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

[smuckey41]

the bible says not to judge anyone. so the first thing the people of the sport do. "judge". people are just people and nobody is perfect. and just like the old song you cant please everyone so you got to please your self. i thank you should get to know someone first befor you judge. and not just by what other people say. i bet the people that are the most hated could give a darn what you think about them and would be the first not to judge you. just my 2 cents worth.




thanks smuckey41

[hairball]

I just seen Ike at the Cincinnati boat show. He took his time to answer all questions as best he could and was very courteous to everyone. What really stood out to me though, was the way he worked the kids that were there. The front row was basically all kids and he devoted most of his time to answering their questions and getting them involved. To me, that really underscored how passionate he is about the sport. I hope he continues to do exactly what he is doing now for a long long time.

[Dave Stewart]

Here is an interesting tidbit of information for you:

Week before last I was at the North Carolina Bass and Saltwater Fishing Show in Raleigh working with the Hawg Trough and doing a few seminars. There were 3 professional anglers there during the show doing seminars...all 3 of them big names with two of them being past Classic winners. 2 of the 3 pros were from N.C. and local favorites of course. Guess who drew the biggest crowds to his seminars and was surrounded by anglers aging from small kids to seniors older than myself??? Yep, your right...Iaconelli. Guess who treated me like an old friend and not just someone there to serve them? Yep...Iaconelli. Guess who had more than enough trading cards for the kids so that he did not run out and have to tell the kids he was sorry but he did not have enough cards for them all to have one? Yep...Iaconnelli. Guess who did the best seminars in my opinion? Yep...you got it right.

[James]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jan-26-06 AT 03:33PM (EST)[/font][p]
First off, Dave its nice to hear some with your background step up and offer your 2 cents on this highly popular topic. It was well received and myself did not find it shocking to hear what you reported.

Now for my 2 cents....

Ike is not only a great fisherman, but he is an entertainer. Why, because he shows emotion! And people hate him because he shows emotion. Maybe its old school that thinks that his emotion is just too over board for the sport, but before we go any farther lets look at some of the other sports that athletes show emotion in.

NFL: Show a bit, ok, too much gets you a penatly and a fine.
MLB: No emotion with the exception of a hand pump or a hand in the air.
NBA: No emotion what so ever, unless you talk about there contract not getting extended or getting in to their wallets.
NASCAR: You talk to a Driver who just got wrecked and they show raw emotion...why do fans watch this, for the emotion!

The other sports you get none, except the post game interview which by that time most people have forgotten about what happened to begin with.

So when it comes to fishing, you hear alot of people say, just catch the fish, put it in the well and fish. But why is it wrong to show emotion if he wants to. I know that when i land a 4lber and its in the boat, you better believe im gonna show emotion. To me, i dont care how many 4lbers or better you catch, its always a thrill. Stick another $100,000 on that fish for the difference of winning or fishing out of the top 10 and that will bring emotion. All my buddies give my a hard time cause im as close to an Ike that you will meet on the water when i put a good fish in the boat. So does it mean that im disgrasing the sport by doing this, although i have been this way all my life, wether its been in sports, fishing or anything. When i succeed in life, i will show emotion. Maybe if you stop and look at it, maybe he feels that way as well, when he cathces good fish, he feels like he has done what he planned to do.

As far as the entertainer part of it, i can give 2 true examples of this. First lets look at another event that is on TV that not until about 4 years ago was exciting to watch on TV at all, and thats poker. Think about watching poker on tv and the only time you could see the cards were if the hand was completely played out. BORING. No they have the hole cam's you can see the cards and see how the hands are played out. Since then, poker has gone nuts and now everyone wants to play it.

Fishing is the same way. Put a Classic on from 1985, have all the big guys fishing and catching fish. For normal anglers taht enjoy this, we will watch this and enjoy it, that is unless our wives are in the room, in which time they will complain about fishing on the tv, (at least mine does.>>LOL) However, now if i turn on fishing and start to watch it, the first thing out of my wife's mouth is, is Ike on this one. My wife could care less if he wins or looses, if he was fishing with a brush hog in 30ft of water or a top water in 2 ft of water, she watches it cause she likes watching Ike. My 8 yr is the same way, when i turn on the fish shows i have Tivo'ed hes looking for Van Dam, Ike, Swindle. Why, cause these guys entertain, that are brand names that sell. You could ask him who Nixon is and he wouldnt know, but the guys that are popular gets his attention.

