The post on Saturday which showed Jay Wright on the verge of tears talking about how much he loves his team received a predictable series of comments about why Villanova sucks, why they’ll get bounced early in the tournament, why they don’t deserve a one seed, why Jay Wright is a douchebag, why Nova people are douchebags, why the Big East sucks, etc. For some reason, Philly people who went to schools other than Villanova can’t objectively watch or discuss Villanova’s basketball team because they don’t like the fact that Villanova students are generally wealthier than the students and alumni from other city schools (for some reason, Penn is immune to this argument). Or because they don’t like what Rollie Massimino did 30 years ago. Or because they think Jay Wright, who’s had arguably more success in 13 years at Villanova than John Chaney had in 24 years at Temple, can’t coach. Or because the Big East is now a supposedly terrible conference because it lost some of its bigger schools (for some reason, St. Joe’s going undefeated in 2004 didn’t receive the same sort of scrutiny, locally).
I can’t possibly change the perception of Villanova, its students and alumni. I went there and can say that there’s merit to some of it. There are a lot of snobby douchebags. I imagine most expensive private colleges have the same problem. But how any of that relates to Villanova’s basketball team is beyond me. The players hail mostly from the same inner city schools as the players on St. Joe’s, Temple and La Salle. But of course when Villanova has the one-off white guy, like Ryan Arcidiacono or Mike Nardi, he becomes a symbol of Nova’s preppiness in the eyes of many Philly folks (for some reason, Juan Fernandez and Pat Carroll weren’t viewed the same way).
And then there’s Wright. While he may be out of central casting for “Villanova’s coach,” you’ll be hard pressed to find anyone, from anywhere in the city, who can say anything bad about him. Wright, who grew up in Bucks County, has done nothing but embrace the Big 5 and its legacy in Philly (admittedly, the same can’t be said for his predecessors). Besides that one time John Chaney wanted to fight him for rescheduling a game, you won’t find another Big 5 coach who has a problem with him. Hell, beloved-in-Philly Fran Dunphy, WHO WENT TO MALVERN PREP AND LIVES IN VILLANOVA, has been a guest on Jay’s radio show multiple times. Meanwhile, even the most ardent St. Joe’s fan will admit that Phil Martelli can be a pompous blowhard at times, and I’m guessing Temple folks aren’t exactly thrilled with Dunphy’s inability to coach his way out of the opening weekend. Yet it’s Wright who still receives a majority of Philly’s misplaced ire or isn’t given the credit he’s due. “He can only recruit and can’t coach,” but he’s been to two Sweet 16s, an Elite 8 and a Final Four in 13 years at Nova with only a handful of NBA players (and only one who has really amounted to anything– Kyle Lowry). For real, what is your problem with Jay Wright? He’s better looking than you? Has more money? What is it, Scoob?
All that nonsense aside, many still aren’t sold on Villanova and their prospects for a one seed. Someone asked what my rationale was for saying that they’re “goddamn good.” This is my rationale: They’re 28-3. They beat Kansas and Iowa and won their preseason tournament. They lost on the road at Syracuse and to a team that obviously has their number– Creighton. They crushed the rest of their opponents. Great ones? No. Mid majors? Not even close. Many are still NCAA Tournament caliber teams. People forget that rolling a relatively easy conference has worked out just fine for Gonzaga, Memphis and Butler in recent years. And did Philly folks say the same things about St. Joe’s when they rolled the hilarious A-10 in 2004? A little bit, but not as much. Plus, if you watch Nova play, you’d realize that they are easily the most well-rounded and probably best defensive team Jay’s ever coached. They’re scoring is insanely balanced (three players average 14 points per game). They move the ball as good as any team in the country. Their defense creates havoc (only one opponent in the last five games has broken 60 points) and is reminiscent of the team defense that crushed UCLA and Duke en route to the Final Four in 2009. And that supposedly terrible schedule? It was the 18th toughest in the country, according to RealTimeRPI.com. Did they play the UCONNs, Louisvilles and Syracuses of the world on a weekly basis? No. But while it may not be the old Big East, a conference with five 20-win teams and mediocre teams named Georgetown and Marquette isn’t exactly the Big Sky. And all Villanova did was go 16-2 against those given opponents. Yet, for some reason, people still aren’t sold.
Cue the hatred.
UPDATE: Villanova will finish the regular season ranked third:
The No. 3 ranking of @NovaMBB is the highest for the Wildcats in 2013-14. Last time VU was ranked as high was Feb. 15, 2010.
— Mike Sheridan (@sheridanmj4) March 10, 2014
148 Responses
mike nardi wasn’t white, bro.
Articles like this are the reason people hate Villanova. Bunch of whining pussies.
Or because Villanova students say that they went to school in Philadelphia, which is bogus.
Who the fuck cares????
and with that logic, how dare those fans of the giants and jets call themselves new york since their team plays in east rutherford! what a truly dumbass argument. agreed in that who the f cares that the school itself is not in the city! yeah, theyre really missing out on all the excitement that olney and north philly have to offer. additionally, i find it very comical that many of the nova haters are also fans of the irish. yeah, because notre dame doesnt have any yuppy white snobs walking around on its campus either.
Did you really just compare Villanova to Notre Dame?!? Seriously?!? Go back to bed you fucking loser.
If you could read you would see that the poster said that some Villanova haters are notre dame fans. Try again… And if you’re trying to say that the demographic of notre dame and Villanova are not comparable then, you are crazy.
Well said kyle
Thanks for writing this Kyle (I live in Villanova and they are “my” college team as I went to a D-III school). The hatred for the program in the city is really pathetic, and stems purely from jealously. I almost wonder how winning a title would be received by the rest of the city at this point…they could get boo’d at their own parade.
AKA I still live with my parents although I own a BMW they bought me. I have a degree but no aspirations to works cause my parents pay for everything. Daddy says he can get me a job at his company but I’m not feeling it.
You woudnt understand you went to a D3 school!
We hate Nova because the fans are the most obnoxious, fair-weather fan base in the city. The sense of entitlement that surrounds that fan base is off the fucking charts.
Of course it’s hard to find a die hard Nova fan when they’re not having a 28-3 season. I want success for every for other City 6 team….but not those assholes from the main line.
You can stick your “V” for victory right up your ass Kyle.
