# Now that is classy: RO \[H.S. girls basketball blowout\] **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 26, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013 "2009-01-26T04:21:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/221 "2009-01-27T22:20:07Z")
> [@Tenebras](#): > > The point was that when Grinnell plays with their godawful style they score 120 points per game _and their opponents do, too_. That is, when you are playing against a team which does not care or to or is not capable of playing defense you score a metric shit-ton of points. The teams that play Grinnell aren’t spending all their time conditioning to be able to play like crazed shot-monkeys, but they still rack up the points. > > The losing team in the 100-0 blowout didn’t manage to score a single basket, including free throws. If the Covenant girls were racing back and forth up the court digging for every point you’d expect them to accidentally foul the other team a few times. I’m sorry for the way this sounds, but seriously, so what? I mean, I’m not disputing that the opportunity was there to score 100 points. I’m not disputing that the other team wasn’t playing defense. I’m simply saying that the winning team had a choice, and their choice was, evidently to get to 100. > [@](#): > > Seriously, these girls were so far outmatched they didn’t manage to score a single point, and you’re saying the other team was running up the score? When both teams are competitive it isn’t at all unusual for the combined score to be over 100. Do you have any reason to think that the Dallas Academy girls were in control of the ball for half of the game time? Even if there’s no shot clock, you can’t expect a basketball team to just stand at the end of the court passing the ball around in a circle and not shooting when they have a chance. What kind of box scores would you find acceptable in this situation? 35-0-0-0? I mean, really? Seriously? > [@](#): > > One of the articles says that the Covenant girls turned the game into a lay-up drill, taking the ball from the hapless Academy players and rushing down the court. If this is so, why is the score so low? Now 100 fucking points is “so low.” > [@](#): > > Finally, I am interested in this idea that the Covenant team stopped playing with 4 minutes left in the last quarter. If they were just stealing the ball and then making layups, why did it take them 4 minutes to score 6 times? (4, if you believe the woman about the 3-point shots) So, you’re saying that somehow, the winning team had some sort of _discretion_ they chose to exercise in the fourth quarter, when they didn’t score a humiliating amount of points? Have you considered that if you take those last two paragraphs I’ve quoted above and put them together, it isn’t that difficult to paint a picture of what happened in the second half of that game? That it’s really fucking obvious that they eventually let up a little bit, but that they didn’t do it until way, way later than was necessary unless they had it in mind to score 100? ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/222 "2009-01-27T22:41:34Z")
I’m saying that if they were being big mean bully girls then 100 points is a pretty pathetic score, and that it really isn’t that astonishing. Apparently in the league these teams play in there are some schools that have a basketball team and there are some schools that have some girls who like to get out for some healthy exercise every once in a while. So what you would have preferred that the coach do is to tell the girls to sit on their hands for 16 minutes. “Yeah, I’m sorry you came out here to play basketball, why don’t you just play a bit of keepaway, instead. That’ll be a nice way to burn the rest of your afternoon.” I think it must have been agonizing to be out on the basketball court, trying to maintain enthusiasm and play like a team while at the same time not actually playing. Also, I don’t entirely believe that the Covenant team didn’t score for the last 4 minutes of the game. What did they do, pass the ball around in an endless circle for 4 minutes? Yeah, that sounds respectful. The same news story says that in the 4th quarter they were full court pressing and shooting 3-pointers. So we have a team that can score 25 points in the first 3 minutes of the game using the press, but takes 4 minutes to score 12 in the 4th quarter, when they are driven by animal blood lust to rack up 100, and then they just fuck around for half a quarter. That’s the story that you’re telling. Well, I just don’t think it’s plausible and nothing I’ve read is very convincing. The reporter in the first link talked to a high school basketball coach from New Hampshire who had been in exactly this situation before, and this is what he said: > [@](#): > > In New Hampshire 22 seasons ago John Fagula, then head coach of 1987-88 Nashua High squad that finished first in the USA Today’s girls’ prep basketball poll national ranking, was criticized for scoring over 100 points five times that season. > > Yesterday Fagula, who posted a 432-70 record and 11 state titles at Nashua and is now the head coach at Londonderry, spoke to the debate over whether Grimes was guilty of running up the score. > > "First, I wasn’t at the game and I’m speaking to only what I have heard or read,‘’ said Fagula. "For me it comes down to this: If it’s true he was still playing his best players in the fourth quarter and pressing, then he has stepped over the line, as far as I’m concerned.‘’ > > Covenant was leading Dallas Academy, a program winless over the last four seasons, 59-0 at halftime. > > Fagula said at that point, Grimes could have done something to avoid the final result. > > "If I’m in his shoes, I’m telling my team to sit back in a zone and let them shoot the ball or whatever they wanted to do on offense,‘’ said Fagula. "Our position would be not to trap them at that point. Now if they took a shot, missed and we rebounded, I would not tell my team to stop playing. I would instruct my team to come down, work an offensive play that requires four or five passes before shooting.‘’ > > Fagula said under those circumstances, if his team had still won by a 100-0 margin, he wouldn’t have apologized to the losing team for being that bad. > > "As a coach on the winning side, I can’t see myself telling my team to miss shots or free throws on purpose,‘’ said Fagula. "I just can’t do it.‘’ As for whether they let up a bit at the end, I expect they let up a bit pretty much from the beginning, and then got close to 100 and then tried to get 100 even. And I don’t feel the least bit bad that they did, because it’s a nice round number. The only first person account I’ve seen of the game is from the Covenant coach, and his account sounds plausible to me. In his version the team scores 12 points in the last quarter and he doesn’t say anything about quitting early. ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/223 "2009-01-27T23:02:01Z")