The point im making on all this is emotion sells and entertains. During the time we live in, you have to entertain on nearly everything to get someones attention. Still dont believe me, look at commericals. They dont drop a million on a boring commerical for the half time of the superbowl now do they.

Take other names such as The King of Bling Bling, Jaason Quinn, Big Mouth Skeet Reese, and of course the G man himself, Gerald Swindle. Quinn has more gold in his head that a California gold mine, Skeets mouth is as big as the state of California, & Swindle has just as much gum flappin going on as anyone. Have either of these 3 guys won a single tournament on the circuit, not to my knowledge, so why are they so popular, bacause they entertain!

As the old say goes, To each their own! Thats the beautiful thing about his country we live in, everyone is entitled to their opinion, whether its right or wrong, and tomorrow always brings another day!

So Ike, keep on squeeling and calling every fish a giant, Jaason Quinn, get about another pound of gold shoved in your face, Skeet, you look like you need some more Bleech dog, and Swindle, at least have the common sense to pull the trolling motor the next time you are going to go act like an A$$ on film, but while you are doing this, keep showing the integrity to the sport and keep fishing. Everying else will even out in the end!

Shouts Out to these Guys! I think they help keep the sport entertaining and fun!

Skeeter James

[Danny]

Dave,

It is only because of your testimonials about Ike that I have tried to condition my statements about his actions on TV. I have tried to give him the credit he is due for his actions at in person appearances. Again, all that is based upon your statements, as I have never met him.

Thanks for keeping us all grounded that this guy is just being an entertainer. As I have said, his on camera antics have grown old, but I am sure he really is a great guy in person.

For the record, we've, or at least I've never seen him act like Gerald Swindle did about the bridge fishing incident on camera.

Danny

[Dave Stewart]

Danny: The thoughts I have posted here on Ike in the past are views that I have formulated by being in personal contact with him at the fishing shows I have worked with him. By the way, his seminars are very animated also but I have not seen anything out of him that I did not believe to just be a reflection of his personality when he is doing his seminars. I really don't watch many fishing shows but the few I have that I have seen Ike in I am certain that some of his antics are genuine and some put on for the camera. All I can really say is that when I have been with him either one on one or observed him with the folks at the shows that he has never shown me anything but that he is a professional and personably likable. I know one thing: if I tried to copy his seminar style I would look nothing but foolish and fake...because it just is not in my personality to be like him.

[bassin101]

Dave is right. I met Iaconelli about a year ago and guess who stayed up until 1 in the morning talking fishing and sharing secrets with my friend and I yep you guessed it..Ike. None of the other pro's wanted to give you the time of day

[mperry]

The guy has a chance to win a few hundred thousand dollars. He catches a 3 pound fish and shows emotion. I may scream to if I had some money on the line. Is it fake, probably but could also be genuine. Just think doing fishing and hundreds of thousands of dollars and I would probably get pretty excited to. Also I wasn't comparing Jim Houston to Iconelli but Jimmy shows emotion when he catches a fish and so does Ike but you never hear anyone saying anything about Jimmy. (I am a big fan of Jimmy Houston). Love to watch his shows and part of the reason is just to see what he is going to do when he catches a fish. I don't see anything wrong with it.

[eatsleepfish]

I like the Rick Clunn approach.

1. catch Keeper fish
2. Put keeper in livewell
3. realize that the active feeding window can be short
4. immediately present lure again a catch another keeper
5. become the most masterfull bass angler of all time and never once raise his voice.

Role model? Absolutely!!

remember eatsleepfish

[ranimated]

I'd just like to point out how many posts this thread has. Ike gets attention. And also the fact that GQ listed him at all, and among 10 Lleyton Hewitt, 9 A. J. Pierzynski, 8 Phil Mickelson 7 Bonzi Wells, 6 Ike, 5 Kobe Bryant, 4 Curt Schilling, 3 Kurt Busch, 2 Barry Bonds, 1 Terrell Owens. Goes to show that love him or hate him, there is no such thing as bad publicity among public figures/pro athletes/entertainers.
Ike knows how to draw attention (and I think most of it is his real personality), and in the public arena that is worth its weight in gold. Some might call it a sell-out, I would call it brilliant marketing. He wouldn't have this opportunity to market himself had he not earned his way up the ranks as an outstanding angler. I read his book and from what I can tell, he worked hard and sacrificed much to be where he is. I salute him.

[zx150]

If you want to talk about diversity look at Jason Quinn. He does not look anything like an A Typical Southeran Bass Angler. No body here has said one thing about him or the way he looks and in my opinion it is because he does not act like a jack#$& when he catches a fish. Just my opinion Ryan.