Jealousy is a sad thing. People love to hate on the Main Line. Fact is…we are richer than you…we are smarter than you…and year after year we have a better basketball squad than any other school in the city. If you want to discuss this more we can in person. You drive your beater car and I’ll drive my Benz, Bitch.
Sorry, dude, they mean “Main Line” as in Lower Merion, Villanova and Bryn Mawr.
Nobody was talking about the “Main Line” of Upper Darby. And having a friend named Ben who owns an Hyundai, does not mean you drive a “Benz”.
Who is vanilla Nova ? Do they have a real basketball team like those schools in Kentucky ?
Do you have to pay to play basketball at Vanilla Nova ?
Why do there fan’s only attend when they are winning ?
Most of the time you can see many empty seats on there one or two nationally covered games. ???????
^ this is the biggest Nova comment ever. How can anyone like a person like this.
I don’t get the hate, it has to be some sort of jealousy thing. I grew up in Delaware County, went to Upper Darby High School and then graduated from Villanova. I root for all of the Big 5. I think people just have a hard time getting past the idea in their head that Villanova is a tiny private school that can’t possibly provide both high quality basketball and academics for some reason. The only problem I had with Villanova was having to look at Mets t-shirts on an almost daily basis because of the New York transplants.
Students from the other Big 5 schools tend to hate Villanova because Villanova was the school that tried to end the Big 5. Maybe that is the problem.
I’ll explain peoples hate rather easy. Jealousy.
I’ll explain people’s hate rather easy. Statements like “They hate because they are jealous” are the reason people hate Villanova.
I semi-get the hatred for the student body (I’m a 2013 alum of Villanova and even I hate 75% of the people I went to school with…pastel colored pants everywhere…) at times, but people do tend to hate on the Wildcats with no real justification. They’ve never been to school and rarely interacted with any alums, so where’s the basis?
Ur grandmother puts out, ya dork
I went to St. Joe’s but always grew up liking the Big 5 teams so I do like Villanova. I think this team, in particular, embodies a “Philly” type of team and I thoroughly enjoy watching them. However, I think the student population, in general, is where a lot of people have a strong disconnect with Villanova. Although many people that go to the school are not d-bags there are a ton that are. They give off the vibe that they’re better than you. I was at the game on Saturday (and others), and there’s just an overwhelming sense of douchieness in the arena. I was at the West Chester – Nova scrimmage too and I had some blowhard behind me booing the refs and yelling at them. There’s my response. Not the team as much as the people at the school. Love watching this team though and hope they can make a run.
I like Nova’. I don’t know why anyone doesn’t like Nova’ really…
I think the comparison to Chaney is a little too far fetched for now. Wright can definitely be up there by the end of his career though.
FACT: Jay Wright has been to more Final Fours than John Chaney.
Get off my dick, Kyle.
Juan Fernandez was white?
For every student who wears pastel pants (way less than 1%) there are about 100 students who will spend their spring breaks volunteering – which is more than can be said for most. Also, any haters who live in Delco and root hard for Notre Dame are beyond hypocritical as that school is filled with way more rich, entitled d-bags than Villanova will ever have ~ by a long shot.
Volunteering at Urban Outfitters doesn’t count.
Again…. Nova and Notre Dame are not in the same stratosphere academically or athletically please get over yourselves. also, when is the last time you were out at south bend around the student body? I’m going to go with a long time ago or never
How do you know?
i did not attend villanova, but i will agree with you that there is an extraordinary amount of disdain many local fans feel towards villanova. in my encounters with it, it has been mostly temple alum and for much of the reasons you mention above. i dont get it either. however, your biased view is preventing you from seeing that nova is not a legitimate threat because your characterizing mentions of deficiencies as hate! yes, they have 26 wins and can only play who is on their schedule, but their 3 losses really stand out to me and others because they came against quality opponents. its been a long time since that upset over KU and come next weekend, nova will be playing quality opponents and i just dont see them fairing too well when that happens.
would you rather their losses come against scrub teams? I mean seriously, were they supposed to go undefeated? I would rather lose to Syracuse and Creighton then to Depaul and St. Joes.
true, but when you come up small in the only 3 games against your only 3 quality opponents, that tells me youre not big time and that much of your seasonal success comes at the expense of softies. hence, that is why i do not see them doing well in the tourney because that is when they’ll play QUALITY teams.
Your right – Kansas, Iowa, Georgetown (2x), St. John’s (2x), Xavier (2x), the entire Big 5, etc. (I could go on) are all poor quality teams. Our 3 losses came against 2 top 20 teams. All we have done is defeat the other 26 teams that lined up against us.
As a Nova alum, I cheer for all Big 5 teams when not lined up against Nova. I was on the St. Joe’s bandwagon when they went undefeated. I pulled for Temple in their better years. Maybe Nova goes deep into the tournament . . . . maybe they don’t. Either way, has been a great year for Nova and by proxy a Big 5 school getting a 1/2 seed.
Fuck the big 5, Its the city 6. GO Dragons!
What are you talking about? I thought everyone loved Nova. I know I do!
Villanova is the Sidney Crosby of Philly college hoops.
Gets hated on for some legitimate reasons stemming from past actions as well as jealousy. Because of this, Villanova/Crosby is hated more than probably warranted.
But the hate continues in part due to this exact reason- the immediate need of fans to defend it do death. Like something awful is going to happen because of the hate it receives.
That’s incredibly fucking annoying. And so it continues the spiral of hate.
Congrats, Kyle. Did you want to be like the asshole Pittsburghers who defend Sidney to the ends of the Earth because god forbid someone not like something you associate yourself with? Because that’s exactly what you sound like. Take your success and enjoy it. Everyone else doesn’t have to bow down to the greatness.
First, let it be said Villanova isn’t a Philadelphia school. They are in Villanova, as you stated. They constantly thrust themselves into the discussion as a Philly school, which they’re not.
Jay, while a nice guy, is a great recruiter and a mediocre coach. Give Dunphy that talent and they make those runs or more. Give Chaney the ability to coach in the Big East when he was coaching and he’d have many more accolades than when he coached in the A10 (which you belittle out one side of your mouth, then use it against Chaney). The Big East (and mostly Villanova) did everything in their power to keep Temple out of the BE Conference because they knew on an even playing field, it wasn’t close. Not to mention the rumors of him taking down females on campus (aside from the soccer player rumor) and the anchor from CSN.
