The Bad Boys of Ladderball

Every sport has them, and Ladderball, no longer in its infancy, is proving to be no exception. While there is a growing sense of parity in the league, with several teams having proved worthy of future invites to tournaments at the Shipmaster, it is impossible to overlook the fact that the same four teams are finding their way into the final brackets of every major event. Of these four, two could be described as loved and adored. The other two, anything but.

It is typically not difficult to comprehend a lovefest, in ladderball or otherwise. Easygoing personalities on and off the pitch, lack of excessive showboating and taunting, costumes/pads/helmets, and the ability to be perceived as an underdog despite also having the wherewithal to actually win the big one. See; B-Team, Leggies.

Being controversial is one thing. Being hated universally around the sport is something different entirely. The Bad Boys of Ladderball have all achieved this designation in their own special way; the only common denominator being that spectators are not so much rooting FOR their opponents, as they are rooting AGAINST the Bad Boys. We will take a closer look as to how exactly these outlaws created all of this ill will in the ladderball community.

A-Team
















The A-Team did a great deal to earn some goodwill amongst fans and competitors in the Independence Day tournament (despite debuting some new black jerseys - how fitting), namely by not winning. But also gone (for the most part) were Bob's unsportsmanlike antics and Fred's excessive alcohol consumption, as aptly noted by Ol' Andy in the tourney preview issue, neither change going unnoticed by those in attendance. But for the time being, the A-Team remains a threat in future tournaments, are expected to continue wearing their nifty black jerseys, and are simply not far enough removed from their excessive labor day 09 celebration to be back in the good graces of the sports Good Guys and Girls.

However, None could not have expected the A-Team to fall from their perch of Most Hated in the first big tournament of 2010. Most would agree, the hatred in this event was most palpable for another pair, formerly known as the ZJ's, recently reborn as....

Shake and Bake















Shake and Bake, consisting of brothers Eric (El Diablo) and Brian (Magic Man) Rooney, have easily established themselves as the most hated in the game currently, and have managed to do so without a major tournament victory; no small feat.

"How did we get here?" you ask? It all goes back to the pair's first tournament, during which an early hot streak led them to quick wham, bam, thank you ma'am victories over the A & B-Teams. As the (then) ZJ's confidence grew, chest bumps, high fives, threats, and boasts resulted, culminating in the fatal mistake of lighting victory cigars and taking shots before/during the semifinal round, leading to a disappointing 3rd place finish.

The team reinvented themselves in the form of Shake and Bake, an ode to the hilarious "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby." While starting out on an even keel, a favorable draw in the brackets led to early victories once again, and with that, excessive displays of braggadocio. Despite their best attempts to remain humble, "shake n' bake" gestures lifted from the movie and more jumping high fives were not received well by those in the audience. As the final game ended, spectators collectively sighed in relief, as SnB once again fell short to the much more lovable Team Leggies.

Whether these Bad Boys will ever to be able to reverse the ladderball community's negative feelings towards them remains to be seen.