Who did/do you emulate when you play sports? …and Why?

carkim · February 8, 2004 4:16AM

I emulated basketball player Michael Graham of Georgetown University (1984). During my junior year in high school, I was a pretty good player but was somewhat of a finesse player. Then I started watching Georgetown, and this baldheaded freshman named Michael Graham. He was fierce, and intimidating. He would dunk on someone then, while heading back down court; he would run over everyone else in his path. He was powerful and demanded respect, even as a freshman. During my senior season in high school, I took what I learned and applied it to my game. It was good enough to earn me a college scholarship.

After I signed my letter of intent, I went to Cleveland State to work out with some of their players, and some of the players from the college I was going to (Myers College). I played in those pick up games with such craze that the players dubbed me “Madman” and later “Rambo”, which stuck throughout my college career.

Michael Graham’s career faded in college do to off-the-court problems. Shame!!!

During my senior year in college I went to a Cleveland Cav’s tryout (Supporting a college teammate named Robert Worthy). Lo and behold, guess who was there? Yep, Michael Graham. I caught up with him after the tryout and tried to tell him my story. In true form, he just kept walking, even when I tried to corner him. Nearly running me over, like he use to do after he dunks on someone.

1984 All NCAA Tournament Team
Name Cl. Pos Team
Patrick Ewing Jr. C Georgetown
Hakeem Olajuwon Jr. C Houston
Alvin Franklin So. G Houston
Michael Graham Fr. F Georgetown
Michael Young Sr. F Houston

GoSoxBoSox · February 8, 2004 4:22AM

Yastrzemski was my goal. Unfortunately I looked more like Ed Brinkman

goodriddance189 · February 8, 2004 4:30AM

Will Clark. i loved his swing

NickM · February 8, 2004 4:43AM

Lyle Alzado . . . but I was playing basketball at the time.

Nick

aro13 · February 8, 2004 4:49AM

Wade Boggs. I used to love standing in the box and making the pitcher throw pitches. One year I swung at 3 first pitches all year.

Mike Haynes in football.

Ken Linsemen in hockey.

Although I liked to emulate Larry Bird it was a little difficult at my size, but I got pretty good at holding up a crooked finger after shooting the ball from the corner.

carkim - I could not stand Georgetown or Michael Graham. Watching Villanova execute a perfect game in the finals to beat them was awesome.

wolfbear · February 8, 2004 4:56AM

Ryne Duren

carkim · February 8, 2004 5:02AM

Baseball...Rod Carew and sometimes Rusty Staub

Football...Larry Csonka

Golf...John Daly

Tennis...Martina Navratilova

NASCAR...All of them

Wrestling....Mr. Wrestling #2 & Cooch(sp) From Vision Quest

Track & Field...Bruce Jenner

Boxing...Ali

Mantlefan · February 8, 2004 5:05AM

Always the Mick. In Little League, everyone here in NY wanted the #7 jersey. We all wanted to play center field.

Robby · February 8, 2004 5:36AM

My favorite player to emulate was Stan 'The Man' Musial , although I don't think I ever tried to copy his unique batting style ! Like GoSoxBoSox , I'm afraid my baseball talents fell way lower than even the 'Mendoza Line'........never could hit the curve ball ! But I sure love the game ! Presently , I really admire Ron Santo and his brave fight and determination to keep going ,no matter what ! I hope I can emulate his courage and will ! Hope to see a 'Ron Santo' Player Set Registry entered soon ! If so , I will start my first Player Set ! Robby

mrc32 · February 8, 2004 5:55AM

I can't tell you how many times I emulated Never Nervous Pervis Ellison and his free throws in the 1986 NCAA basketball championship game.

Or popped a jumper and said Kenny Payne from deeeeeep!

(Both are University of Louisville greats)

SUPERPUNK813 · February 8, 2004 6:00AM

Simple, Mean Joe Greene was my hero when i was a kid and i thought of him like a football god! And while acting like Joe i hurt more than a few kids playing football (I was bigger that any other kid on any of my teams untill i got into high school).

Paul.

RobE · February 8, 2004 6:02AM

In Right field - I used to try the Jackson/Pinella thing.

Hated right field but always took it because nobody else wanted to.

First Base - can't think of anyone in particular, but it was sort of like standing in that ready for anything pose,crouching down.

Centerfield - a catching running and throwing home Mainac and once it saved a game from a tie.

Catching,I wanted to be Munson,Cerrone,Fisk,Bench,Carter.

For hitting,all I wanted to do was hit the ball like any good contact hitter.Never swang for the fence,just get on base.Always in the 6 to 9 holes.Got thrown at a lot and did a lot of walking.

Heh,just happy to be in the game.

Cubfan · February 8, 2004 6:08AM

We were lucky enough to get the Cubs games on TV every day in the late 1960s on WGN.