It truly isn’t a jealousy thing. All Big 5 schools have things to hang their hat on. Maybe it’s that when the other schools do well, they don’t flaunt it like Nova (except St. Joe’s “Perfect” Season). When Nova has a season like this after a few down seasons, it is made to sound like the blue and white phoenix rising from the ashes.
Do I like the way Nova plays? Yep. They play great team basketball. But do they have that one guy that can take over a game come tourney time? Me thinks not. I think an Elite 8 run is a nice aspiration, but these delusions of grandeur ending with a NC is pretty damn hilarious.
Jay likes sucking on my big titties!
Wouldn’t we all, Dei.
.
Things to hat on for Big5 Schools.
Villanova is Villanova
La Salle has 1954 championship, three national players of the year, Tom Gola etc.
Penn had all those Ivy championships
St. Joe’s that phony perfect season and 1961 point shaving scandal.
Temple has Chaney and Harry Lit years.
Drexel had Melek Rose
St Joes “phony perfect season” I think is a tad too far. Was the A-10 easy? Yes. But they traveled to the elite 8 that year and lost on the buzzer. They were one shot away from the final four. The coach who won the whole thing said the one team they did not want to play was st joes. They were good people seem to forget
Amen, those malignant cunts at Villanova feared Temple and did everything they could for decades to keep TU out of the Big East. Fuck them all – I hope a good small school gives them “the mustard dispenser” in the second round.
This article is the reason as to WHY I hate Villanova.
I’ll use this analogy as an example – Nova alum are a lot like die-hard hockey fans. Have you ever tried sitting down with a hardcore Hockey (or Soccer) fan while trying to have an open and objective discussion about the negatives of their sport?
It’s fucking impossible. You’ll get verbally attacked, talked over, and called a hater or some other non-sense instead of a fair back-and-forth dialog.
It’s the same garbage with Nova fans and alum whenever you speak about them. Instead of having an open discussion regarding their school’s or team’s shortcomings, you get an argument or a wall of text like this bullshit. They’ll thrown in some lines about “jealousy” and call it a day.
It’s not jealousy, it’s just that you guys are d-bags. Your identity encompasses the douchiness of Duke fans, yet you want some kind of “city-school” street credit. It’s embarrassing, and a tad bi-polar on your fan bases’ part.
Truth be told, your school has no identity and it falls directly on the students and its alumni. If you want to be respected, do something else besides getting mentioned around March on a semi-annual basis.
Yea, I agree with this guy.
He is exactly right.
Also, another reason Nova gets a lot of hate, the Nova fans are super easy to troll.
AMEN!
semi-annual means twice a year
Jay Wright didn’t show at the hospital after Allen Ray got his eye poked out. He sent an assistant. Allen didn’t really care, but his family wasn’t thrilled.
People don’t care about a mediocre regional catholic school. Basketballwise, Jay Wright has been extremely sucessful dealing with those limitations. He has made them close to a top program.
Villanova will absolutely make a run–My favorite Big 5 team-L-E-G-I-T Bitches!
But they didn’t.. Did they?
Part of being a good coach is being able to recruit. And Jay is among the best. He’s better than Dunphy. He’s better than Chaney. Nova has had more success than TU did.
The whole city/suburb thing is ridiculous. How many folks casting those stones live in Bucks, Delco, South Jersey, or somewhere outside Philly proper. All of the Big5 schools, with the exception of Temple, are extremely expensive. The same “rich kids” you haters hate go to Penn and Joe and LaSalle as well.
Root for those kids and enjoy the ride.
FYI, Bryan, there are plenty of rich kids at Temple too (some of us even from the Main Line).
Let’s be honest, Villanova is not a premeire college hoops program. They are a decent program but not close to the Kentucky’s/North Carolina’s/Duke’s/UCLA’s/Kansas’ of the world. But they are still one of those teams that pops up late in the year and is always fun to watch during the tourney. This year is wide open, should be very interesting.
Yes, I enjoy watching them get eliminated in the first round.
If you put Nova in the actual city they claim to be from, without changing any other aspects of the school, they would be a significantly worse program. The thing with Nova is that it is so attractive to inner-city kids who are looking to GET OUT of their current situation in crime ridden cities because of its nice suburban location, but at the same time Villanova fans rep “Philly” as if they are the best program to ever exist “in the city.”
I root for Villanova, but in my opinion, that’s why I have a problem with a lot of their fans.
Villanova also has the most hometown roster compared to any school in the big 5. You’d think the city would embrace a team with local players compared to say Temple’s roster which has only one player from the Delaware Valley.
Temple has only one this year because the rest graduated/left the team after last season (Wyatt, Randall, Hollis-Jefferson & Dileo).
The other Big 5 schools can’t bring in the top talent in the area because they don’t put the money into basketball like Villanova. Nova’s basketball expenses are more than double that of Temple’s.
Give John Chaney the money Jay Wright has at his disposal (and let the Owls into the Big East) and it’s a different story.
and I was a huge Temple fan last year because of the Philly talent pool. I really don’t like Nova but people pull the “these are philly teams and Nova isnt” when talking about a bunch of unpaid 19 year olds from north jersey, brooklyn, florida, etc. F the penguins, crosby, overrated Primanti brothers, and the steelers but im still pulling for Pitt because of that kid from Lancaster killing it out there (Patterson).
Money is still just an excuse and the NCAA as a whole is generally a mess, but it’s not like Nova is selling 30,000 tickets a game either like Syracuse.
Since I feel like this post is pretty much directly a result of some of my comments, I will start out by saying that in no way do I “hate” Villanova. I’ve been to campus numerous times, and I think it is a very nice school. It has a very good academic program, and when I was deciding which college to attend it was actually my second choice. I also happen to think Jay Wright is a great coach, and I’ve always been impressed with the work he’s done recruiting and coaching.
All that said, the reasons I’ve said I don’t think Villanova is “goddamn” or #1 seed good are purely basketball related, and having nothing to do whatsoever with “hating”the school. I root for all Philly schools, and I really enjoyed watching great Nova runs in the past with guys like Sumpter, Allen Ray, Nardi, and Foye, and then Lowry, Reynolds, etc. This year’s team actually does have some likeable players too (and I actually knew Ryan Arc from his HS days, and I don’t dislike him cuz he’s white, it’s because he was a huge dick to everyone and constantly showed up his teammates on the court).
