Anyone Have A Rivalry With Another Team?

[Cindysphinx]

Just wondering whether there are any good rivalry stories out there.

This will be our first season at spring 3.0, and already we have rivalries.

One player is leaving to re-start her own team. Another team is my old team. And another team is my former mixed captain, and I left the team on rather awkward terms.

My season will be complete if we can just beat these three teams!

[freelancer]

We have a rivalry of sorts. Here's our story:

I was on a 3.0 team for 3 years. Our second year we made it to the finals of sectionals and lost 2-3. 3-4 guys got bumped up to 3.5 after that season, but the rest of us stayed at 3.0 and kept the team going. The next year we made it to nationals. A few of us had a disagreement with our captain and one other guy, about lineups for Nationals.

We lost in the third round at Nationals and some of us decided to make our own 3.5 team for the next session. The other guy (that sided with our captain) has had a 3.5 team for a while. So our captain is playing with him, as are a few guys that were on our 3.0 team 2 years ago. The rest of us are on our own team.

We're all still friendly to each other and get along pretty well, but there's not doubt that we both want to beat each other, badly! They ended up splitting the 3.5s into 2 flights. We're in the red flight and they're in the blue flight. So hopefully we'll both win our flights and play each other in playoffs!

[darkblue]

Originally Posted by Cindysphinx

Just wondering whether there are any good rivalry stories out there.

This will be our first season at spring 3.0, and already we have rivalries.

One player is leaving to re-start her own team. Another team is my old team. And another team is my former mixed captain, and I left the team on rather awkward terms.

My season will be complete if we can just beat these three teams!

have you contacted the Tennis Channel for a day-time reality show involving all of this stuff??

[Cruzer]

I don't see many rivalries between men's teams but based on what my wife tells me it is common among women's teams. I have seen a few women's matches where it apparent the two teams don't like each other much if at all. There was an infamous 4.0 women's match at my previous club that had a fist fight between several players in the parking lot after the match. It seems a lot of women's teams are way more competitive than the men's teams and conflicts and differences between teams often carry over from one season to the next.
I have heard several women players comment that they think the ultra-competitive nature of women's tennis is partially due to the fact that many women that play USTA tennis today grew up before the passage Title IX and when they were in high school and college there were not many opportunities for women to compete in sports. Playing USTA tennis is an opportunity to compete in sports when they did not have access to competitive sports when they were in school.

[raiden031]

I don't have any rivalries, but there is one captain at the 3.0 level that is a cheater and r3cruits sandbaggers, and during nationals he purposely turned in his lineups late so that he would know the lineup for the opposing team ahead of time. I heard they even got fined for it every time they did it. Anyways, he just recruited this guy who is a strong 3.5 at minimum, who I play with every week or two.

The captain's teams basically go undefeated in mixed and men's leagues each year, usually advancing to the playoffs. My goal is to put a big L on their record during the men's league to prevent what will probably be another undefeated season for them. Although I don't know if my team will be strong enough to beat them, but we'll see.

Why can't you write the word r3cruits without it turning into asterisks?

[oldguysrule]

How about a TT forum rivalry. CrocodileRock and I are captains of 4.0 teams in the same local league. If he agrees, we will let you guys know how our matches go. Don't expect any venom or smack talk though, it will be a friendly rivalry. I am putting together a team for the first time and he is helping me find players. I suspect my team will be the underdog. We'll make him work for the win though.

[kylebarendrick]

Originally Posted by raiden031

I don't have any rivalries, but there is one captain at the 3.0 level that is a cheater and r3cruits sandbaggers, and during nationals he purposely turned in his lineups late so that he would know the lineup for the opposing team ahead of time. I heard they even got fined for it every time they did it. Anyways, he just recruited this guy who is a strong 3.5 at minimum, who I play with every week or two.

Raiden, was this the team that represented MidAtlantic at Nationals last year? I think they went by the name "Smith Serve". If they are, then we played them in the consolation match (3rd-4th place). The team captain was nice enough to challenge line calls in my match while he was sitting in the stands. There were a bunch of really really good 3.0s on his team though! One of the guys I played against serves major bombs right-handed and then plays the points left-handed. He's an outstanding player and was a real sportsman on the court. I couldn't say the same for the captain though. Just wondering if this is the same guy...

[CrocodileRock]

Originally Posted by oldguysrule

How about a TT forum rivalry. CrocodileRock and I are captains of 4.0 teams in the same local league. If he agrees, we will let you guys know how our matches go. Don't expect any venom or smack talk though, it will be a friendly rivalry. I am putting together a team for the first time and he is helping me find players. I suspect my team will be the underdog. We'll make him work for the win though.

OK, I see how it is. The old "pregame talk down about yourself to lull the other team into overconfidence" trick. Nice try, but no sale. By any chance, are you Rush Limbaugh's evil twin brother?

Actually, I believe you have a really good team, and look forward to playing. It will be mucho fun regardless of the outcome, but a good rivalry inspires both to raise their game, in my opinion.

[raiden031]

Originally Posted by kylebarendrick

Raiden, was this the team that represented MidAtlantic at Nationals last year? I think they went by the name "Smith Serve". If they are, then we played them in the consolation match (3rd-4th place). The team captain was nice enough to challenge line calls in my match while he was sitting in the stands. There were a bunch of really really good 3.0s on his team though! One of the guys I played against serves major bombs right-handed and then plays the points left-handed. He's an outstanding player and was a real sportsman on the court. I couldn't say the same for the captain though. Just wondering if this is the same guy...

Obviously I wasn't exaggerating because you were able to spot them based on my description. LOL. That is correct, they were 3rd place at Nationals last year. The captain is a cheater, and they are the talk of the tennis league around here, because of their antics. Even though neither my team nor any other will advance into the playoffs, at least they raise the skill bar at 3.0 to make for more challenging matches.