All the kids in my neighborhood had the distinct batting styles of Banks, Santo, Beckert, Kessinger and so on down pat. We even would do the distinct pitching form of Jenkins and Phil Regan (the Regan style actually gave more control when pitching). Every now and then someone would sneak in a right-handed version of Yaz or Stargell, but it was mainly Cubs.

I have that video of the 1969 Cubs vs. Phillies game and it really brought back memories of the styles we copied.

Keith

FB · February 8, 2004 6:13AM

Growing up - it was always Tom Terrific - Tom Seaver,

He was the greatest - a guaranteed win every time he went to the mound. My boyhood memories of him pitching were just awesome.

Move ahead to 1990... I get to FINALLY meet him at a card show where he's signing autographs. I get to the front of the line within the first half hour of the show and this cold fish is sitting there - no smile, no looking up and he wouldnt talk to anyone on the other side of the table. He signed what he was told to sign and immediately looked for the next item.

Talk about disappointment... It was that day that I realized that a persons exploits on the field didn't make them a great person...

riccaboni · February 8, 2004 6:50AM

Well, at first I accidently received #14 in T-Ball while playing for the SYA "Reds"...

But now that I'm a varsity ball player, let's just say I do not wear #27 behind the plate for no reason.

-Ian

KING KELLOGG · February 8, 2004 6:58AM

Great Post...

I was a catcher in Little League (late 50's...). There REALLY was only one great backstop...Yogi Berra.

I wore #8 and all the guys called me Yogi... He also shares the same "real" name as myself...

(probably traded away a million dollars worth of Mantle cards to get Yogi's instead...Ohhh..so young..)

Yogi
(Larry...ha...)

SKINSFAN · February 8, 2004 6:58AM

sonny j all the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ejguru · February 8, 2004 7:03AM

El Tiante on the mound as a little leaguer and Gerry Cheevers between the pipes through my college days.

E

ydsotter · February 8, 2004 7:48AM

Even though I was a catcher/3rd baseman, I loved emulating pitchers.... I loved the way Dan Quisenberry threw the ball. Whenever I wanted to throw something dirty... I was Gaylord Perry (at the time, I had it in my head he had a bag of tricks)... and whenever I wanted to burn the ball past someone, I was Ron Guidry.

I was usually Yaz or Jackson at the plate...

I enjoyed being John McEnroe while I played tennis...

And I was Magic Johnson when I played basketball... though my friends called me Rambis or will perdue.

Lastly, I was a hockey goalie... and Ken Dryden was my hockey hero.

Nice thread Carlos~

grilloj39 · February 8, 2004 7:52AM

I am a Texan who grew up in Connecticut, as such I played a lot of Ice Hockey. I can't say I emulated him because I was not a very good player, but I pretended to be Bobby Orr while on the ice. Why, IMHO, not since Michael Jordan has there been such as dominant player in any sport. A close argument could be made for Gretzky, but Wayne was a one-dimensional offensive player.

Putty · February 8, 2004 7:59AM

Bugs Bunny, to this day I try to emulate his :
Perfectly Perplexing, Powerfully Pachydermic,Pulverzing, Punshing, Pathetic Paluka Pitch

Wayne8348 · February 8, 2004 8:41AM

Who do I emulate playing sports???

Football - Manute Bol

Basketball - Louis Tiant

Tennis - William the refrigerator Perry

Baseball - the dixie chicks

Wayne

scottsusor · February 8, 2004 9:06AM

Norm Cash, Detroit Tigers 1st baseman. I'm not sure why, but when I first started following baseball as a young Tiger fan growing up in the Detroit area, his antics caught my attention. I was sort of a "class clown" type myself and I liked the way old Stormin' Norman combined baseball talent and humor. Now I live in Texas where Norm was from -- weird eh? I still play baseball in an over-35 league, I wear his #25, and I play 1B (and other positions, but 1B is my fave).

Scott

highend · February 8, 2004 11:10AM

the yankee captain........thurman munson. i was a catcher from little league through college. but, all it took was my father to say "that munson kid is going to be something". from then on it was number 15 , and alot of trips to the pitchers mound. his death was truly one of the darkest days of my life and marked the end of the innocence for me. my son is a big jeter fan and i always remind him that like jeter is today, munson was the heart and soul of the great yankee teams of the 70's.

there is one name i haven't yet seen in this thread and it suprised me. pete rose, all the of the other stuff aside i don't think anyone on this board would mind if their kid played the game like charlie hustle.

bengineno9 · February 8, 2004 11:17AM

LIttle League baseball.
oh boy....
Todd Zeile batting stance (hands holding that bat down to the belt, back a little bit) while wearing Chris Sabo rec specs.