The fact that you say people can’t objectively analyze Villanova basketball is completely laughable Kyle. The fact that you went there and have a crush (not a man crush, but a legitimate homosexual crush) on Jay Wright has made you incapable of sitting back and judging Nova for who they are. Literally, the only big wins you pointed out are Iowa and Kansas. That’s sad if Iowa is your second biggest win. They’re 19-11 and ranked 39th in RPI. And I don’t understand why on earth you’re saying Villanova is a good defensive team. They’re giving up 66.7 points per game which is 86th overall in the country.
And what the fuck is this bullshit that they “crushed” the rest of their opponents? They barely won by 4 points against the god damn Delaware Blue Hens for fucks sake. They also won by 3 in OT against Butler, by 7 against St. John’s, by 5 against Georgetown, by 3 in double OT against Providence, by 3 in the second St John’s game, and by 7 against Xavier. So yeah they really crushed all those opponents huh?
Also, are you serious with that realtimerpi website? What the hell is that? It looks like something I made in Intro to HTML class when I was a freshman in HS. I’ll direct you to a little site called ESPN[dot]com (maybe you’ve heard of it?) that says Villanova’s SOS is 45th in the country.
So let’s get this straight, Kyle. Villanova gives up 66.7 points per game, yet you say this is one of the best defensive teams ever for them? They have 10 wins by less than double digits, yet they “crushed” the rest of their opponents? And then in the next breath you say other people can’t analyze Villanova basketball objectively. Whatever you say, man. I think you’re confusing “hate” with “unbiased analysis,” you unabashed fanboy.
Kyle, I think it’s time for you to put your money where your mouth is. I’ll set the over/under for Villanova tournament wins at 2.5. If there so goddamn amazing, then they can win three games no problem, right? I’ll take the under you can have over. Name your price (And sorry, it can’t be you blowing Jay Wright).
They beat Kansas over Thanksgiving break. That’s an eternity in CBB. I’d bet on the Jayhawks with a healthy Embiid over Nova right now for sure.
Totally agree. I think Kansas would beat them right now assuming Embiid could play.
SHIT JUST GOT REAL
Well played “Realist”, Kyle, your move….
Kansas has lost to three unranked teams since Feb. 10. What do you base your argument on?
What do I base my argument on…watching the 2 teams play. Instead of beating off over Nova maybe you should watch some games.
But let’s look those 3 losses:
Losing by 7 on the road @ Okie St….yeah that’s a terrible loss, man. Marcus Smart would only be the best player in Nova’s shitty excuse for a conference.
Losing a conference rivalry game (something Nova only thinks they know about) in OT by 3 on the road @ K-State. Embiid played 18 mins due to injury. Bill Self should be ashamed of himself.
Losing on the road @ WVU without their best defensive player in a game in which WVU shot 56% from 3. Unlike Nova who folded twice when getting bombed by their opponent, KU fought back to within 5.
Not to mention KU is 6-3 vs top 25 RPI teams while Nova is 1-3 (that 1 win being the Nov game I referenced earlier).
Nova this year is playing a mid-major schedule this year. No way they would have run away with the B12 like KU did.
Really Marcus Smart would be the best player in the Big East? Ever heard of a certain Doug McDermott?
Vegas Insiders odds to win the title
1- Florida 11/2
2- KU 6/2
t8- Nova 18/1
Realist,
Again I will tell you, RPI takes into account SOS, who you beat, who you lost to. Villanova’s RPi is #4 in the country. So I’m not sure how you can base your argument off of computer numbers when Villanova’s computer numbers say it’s the #4 team in the country.
Also, are you seriously using points per game allowed as a benchmark for defense? What is this, 1994? Go to kenpom.com, where you will find something called defensive efficiency, which tells how many points a team gives up per 100 possessions. Villanova has the 13th best defense in the country. If you are going to argue with stats, at least use ones that matter.
That defensive efficiency stat isn’t actually the amount of points a team gives up per 100. It’s a projection of how many points they would give up per 100 if they played an “average D-I offense,” whatever the hell that means. So yeah that’s one dude’s projection based on what he considers an “average D-1 offense.” That’s not exactly relevant, because you have to beat good teams with good offenses. Villanova has not faced that many good teams this year, and when they have, they have not performed well.
Also, you should probably look into that site a little further if you like it so much. Did you check out the “luck” rankings yet? Guess who he ranks number 9 in the nation for luckiest (aka deviation from actual vs expected winning percentage)
If you’re so sure about how good Nova is, then bet me. You can take the over on 2.5 tournament wins.
As other’s have stated: Villanova tried it’s hardest to keep Temple out of the Big East. Thus I don’t like them. How is that not a fair argument for disdain?
Ask yourself why you hate PSU so much? I would bet your reasoning would run parallels to the reasoning for the hatred toward Villanova.
LOL naming IOWA as a big win. They are a middle of the road big ten team. PSU’s shit stain b ball team hung with them…
Jay Woght loves dem college girls
First of all, it’s not a Philly school, just as much as kids from Lower Merion and Radnor high school arent from “Philly.” Theres nothing Philly about the school itself, nothing remotely urban about its environment (No one would ever call Haverford College a city school, even though it’s closer.) Not to mention your statement about Nova having some snobby douchebags is one of the grossest understatements ever made; having worked at the King Of Prussia mall, Nova students were more immature, more obnoxiously boisterous, and more downright fucking annoying than the 13 year old cliques of boys who were driven to the mall on Friday nights by mommy in the soccer van.
Secondly, you can’t sit here and think the Nova team has had that much tough competition. How many times has it faced ranked teams? 4? 5 if you count Creightons first mauling of the Wildcats? They lost to Syracuse and Creighton, and beat Iowa in overtime (not exactly the striking victory of a true number 1 seed.) Nova would’ve lost easily 5+ games in the ACC or Big 12.
Lastly, they have no star power. Every other team has recognizable NBA talent that can take over a game at any point. Honestly, what team now a days goes far in the tournament without ANY NBA talent? I couldn’t name one.