If I remember correctly 16 out of 20 of their players got bumped to 3.5 after last season.

[oldguysrule]

Originally Posted by CrocodileRock

OK, I see how it is. The old "pregame talk down about yourself to lull the other team into overconfidence" trick. Nice try, but no sale. By any chance, are you Rush Limbaugh's evil twin brother?

Actually, I believe you have a really good team, and look forward to playing. It will be mucho fun regardless of the outcome, but a good rivalry inspires both to raise their game, in my opinion.

I'm going for the "crying towel" award...

[kylebarendrick]

Originally Posted by raiden031

Obviously I wasn't exaggerating because you were able to spot them based on my description. LOL. That is correct, they were 3rd place at Nationals last year. The captain is a cheater, and they are the talk of the tennis league around here, because of their antics. Even though neither my team nor any other will advance into the playoffs, at least they raise the skill bar at 3.0 to make for more challenging matches.

Nope, you weren't exaggerating. Their assistant captain was feeding our team misinformation through the whole tournament. The line call thing was really funny. Let's face it, we were playing for third place. Who cares who wins? We shuffled our line-up just to have fun. I had never played with my partner before and we lost the first set easily. We managed to break them once in the second set and hold serve to even the match. We took an early lead in the 10 point match tie-break and I think we were up 7-2 when their guy hit a shot up the line. The crowd (mostly from their team) starting yelling immediately. My partner, who was standing right on the line called the shot wide. I thought that took some real guts with everybody already yelling.

I have never seen my partner hook someone on a call. He had the best view on the court and nobody in the stands had an angle to make the call. The captain of the other team (from the stands) just went unhinged yelling at us about the call. I asked my partner if he was sure about the call and he said "it was out". The guy who hit the shot even said "don't worry about the crowd, it's your call". I really respected that.

After the match was over (we won, but my team lost 4-1) the other captain came over and starting yelling at my partner. I told him to get lost, he wasn't a participant in the match, and I didn't give a flying leap how he saw that ball. I really enjoyed the match itself and thought very highly of our opponents. I wouldn't cross the street to spit on that captain if he was on fire. I'll be rooting for you when you play them.

[beernutz]

Originally Posted by kylebarendrick

Nope, you weren't exaggerating. Their assistant captain was feeding our team misinformation through the whole tournament. The line call thing was really funny. Let's face it, we were playing for third place. Who cares who wins? We shuffled our line-up just to have fun. I had never played with my partner before and we lost the first set easily. We managed to break them once in the second set and hold serve to even the match. We took an early lead in the 10 point match tie-break and I think we were up 7-2 when their guy hit a shot up the line. The crowd (mostly from their team) starting yelling immediately. My partner, who was standing right on the line called the shot wide. I thought that took some real guts with everybody already yelling.

I have never seen my partner hook someone on a call. He had the best view on the court and nobody in the stands had an angle to make the call. The captain of the other team (from the stands) just went unhinged yelling at us about the call. I asked my partner if he was sure about the call and he said "it was out". The guy who hit the shot even said "don't worry about the crowd, it's your call". I really respected that.

After the match was over (we won, but my team lost 4-1) the other captain came over and starting yelling at my partner. I told him to get lost, he wasn't a participant in the match, and I didn't give a flying leap how he saw that ball. I really enjoyed the match itself and thought very highly of our opponents. I wouldn't cross the street to spit on that captain if he was on fire. I'll be rooting for you when you play them.

While the other guys on that team you played against sound nice enough, IMO, they bear some of the responsibility for their captain's behavior. If my team captain ever tried to pull that crap I'd walk off the court and tell him to STHU and if that didn't work, I'd leave and quit the team.

[10sfreak]

Originally Posted by beernutz

While the other guys on that team you played against sound nice enough, IMO, they bear some of the responsibility for their captain's behavior. If my team captain ever tried to pull that crap I'd walk off the court and tell him to STHU and if that didn't work, I'd leave and quit the team.

beernutz, I have to second that! I've never seen that kind of behaviour by a captain around here, and hopefully, never will.

[tennismike33]

Based on this thread, you can imagine why I do not play USTA tennis anymore.

The rivalries are great, and I enjoy that piece of the competition. The parts that I didn't enjoy was the chippy actions of a few. Doubles players who intentionally hit a player who has given up the point and had turned his back on the play(I had a black and blue mark for 2 weeks). Then when the ball lands near them they get all uppity and asks if you are trying to hit them in return, my response, "No, I put the ball where it was supposed to go, right at you."

[goober]

It never ceases to amaze me how low people can sink when the stakes are so low. A 3.0 cheating captain playing for 3rd place. Sorry if I find that incredibly pathetic.

His Tombstone will read: His opponents hated him, his teammates tolerated him. He cheated, hooked and sandbagged but by golly he took his team all the way to 3.0 Nationals.

[volleyman]

The teams I play on don't have rivalries, in so much as we won't feel our season redeemed if we just beat this one squad, no matter how many other matches we lose.

We do have a couple of rivalries in that we know who our toughest competitors are going to be each year, and we know we have to beat them if we're going to win the league. So those matches, we focus extra hard on, make sure our best players know to be available, and so on.

[_mats_]

sounds like a lot of drama, I gather these are all ladies' teams?

[Topaz]

Originally Posted by _mats_

sounds like a lot of drama, I gather these are all ladies' teams?

Actually no, if you read the thread through, you will find stories about mens and womens teams.

[raiden031]

Originally Posted by _mats_

sounds like a lot of drama, I gather these are all ladies' teams?

The one I was talking about with kylebarendrick about the 3.0 nationals team is a men's league.