Ike #6 Hated Athlete

[Matt Fly]

I was wondering how many of you guys read GQ?   Will you admit to it?   I don't have the time or desire to read GQ.  

Hate is a strong word to lay on someone, GQ should have used un-popular, disliked.    You would think of the threads we go through talking about role models, and we think its okay to hate someone most has never met.  Teaching our youth to hate,  so early.  Well this is our society of today.   We debate one area and think its okay in others.

[Cephkiller]

I was wondering how many of you guys read GQ?   Will you admit to it?

Based on this quote:  

What is wrong with fishing in nice stuff? I usually wear a $1,000 diamond

ring (my wedding ring) and one of my expensive watches (I just got another

$700 Movado watch when I was in Grand Cayman last week). So what? That

is just my style. Some might not like it, but I do and that's all that matters.

It sounds like JT might be a subscriber  ;D

[Captain Cali]

Wasn't Zell Rowland smoking a cigarette on camera? It's funny how some wouldn't want Ike for a role model but no one mentions Zell smoking...interesting...could it be age discrepancy? Maybe he was smoking to calm his nerves...all the young guys are making him nervous. ;D

I might see this a little different but I see fishermen as beer drinking, pizza eating, truck driving, and the guy living next door type of people. While golfers seem like wine drinking, caviar eating, mercedes driving, and living in a mansion getting paid 6+ figures to do it type of people. Seriously, golf is more of an elitist sport. How many PGA tour golf courses can you play without paying thousands to their country club? Not many. Fishing is and should be more accessible to the average joe than golf.

[Matt Fly]

It happens, and its not against the tournament rules at that time, in his boat.   But you don't see it happen as much as the 70's.    I'll go back and say what is so bad about any bass fishermen as a role model compared to what is available out their.    

Pros aren't advocating drugs, drinking, sex, money is power, and compared to what is on TV daily, they are mild, very mild compared to the afternoon soaps, Jerry Springer.

[NBR]

There is no question about Ike's excellant fishing skills and the hard work he must put in to understand the water, season etc. in order to be effective.

I have never met Ike so I don't know whether I like him or not but I sure have no respect for his antics. I buy nothing from his sponsers and let them know when I can. Screaming, "It's a giant the lipping a 2 pounder". Give me a break!

There have been some pretty critical comments about his conduct beyond the screaming and break dancing and if they are true I don't care to meet him.

If you don't understand the dislike of his antics, there is not time to explain the dislike in my life time.

[dave]

I met Ike the January after his Classic win.  He was sitting behind a small desk at the Bass Fishing Expo in Timonium,  Maryland selling his tapes and signing (there was hardly anyone in line, actually no one) autograghed cards.  I would have thought that the Classic winner would have had some representation with him.  It was just him and his mom.  I actually felt kind of bad for him.  As the show was ending, he was walking around the floor looking for people to talk to.  Ike is not the age of some of us.  If you think his stature is small on camera, those who have met him will tell you that he is very slight and unassuming.  We talked for a little while and he actually wanted to see the rod and other things that I had bought.  He is young and still feeling out his new found fame.  Give him some slack for awhile and lets see where he goes with it.  As others have said,  he is a bass fisherman (judging by his B.A.S.S. and FLW career stats) second to very few.  He'll figure himself out.

[Glenn]

Well, like him or not, judging by all the posts about him in these forums he's clearly the most popular by a landslide.  This exact same topic comes up over and over again about every 3 weeks, and ends up being about 3-4 pages of posts long.

Clearly people love to talk about him.  Call his personality what you like, hate him or love him, but obviously he's at the top of everyone's minds.

GQ missed the bus on their topic.  It should have been the top ranked most talked about sports personalities.  Would've been a different list, but Ike surely would have made both lists!

[cowie]

If it could be interestring here in Italy a lot of peopel don't like Iaconelli... but i love Mike

I love the people that work with tremendous passion ... in fishing hockey football...ever  

[Guest avid]

I like Ike.  I have posted negative things about him but not related to his antics.  I HATE the way he treats shorts.  He throws them back like they were garbage.  I think that he is probably a pretty good kid by NJ city standards.  He is very driven and his explosive outbursts are by now virtually required of him.  He certainly has done more to popularize the sport of tournament bass fishing since Bill Dance.  Without the Ikes ESPN would lose interest pretty quickly.  But he needs to show some respect for the shorts he catches.  Mind you, I'm not saying that he should waste valuable time, but it takes no more time at all to gently toss a short back then it does to heave it out like dead rat.  I hope as he matures he'll develop a little more respect for the fish that made him a millionaire.  Even the little ones.

[cwenbass]

Being just like Mike in regards to being from NJ, I can tell you this, not well liked here!

[janalon]

At BMU he was way more polite than the other intructors, He was the only one that involed kids in his presentation. Yes, he was a lot different than the other instructors. He was funnier, louder and more educational, He seemed to be the only one that was trying to teach.

As far as a role model, I don't see a problem with it at all.

For those that may see a problem with him being a role model for kids, try asking some of the kids who their role models are now.

[dave]

In  regards tossing back dinks like garbage, Guy Eaker told us in a seminar at Bassarama that they do that on purpose.  They believe that by tossing them, it startles thems into almost forgetting that they just got caught.  When you ease them into the water after a fight, they are still stunned from the fight.  With the sudden toss and landing back in the water, they quickly swim away, from what they can tell, are less affected by being caught.

[Matt Fly]

Dave, I have never heard that reason before, but kinda sounds logical.    I know I have released some that appear to be stunned for a few seconds, then they appear to wake up and tear off.  

[squid]

I toss them back, but to the other side of the boat as to not scare off anymore bass than I already did when I caught the short.  I don't throw them back, just toss.

Squid

[Crank_Baits]

ike would be fine if he didnt have that anoying thing he does when he catchs a fish

[SneakySnook]

In the past football players didn't celebrate a touchdown but now players get all excited about a tackle. But people don't complain about them celebrating. Because that's just they way thing are now. And what Ike does is his thing but don't be surprise if you see more and more anglers doing it.

Golf will never be like fishing unless golf courses become free to play on or it becomes cheaper to play on them. I don't see how someone can say golf is like fishing when golf courses won't let you play on them because you don't have a big enough bank account or because of your race or sex. Yea that's just like fishing.