You lost all respect as soon as you said you worked at KOP mall
I don’t get the whole “Villanova is not a Philadelphia school” argument. A) what does that have to do with anything. And B) by that logic, if you live in the suburbs, you are a fraud who roots for Philly sports outside the city limits!
exactly. frauds living in Ridley cheering for Philly teams??? LOL you aren’t from Philly.
Nova is a lot closer to Philly than then the Cowboys are from Dallas, NY/NJ are from say anywhere other than Manhattan, pretty far drive from Downtown DC to FexEd Field, lets not even talk about how far the Patriots are from Boston!
It’s not an argument as to why they’re disliked. It’s just a fact of the situation.
Kyle, this post is just one giant bag of troll feed. Im pretty sure the trash that comments on this site on a daily basis are the only ones that have that extreme negative outlook you speak of. (If you can even call the nonsensical drivel of trolls and haters an outlook.)
As you said, all private schools get those types of labels from some people on some miniscule irrelevant level or another. But in the real world, thats where it stops. On trashy comment boards, trolls take it to ridiculous levels. You never hear this troll crap on the radio or around the water cooler because its the real world. The reason no one bitches about Penn or St. Joes is because you never write about them. If you did, the scumbags you let populate your comments section and the haters that hate on you for no reason would be spewing just as much vitriol.
Not really sure why you play into the hands of a bunch of fucking loser trolls by writing this post.
Villanova sucks
I root for Nova because they are a Philly team. People are hating on Nova this year in particular because, in my opinion, they aren’t as good as the previous years due to their roster and schedule. This, combined with your arrogance and selective ignorance, leads to such comments.
Hey, if Philadelphians don’t want to consider Villanova a city school then maybe Villanova should stop playing the city schools? Why let dreck like that bring down their SOS and RPI. Even a win against one of those teams can actually hurt their SOS. Can’t have it both ways boys, either consider Nova a city school or don’t complain if they want out of a commitment to the Big 5.
As for the talk about fans, yeah I really have to give props to the SJU (PA) and La Salle fans who constantly pack their home courts when their teams are mediocre. All fans are fair weather to an extent, as who wants to pay money to watch dreck? And if you want to see ridiculous absurdity and pompousness go to a SJU (PA) message board and read the crap their fans state about their program, Martelli, etc.
Villanova should be happy that they are not in the spotlight. The less press means the less other teams take them seriously and the target on their back is not as big as it could be.
I’m a Nova alum and a hardcore fan regardless of our record. I love all things Villanova but will be the first one to say we suck when we do (support still there, though!). However, I don’t know one alum who says we are located in/from Philly. I actually hate when announcers say the Pavilion is in the city, or when Philly landmarks are shown coming in and out of commercials…so I really don’t know what you guys are talking about there.
I’ve met Coach a bunch of times and am close with a lot of old managers (who have nothing but great things to say about him), and he’s just the most genuinely nice guy. Anyone who says otherwise is making things up.
Also, one can hate a school but not its team. For instance, I hate Temple for its obnoxious fans and how terribly I’ve been treated by them, but their coach and players are pretty likeable.
The hilarious A-10 in 2004? Xavier and SJU both reached the elite 8. Dayton and Richmond were both in the tournament. GW and Temple weren’t terrible that year either.
Honestly Kyle,
I only hate them because you like them so much. You’ve turned into such a little snobby bitch over the past year. I used to really like you and think you were funny but that changed somehow. Now I find it easy to hate things that you like. It makes it espcially easier when you post whiny rants like this.
Agree 100%; the line “For some reason, Philly people who went to schools other than Villanova can’t objectively watch or discuss Villanova’s basketball team because they don’t like the fact that Villanova students are generally wealthier than the students and alumni from other city schools” reeks of douchiness.
Yea, went to ‘Nova. Don’t remember anyone ever saying the school was in Philly. Its in Villanova. Knowledge.
Wah wah, people don’t like my team, etc.
As much as people hate Villanova, there is no way that they hate them more than the Jon and Sean show on 97.5. That is the biggest piece of garbage that I ever listened to. The radio station should be ashamed of putting those two hacks on in a major media area. Sean is the biggest wigger, pitbull wannabe I have ever heard. They have no knowledge of sports and are boring as hell. Time for somebody to start the movement to get those two fools out of there.
Every commenter on here has been played. Kyle only cares about web hits and selling t-shirts. He knew this posting would generate the hits ~ moreso than say a Marcus Vick tweet.
Have Nova going out in 2nd round to Oregon! OUTRIGHT!!
My dislike and douche calling of Jay Wright I think mostly stems from the obsession and infatuation of him (and his good looks) on this blog. I understand some of it with his success but it’s a little much. The Temple Big East situation didn’t help but who knows the real truth to that.
Now would I feel different if he were coaching my alumni, La Salle? Hell yea I would take him in a second over Doc G’s. As a rival I feel like I should dislike Nova.
Penn is Philly’s pride and joy for academics so can’t have hate there. Plus they have been pretty irrelevant in bball since Dunphy left.
Why do people hate Villanova?
1.) The exact reason this artcile was written.. the sense of entitlement.. We are Villanova and everyone should love us
2.) Because brown belters like you who shove Villanova bball down your throat
3.) Because you rip other Big 5 schools- Nova fans much like yourself find great joy in bashing other schools and ensuring that everyone knows that their program is not at NOVA’s level.. QUE the articles of you making fun of SJU bball and Temple losing in the tourney last year and losing athletic programs. You are being a total hypocrit because you never root for Big 5 teams.
4.) Jay Wright’s act on the bench is tiring. Stop complaining about the refs for a second you co-ed banging adulterer.
5.) Nova fans are Duke wannabes plain and simple.
Leave the jealousy act at home next to your iron pressed Kobe Bryant jersey that you guys try to wear to disguise yourselves when you make the occasional trip from Avalon and pretend that your a normal college kid in sea isle.
Couldnt have said it better dude. You nailed it. They are nationally irrelevant, and have been since Steve “Ratboy” Lappas was still pulling on his jacket lapel.
And by the way, Patrick Ewing said stop calling your shitty conference the Big East.
Villanova won’t make it out of the first weekend.
SAID
hard drive of hits much, denny?
