was schultz.

I do know that on one of the E50's, the cameras caught Ike blowing by Larry Nixon while he was fishing, and Larry even commented on the fact that Ike had ruined the water.

Guys, I give it to you, HE CAN CATCH FISH!! No question. I also agree, we have had testimonials on here about how great he is with the fans. That said, think about all the posts WE all make about the lack of respect anglers show... blowing by us while we are fishing, cutting us off, etc.....

I don't know of any of us that have fished against Ike in a tournament, I know I haven't, so I can only base my thoughts on what they show on TV, and I know ESPN is out to sensationalize the sport to get folks watching. It seemed to me that Schultz was really the one slamming Ike the most in that article. Other than ultimate match fishing, I'm not sure I've really ever seen Schultz do well, and in UMF, it was the wildcard that got him to the semi-finals, wasn't it?


My opinion of Ike really doesn't matter to anyone other than me. However, the only thing I really don't like is the hollering he does, and the fact that he has gotten to where he looks for an audiance before he hollers. Now other than that, what can I criticize him for? Don't all of us set the hook and say "it's a big 'un!!!" and then often we pull in a dink. We say wow, it felt a lot bigger, or he sure thought he was bigger than he really is. Also, everytime we lose a fish, or break one off, or miss a bite, it was always a "Really Good One." I have fished with a lot of guys, and undoubtedly, they miss a bite and say that was a 5 lber, I could tell by the bite! What???

I take that article for what it was. That was the first time I have ever read or heard anyone claim Ike has cut them off. Let me read it from other anglers, several of them, and I think we can then say there is a trend that "may" represent the truth.

I still wish I could catch fish like Ike!!

I'm still glad I am not screaming at the top of my lungs. I guess I feel a little like Jeff Fisher.... "Act like you have been here before." Let me win a big pot... and see if I can contain myself...LOL

Danny

[BassBest]

Apologies to Denny, whatever happen to his show, I liked that one. I too have been with people who break off 6+lbers on the hookset, but they sure do real good on those 2lbers. I also know of people who get a "bite" then set the hook on nothing, and say "ohhh he spit it out" My opinion is rocks can't spit anything out. lol, it's a fun sport with endless opportunities.

[zx150]

You either love him or hate him. Tennis had John Mcenrow (sorry for the miss spelling) golf had John Daly basketball has Ron Artest football has Terrell Owens. I personally don't care for the guy or any of the above, but they add an interesting aspect to the sport.

[LINCOLN]

Charlie Moore who could like that loud mouth

[mperry]

I personally am no longer that young anymore but I think anything that brings in the younger groups is good for the sport. Fishing should be fun. It should not be about the money. I may not like seeing him act like an idiot but I have to say he has been good for the sport. With all the animal rights activists out there anyone or anything we can do to draw good attention to fishing can't be all that bad. I also personally enjoy watching him and I think if fishing was like golf I would not be doing it. (I really don't like Charlie Moore though)

[Calvin]

I would like to see Ike and Charlie Moore in a fish off
and pull the drain plug and sink both!!!!! Both give this
sport a black eye!!!!

[90skeeter]

things change with time and yeah alot of people hate it when someone comes in and isnt"traditional"it happens in everything just like country music when the outlaws came too town