Sad

brianwintersfan · February 8, 2004 11:59AM

My user id says it all.
Some here may remember Brian Winters from his NBA days with the Bucks(1975-83)
I always tell people that he was my Michael Jordan when I was growing up back then.
I just thought he was a great player with a cool fu manchu!!

pc · February 8, 2004 12:37PM

before i pitched-Mickey Mantle
i used to practice the prepitch swing all day everyday.
when i pitched after 13 years old only sandy koufax
because of his pitching and later his demeanor.
and
he was jewish.

purelyPSA · February 8, 2004 2:14PM

As a slow receiver with good hands myself, Steve Largent was always my favorite. The play where he laid out Mike Harden on the Sunday night ESPN, exacting revenge for Harden's cheap shot earlier in the season that broke his face mask and knocked his fillings out, is one of the greatest moments in sports history IMO. I almost broke my leg on the coffee table jumping off the couch when he nailed him.

frankhardy · February 8, 2004 10:21PM

Michael Jordan (late 80's version) - on a 9' goal!!

Come on - didn't all of us twenty somthing's do that?

1967topps · February 11, 2004 2:30PM

As a kid in the late 60s,
We used to goof with different stances while playing stickball or in the street:

Dick McAuliffe: halfway facing the pitcher
Lou Brock: right leg straight, left knee bent
Yaz: Bat high in the air
Frank Howard: add a hitch before each swing
Joe Morgan: arm flapping, as a goof, not really a comfortable thing to do

Wonder if kids today emulate Nomar with the annoying habit.

Someday some pitcher is going to hit that Nomar Garciaparra right in the batting
glove while he's adjusting them between pitches. They say they wanna speed up the game...
(Say since Clemens is in the NL Maybe he can introduce himself to Bobby Bonds' elbow brace)

In basketball there was a certain way to take a shot that we'd call "Havlicek"
And for a while I tried shooting free throws like Rick Barry - rather successfully

purelyPSA · February 11, 2004 3:47PM

Oh I forgot, I used to emulate Julio Franco's unique batting style when messing around in Little League. Hell another couple years and my son can do the same thing, with Franco still playing.

ChicagoGlen · February 11, 2004 9:22PM

Well by growing up on the South Side of Chicago you can be sure it was not a Cubs player.

Football: Walter Payton

Hockey: Chris Chelios also loved to fight like Bryan Marchment

Baseball: For some reason I liked the bash brothers of Canseco and Mcgwire (But could not tell friends because we are all die hard Sox fans)

Glen

CW · February 11, 2004 9:55PM

<< <i>there is one name i haven't yet seen in this thread and it suprised me. pete rose, all the of the other stuff aside i don't think anyone on this board would mind if their kid played the game like charlie hustle. >>

I posed this question to a friend at work and he mentioned Rose. He
said that when he was in little league, he'd emulate Pete by sliding
headfirst when he could, sprinting to first after a walk, etc. Back
when I was a kid we used to play all four sports, but I only used
inspiration in two of them -- basketball & baseball. For hoops, I
always seemed to have Magic or the Iceman in my head. I couldn't
necessarily make all the moves they could, but I tried. For baseball
it was probably either Dave Winfield or Rod Carew. I tried to model
my batting stance after Carew. I thought it was the coolest.

Ahhh, those were the days!

crsportscards33 · February 12, 2004 5:39AM

This one's easy- Dale Murphy. He had that little under hand half-swing he did before the pitch. That was me.

GangstaJayson · February 12, 2004 11:33AM

My swing a lot of people tell me is like Jeff Kents

Basketball Human Highlight Film Nique

PlayBall · February 12, 2004 1:09PM

Steve Timmons - USA Volleyball. Wasn't a big Karch Kiraly fan, too prettyboyish. In high school, whenever the setter called "power-5-bruiser" (high outside set on the left for us righties) I wasn't looking to spike the ball in the open space. I was looking to break someone's nose. Just couldn't pull off the flat-top.

In basketball, it was Andrew Toney of 80's Sixers fame. Man, he could be just lethal from the outside.

1967topps · February 12, 2004 2:47PM

Scott - big Norm Cash fan here too. When I visited Tiger Stadium in '99, I was sitting there in
the right field overhang looking at 60s and 70s Tigers yearbooks...and in a magical moment
looked up and thought I saw Cash and McAuliffe out there in the infield.
(If you read it, he will come?)

Had my chances dept: a store near Tiger Stadium had a uniform shirt "CASH 25" for sale, $199,
I was tempted but didn't bite.

I just didn't do his batting stance

And "NormCash" was already taken on ebay when I signed up.

Paul

cspeier1 · February 12, 2004 10:21PM

I didn't play much sports, but my wife would say Dennis Rodman- I seem to have all his character defects.. Although I must say if anyone watched "THE MOLE" he was impressive.. Besides the girls always loved the bad boy..ha ha

Chad
MY WEB

pugsley · February 13, 2004 7:43AM

For me it was
Football ) Lynn Swann or Terry Bradshaw Love the Steelers
Basketball ) Dr J

Who did/do you emulate when you play sports? …and Why?

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