All I know is that Jay has the tiniest cock of all of the coaches in philly…3″ can not please any woman.
HA HA! That means I’m 2″ bigger than Kyle’s!
how don’t you know that kyle has a vagina?!
I got through about 10 comments. I hate website comments- reading/submitting- but felt compelled to defend Nova.
People across the country hate Philly Fans for various reasons- one of the biggest is our holy approach to the BIG 5. If this were 1965? Oh man Tom Gola would be our LeBron James…
The Small 4 SUCK. They’ve sucked since things like TV networks let us watch games in other places. Wait a second, there are really college basketball conferences?
St Joes and Temple? LaSalle? They suck, year after year, after year.
The only pass we should give is to Penn- because well- those guys are pretty god damn smart.
You won’t find any more bandwagon fans on Lancaster Ave, than you would on Olney ave, or getting shot off broad street leaving a Temple Game.
I know this probably will only antagonize the trolls- but the rest of these programs really do suck. We should celebrate a winner in this city- whether they play their games on Broad Street or off 476…Idiots.
As a Villanova grad- I’d like to start the petition to allow Drexel to replace us in this BIG 5 series.
La Salle with Tom Gola won in 54′ ya dope. So now we are discounting John Chaney with Temple all those years?
Lost all credit.
As a Villanova grad, you should be apologizing to your parents for wasting so much money on your education. Seriously dude, looks like they wasted $100,000 on your 5 year Communications degree.
Your post did nothing to lessen the image of Vanillanowhere fans as douche bags. All Big 5 schools, including Penn, have out performed Vanillanowhere for the last 25 years. If Vanillanowhere is all it’s cracked up to be, you would have known that. But it’s not. It’s just a diploma factory with a nice gym. BTW, love taking on Vanillanowhere lawyers. Like most of the basketball team’s first round opponents, it’s a guaranteed win.
I always found it funny that Phil Martelli had the balls to critque Andy Reid’s coaching. Martelli hasn’t made the tournament in 6 years and he’s going to critque Andy Reid’s resume. Pompus blowhard doesn’t begin to describe that guy.
Hey, when you’re as handsome as me, you can get away with busting anyone else’s balls.
Another good coaching technique I like to employ is when St. Joe’s loses, I refer to my players as “they”. Only when we win do I call our team “we” or “us”.
it’s a good thing I’m so good looking.
I think the negativity toward this team may have to do with their lack of “the guy.” The old Nova teams had Foye, Ray and Lowry all who could take over a game, St, Joes had Jameer and Delonte, and it made them more likable and gave people more confidence in them because of those guys. Even La Salle last year, people were drawn to Galloway and Garland. This current Nova team has a ton of nice role players who have chemistry, which could work to their advantage especially with a great coach in Jay Wright, but they could also be exposed for that lack of “the guy.”
JR-
The Tom Gola reference was a joke- because who cares- its like celebrating Malik Rose or Aaron Mckie. Most people who went to Villanova or like the team either a) would never suggest we are a Philly team b) would vote to stop with the city series BS. We’ve been playing in a real conference for decades. You guys played your Conference tourneys in Dayton and than AC. Good job. I don’t get why this site is upset how we’re treated by the ‘city faithful.’ Without us, the Big 5 would be at best a Community College Tourney. I can’t imagine anyone would want to claim they are a Philly College- that isn’t really a Resume builder, bud.
Real Conference?
Since when is Providence, Seton Hall, Depaul and Saint John’s considered “Real Teams”. Seton Hall is a POS program in the middle of an armpit in North Jersey. Those programs are about as relevant as the pump up sneaker. Quit it with the real conference shit. Your conference is absolute garbage.
Butler is a flash in the pan which is back to a solid mid-major and nothing more now that Stephens is gone. Marquette is a renegade program that is on-off every other year. Creighton will fall back to earth once the coaches son left. G’Town hasnt been good for a few years. Depaul, seton hall and providence are dreck. Xavier is good (You’re welcome from the A-10) I cant even think of the rest of the teams in your conference because it sucks so much dick. Get off your high horse dude.
‘We’ve been playing in a real conference for decades.’ That was the quote. Follow along bud, if you can’t- we can catch you up. That Temple degree is probably looking, pretty, pretty (Larry David voice) Good- in your parents basement.
Try and find another CBB conference outside of the ACC that would be in the same conversation. We lost some good teams this year, but we aren’t the A10- even in the best John Chaney (is a GOD) best years. They sucked then, they suck now.
I’d take Seton Hall, St John’s, Butler, Providence, over any other conf team outside of the ACC.
The Big East is a shell of it’s former self. Villanova had first dibs at every single Philly recruit after Cuse and every other team that mattered picked through. Congrats on beating all the Big5 schools though!
How many BE conference titles does Villanova have? 1. So much success over the years I can’t believe why anyone doesn’t care! Seriously- 1 title with all of the studs they have had and they won 1. GTown and Cuse had 7 each.
You give Temple 1/2 the resources Nova has had and they’d have just as much success if not more. That’s why everyone hates Nova. They are like the one program that has literally had everything to win and they never can. Then they complain and whine when people don’t care like they are entitled to be the “big thing” in Philly. When you are literally handed everything to you in life, always have the spotlight, and are never put in a position to make a decision for yourself, I can see why some people (Kyle, yourself) write and support an article like this.
Signing with FS1 was the worst thing the nBE did. It’s the SPEED channel. No wonder the ratings stink and why no one cares. And now, schools like Temple who were never on ESPN (unlike Nova), are getting publicity and the press they never had and the tables are tilting. Fran can’t recruit but he landed a 4* for the first time in like 20 years. Coincidence?
They won’t make it past the 2nd round. And no one will care because ESPN won’t care. And next year, FS1 can dominate TV with the daunting matchups of DePaul vs. Seton Hall!
The best part about all of this is that Jay has done an outstanding job this season and I credit him for that. Yet, no one outside of Nova cares anymore- what a slap in the face!
you’re really comparing Nova to ‘Cuse and Georgetown? What a compliment! Let me guess you think Scottie Reynolds is as good as Allen Iverson, Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Morning, Patrick Ewing, Carmelo Anthony, Sherman Douglas and Derrick Coleman, since the schools are on the same level? Those guys have nothing to do with the whole “Nova hasn’t won as many big east titles” thing, amirite?
