Billy Packer hates everything you like

Sometimes I forget that I hate Billy Packer...probably cuz I don't watch much college basketball anymore, but yesterday he showed up on ESPN to remind me that in fact I still hate him very very much. Outside the Line's did a special about the 30th anniversary of the Michigan State vs Indiana State national title game...aka the beginning of Magic vs. Bird and how it helped explode the popularity of basketball in this country. Now Packer being the thoughtful old curmudgeon that he is spent nearly the entire broadcast shitting all over this statement saying that it wasn't even a good basketball game (this is true) and that he didn't think that Magic and Bird's impact on the game helped make college or NBA basketball any more poplar than it would have been and that the whole thing was being overrated. Now usually I would agree with the fact that if ESPN was hyping something then naturally that thing would be overrated, but when you consider that the Indiana State/Mich State final is the highest rated college basketball game of all time and that Bird and Magic are 2 of the most popular basketball players ever who took over the NBA in the 1980s and who can be credited (with Jordan, of course) for turning basketball from a national game into a global game. I'm willing to side with the WWL on this one.

Listening to Packer talk about how he wasn't that impressed with Larry Bird as a college basketball player and never thought he would have been a good pro and that he thought Magic's biggest accomplishment ever was that he played center his rookie year when Kareem got hurt was completely mindnumbing. Sometimes I wonder if Billy Packer has ever loved anything in his life. He also took the opurtunity to take a couple of shots at mid major teams (noting that even though Indiana State was undefeated going into the championship game, that they hadn't played anyone) I often imagine the only satisfaction that Packer ever gets from life is the rare oppurtunity he gets to kick a puppy or choke a hobo to death. What a dick.