Evil Empire
by RISteve (2018-08-12 16:21:36)

In reply to: Dueling Boards or "UConn message board"  posted by BabaGhanouj

Post Reply Return to McGraw's Bench

They should take The Evil Empire as a compliment. After all, I am a Red Sox fan, and that is how we refer to The Yankees. A show of respect as well as just being some sports fun. Lighten up, before we know it, the ref will be tossing the ball up once again and both teams will be neck and neck.

And Thanks, I’ll make a note to visit The Yard more often.

I'm not 100% sure which direction it went, but...
by cbiebel  (2018-08-12 22:01:08)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

about 15 or so years ago the UConn/UT rivalry had fans of at least one side (I think it was the UConn fans) referring to the other (UT) as the "Evil Empire." I think this is a case of there being a lot of "Johnnie Come Latelies" among the UConn faithful.

As you said, it's not that uncommon of a thing in sports, especially between the fans of the two top teams.

evil empire
by linkster  (2018-08-14 20:23:09)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

The actual origin does come from Red Sox fans referring to the Yankees. It was used by Geno in an interview to describe Tennessee back when the LV's were the dominant program. The writers were New Englanders and understood the reference but Pat took it as an insult. I think a lot of the animosity between Geno and Pat was due to the way he poked Pat. She was a great coach but she lacked a thick skin and IMO took herself too seriously and Geno used that every chance he got.