The two schools should never be in the same conversation. You are just salty that Villanova and La Salle have cut down the nets.
Didn’t goto temple bud but nice try. Seton hall is slop ass garbage. I would take lasalle over that dog shot program. When’s the last time seton hall was even decent? You would take those teams over who? The a-10 has at least four better programs than the junk in fucking west orange and the second worst team that plays in the garden. Providence hasn’t even relevant since that slime ball Petrino left and face it the only reason nova made it in that conference because they had that dirtball, gangster imitating, fat medigan Rollie. Your conference is dreck and will continue to be dreck for the next five seasons. Stick to drinking your Stella and living off of daddy country club membership. Nova is going home early and everyone is going to love it when that pizza faced douche at point guard and that frat boy punching punk pinkston are crying back to delco
At least he has a degree, not that piece of asswipe tissue Vanillanowhere hands out to anyone willing to burn a pile of money just to get their kids out of the house.
This dude. So nobody cares about La Salle’s championship back then but people care about Nova’s which is almost 30 years old now? Last I checked both programs have 1 ship to their names.
Exactly. And its unlikely that any other Big 5 school will win another.
Wow, how full of shit can you get? Considering that over the last 25 years the other Big 5 schools have outperformed Vanillanowhere, I guess you’re up to your ears in it. And one more thing: the A10 alone outclassed your “real” conference virtually every year in the tournament. Vanillanowhere: a diploma mill with a nice gym.
A more pressing question is when is the ad on the home page going to be taken down that says that Andrej Meszaros will be at the Sports Vault on March 4th? Which was the day he was traded, incidentally. Which was also last week.
Geez, no wonder people can’t stand these Villanova grads. No attention to detail.
Take it from me, Bruiser Flint, the only coach in the city who has the ego to have his OWN FUCKING WEBSITE (yep, I do)….the way to be loved AND keep your job in this town is to go THIRTEEN FUCKING YEARS without once making The Dance.
Hey, you think it’s easy beating Hofstra and UNC-Wilmington every year?
LOUD NOISES!
I am a longtime Villanova fan and could care less if the folks that read this site love Nova or hate Nova. The only thing that matters is that the NCAA Selection committee loves us. Go CATS!!!!
why do you care
oh, and how does jay wrights jizz taste?
Kyle – good journalism – way to put that $50k a year education to work!
Villanova got lucky against Kansas in one of Wiggins’ and Embiid’s fist college games. Since then their best win is against Iowa and they’ve been blown out by any team they’ve played who Lunardi has projected better than an 8 seed. They beat Delaware by 4, Providence by 3, St. Johns by 3, Butler by 3. The fact that you have to cherry pick your stats by using some no name website for SOS (when ESPN has them 45th) and looking only at their last five games to make an average defense looks good proves that you have no argument. Sweet 16 at best, and I wouldn’t be surprised if a strong 7 or 8 seed beat them in the first weekend.
first*
If you people would turn off WIP for 5 minutes and actually listen to intelligent national sports talk, you would know that a 1 seed is a joke. Here is why:
Your great early season Kansas win has lost some luster as they now have 8 losses. Iowa, your second best win is quickly taking a huge dump down the stretch. You get blown out twice to the only other team in your crappy conference with an RPI lower than 60. Blown out by Cuse.
struggle against the dishrags at the bottom of your crap conference. Gee, sounds like a 1 seed to me.
Kyle, You do such a great job with stories, then every time you blow it by putting in your personal bias….. Villanova. It just keeps knocking you down a peg each time. If you cant leave your pom pom and diploma on your desk, then write a Nova blog. Otherwise, 90% + of your audience doesnt give a rats ass about Nova. Especially when its a non story.
Your too good for this dude.
As a well-educated Nova alum, your grammar bums me out, Sam.
I normally think you’re pretty reasonable Kyle, but this comment is going to haunt you for a while on here:
“For some reason, Philly people who went to schools other than Villanova can’t objectively watch or discuss Villanova’s basketball team because they don’t like the fact that Villanova students are generally wealthier than the students and alumni from other city schools”
“Jay Wright, who’s had arguably more success in 13 years at Villanova than John Chaney had in 24 years at Temple…”
That right there makes this article complete and utter bullshit, and Kyle (can there be a more cliche name for a clown from Vanillanowhere?) Scott the biggest ‘Nova douche bag ever.
For the small gratuity of $4500, I will host a meet-and-greet before Villanova’s 1st tournament game.
You must make arrangements early, Naturally, the cost doubles for each subsequent round, as fewer teams means more national exposure for Villanova.
.
Wow the internet knows how to get people going.
Villanova students are not douchey nor entitled. You all see the smaller group that is very douchey, much louder, and pees on more lawns than the rest of us. The average student is too busy with their studies or hanging out with the other great people on campus to get under your skin. You should also understand that we’re constantly put on the defensive by a surrounding community that hates our guts the day we step on campus… before we could even be the horrible entitled people we’re claimed to be.
Personally I attended every home game of the 13-19 season. Did the crowd size increase when we started winning games? Yes. Does that happen everywhere? Yes. But there is a core dedicated following to Villanova no matter what the circumstances. The only reason that doesn’t happen at ND is because there is jack shit else to do in South Bend (and yes, I have been there).
Basketball wise – I won’t say this team reinvented the wheel but 3 losses is flat out impressive. They did it all. They won EVERY close game, won some big games, handled bad teams, and they did it all in a variety of ways. That may also be their downfall, as they don’t have one certain aspect of their game to fall back on. I predict Sweet 16 and hope for a Final Four.
WE ARE……….. PENN STATE
Yeah, that’s really something to be proud of… A school that enables/sponsors pedophilia by one of the foosball coaches, and all the psu lemmings are concerned about is how to get paterno’s wins back.
One big, degenerate lemming factory.
.
Kyle got his 124 comments and many more hits…so he wins. Also, he is a horrible representative of the school. This team is lead by a gritty white kid from Neshaminy High who grew up idolizing Iverson and Dawkins. Kyle has nothing in common with him or this team. As a Nova grad, I wish Kyle would stop the Villanova hate-baiting but it does generate website hits. Lastly, the ridicuolous argument that Villanova is siginificantly more expensive or has more wealthy kids than Drexel, Penn or St. Joe’s is tired and untrue. Villanova is $43,840 a year, Drexel is $44,646 a year and St Joes is $38,880 a year.
Villanova is on Daddy’s AMEX, Drexel is $44,646 a year and St Joes is $38,880 a year.
La Salle $42,850
Back in the day, many VU students were local “day hops” who paid their tuition out of their part-time earnings. Once that changed it became a town vs. gown love-hate relationship between Villanova and Philadelphia. The Big 5 fizzure put that relationship in further jeopardy. Villanova gave in to the Philly rabble to preserve the peace. Rather than appreciate that their beloved Big 5 was saved from the ash heap by VU’s magnominity, the haters hate VU even more intensely, because they still have a chance to beat VU once every 365 days. Rollie was right. Cut and cut clean. Let them play Drexel.
Kyle,
Did you watch any other teams in the past 10 years besides Nova? You seem like you’re very single-minded in your way of thinking.
Temple has been to the NCAA tournament the past six years. One of the biggest reasons why they’re forced to be in the AAC this season is because of Villanova. Jay Wright and Co. for years pleaded with the Big East to not let Temple in because they would “steal” Nova’s recruits when in reality big ol’ Mouphtaou Yarou was stolen right under Temple’s noses. Imagine if the Owls had him in the paint on those great Temple tournament teams the past three years.
And I guess the only “white” players on the other Big 5 teams were Juan Fernandez and Pat Carroll. You seem to be forgetting the likes Pat Calathes, Jake O’Brien and Sergio Olmos… among others. People don’t dislike Nova just because some of their players are “white”. They dislike the program because it tries to separate itself from the Big 5 and the tradition of the Big 5.
The student section is obnoxious (see Allen Iverson: Orange jumpsuits) and the fact that Villanova is too scared to play Big 5 games at the Palestra baffles me. It’s the Cathedral of Basketball and for a Catholic University they should know how sacred that name is to people in this area. ESPN Gameday chose Temple-La Salle to highlight this year…I wonder why?
I’ve never had anything against the players, in fact I used to root for Villanova with the teams of Allen Ray, Kyle Lowry, Randy Foye, Dante Cunningham…Etc.
But ever since the program started to throw other Big 5 schools under the bus…They haven’t had my approval or fandom.
Woo my previous comment just got mocked by Mike Missannelli. I have arrived. I’d call in to him but I have to go into work
Typical whiny Nova fan. Everything in this article was exaggerated.
Here’s the reality: Apathy
1) Nova students are now largely from areas outside Philly with no real relationship with the city, or the Big 5, or the City 6. Most really don’t care too much about these rivalries (unless from the area or former alumni). The author presumes the average Nova student cares about other Philly schools, but in reality, we don’t. We try to compare ourselves (for better and for worse) to G-Town, BC, and ND for everything (alumni donations, national rankings across academics and sports, etc).
2) Villanova has an ok fanbase. We aren’t Duke. We matter nationally but don’t have a national fanbase. We have a tradition of winning but don’t have a tradition of domination. We have 1 epic, underdog story, national title. We’ve had other successes and are a consensus top 15-20 program all-time. We clearly don’t get the love from the locals that other schools do (so attendance at WF slips when records fall) and we are a very small school for such a strong sports program. We do travel better than most (Big East tournament we always have a presence for example). I do think the student sections are largely packed though in both the pavilion and the WF center. It’s just alumni and local support wanes in bad weather or bad record. The “wine and cheese crowd” (old season ticket holders) is not into the games as much as at other programs.
3) Nova does have better facilities than most (new fitness center no new arena like St J though) and access to WF (which we traditionally sell out… just wait until Cuse next year). We also have the tradition and would get recruits over the other Philly programs with or without Big East inclusion. Nova has one of the few profitable programs in college sports and a great cable deal (financially) going forward. It’s a matter of financials (facilities / coach) and history.
4) Leaders at Nova (including Jay Wright) consistently pledge Big 5 support (Jay even says Drexel should be in). In all practicality, it’s easy for the students to face local teams (it’s why we also play U Del or Monmouth at times). Would it be better for the school to be branded nationally? Probably. It’s clear the big 5 is full of quality basketball programs, but I think a Gonzaga type strategy might pay off in the long run with the weaker Big East (willing to play road games and maybe pay to play big time schools for national brand recognition and strength of schedule). We need to be able to recruit outside of just Maryland to Brooklyn. There is something to be said about the Big 5 but it’s certainly not needed.
5) The Big East is still better than the A10 or AAC for basketball. Sorry. Big East is 4th in RPI vs. 6th for the A10 and 8th for the AAC. So what if we have DePaul? They are a big media market which equals $$ (and only meaningful CBB school in the area). If we are comparing apples to apples, you need to take a hard look at Duquesne, St. Bonnie, Fordham, Houston, and UCF before pointing fingers.
At the end of day Villanova is growing more nationally. It’s student base is growing more diverse geographically (yes we will still probably be white, catholic, and a bit douchey). We care a lot less about the other Philly schools than both the author and the comments below would lead you to believe. We don’t need to lead sports talk radio in Philly. Why? Because our coach has 30 minute long interviews on WFAN in NY/NJ. I think our small rivalries are good for everyone involved, but we don’t really need the local support. Let’s be honest. If St. Joe’s made the East Regional final at the WF Center and Villanova didn’t, I certainly wouldn’t go to the game to see St. Joe’s play. We simply don’t care that much.
Good point. But when SJU went undefeated nobody gave them an ounce of credit (not philly people, and especially non philly people). That’s the only argument I disagree with.
Where Dei and her sumptuous hooters at?
.
The reason I went to Villanova is because the majority of the student body is smart, thoughtful and friendly and because the business program is great. Yea, there are entitled douchebags, but they are few and far between (although they do draw the most attention to themselves). The majority of the boys on the team are some of the most humble people I have ever met. They take bad calls with their heads up and treat each other and other teams with respect. A lot of them have gone through some terrible things and they are incredibly grateful for what they have. I think a lot of Nova kids don’t even know this about our team. Get to know one of those boys for 5 minutes and you won’t be able to hate.
“Look at me dancing, like a white stooge… and I have a drink. How cool, yet pretentious and virgin-like do I look?” – Kyle Scott
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