> [@Tenebras](#): > > So what you would have preferred that the coach do is to tell the girls to sit on their hands for 16 minutes. “Yeah, I’m sorry you came out here to play basketball, why don’t you just play a bit of keepaway, instead. That’ll be a nice way to burn the rest of your afternoon.” I think it must have been agonizing to be out on the basketball court, trying to maintain enthusiasm and play like a team while at the same time not actually playing. OK, good. Now you’re lined up with everyone else who hasn’t listened to a god damn thing the other side is saying, so I don’t need to respond after this. > [@](#): > > Also, I don’t entirely believe that the Covenant team didn’t score for the last 4 minutes of the game. What did they do, pass the ball around in an endless circle for 4 minutes? Yeah, that sounds respectful. The same news story says that in the 4th quarter they were full court pressing and shooting 3-pointers. So we have a team that can score 25 points in the first 3 minutes of the game using the press, but takes 4 minutes to score 12 in the 4th quarter, when they are driven by animal blood lust to rack up 100, and then they just fuck around for half a quarter. That’s the story that you’re telling. Well, I just don’t think it’s plausible and nothing I’ve read is very convincing. I haven’t quoted any newspaper articles. My only “source” is the final score of the game and the bullshit the coach said, and the only “story” I’m telling is through words being put in my mouth by, for instance, yourself. I don’t give a fuck what the fans and the reporters said. When you beat a team 100-0, and 88 of those points are in the first three quarters, you ran up the score. ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/224 "2009-01-27T23:45:58Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > OK, good. Now you’re lined up with everyone else who hasn’t listened to a god damn thing the other side is saying, so I don’t need to respond after this. Seriously, man, I’m behind you on this, but people are almost literally sticking their fingers in their ears and chanting “la la la I can’t hear you” at this point. Let it go; no one who is saying, by page four of this thread, that the only choices are to run up the score or “sit on their hands” is really paying attention, or really interested in a reasonable conversation. ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/225 "2009-01-28T00:55:15Z")
> [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](#): > > OK, good. Now you’re lined up with everyone else who hasn’t listened to a god damn thing the other side is saying, so I don’t need to respond after this. I’m listening to what you’re saying, I just think that the story you believe probably bears little resemblance to the actual game. > [@](#): > > I haven’t quoted any newspaper articles. My only “source” is the final score of the game and the bullshit the coach said, and the only “story” I’m telling is through words being put in my mouth by, for instance, yourself. I don’t give a fuck what the fans and the reporters said. When you beat a team 100-0, and 88 of those points are in the first three quarters, you ran up the score. Right, so I guess this is the part where I say I don’t have to respond to anything you say because you’re basing your feelings off a pair of numbers and something you think you heard someone say? The final score was 100-0, no one disputes that. The coach of the losing team, in a newspaper article written by a very credulous reporter, says the opposing team stopped playing with 4 minutes left in the game. Now, I agree with this completely: > [@storyteller0910](#): > > In many cases, in fact, playing to win and playing to maximize the margin of defeat are actually actions in direct opposition. In professional basketball, a team that develops a lead that will be difficult to surmount will adopt a strategy similar to the one described by Jimmy Chitwood: ball control offense, low pressure defense, etc. The reasons for this are many, but the fundamental one is this: that kind of strategy makes it harder for the losing team to come back. Focus on that, everyone who wants to keep hammering in the “you play to win” thing: with a big lead, your best chance of winning in basketball is to back off and slow things down. Aggressive, high-pressure tactics are much more prone to error, to allowing the other team a chance to slip in and make a comeback. For the same reason, football teams with very large leads usually stop blitzing and throwing long, to avoid making a mistake that might key a comeback. So from a purely “basketball” standpoint, the coach taught his players the wrong thing: with a big lead, “playing to win” means “playing conservatively,” so the way the winning team in this story played was not “playing to win.” Well, except for the last bit, of course. 😉 My impression is that the Dallas Academy team was so hapless that there was basically nothing that could be done to _avoid_ scoring points except to just say “by gum, I’m just not going to shoot the ball anymore.” The girls on the losing team all came out and said, basically, “yeah, we really don’t play this game very well, we think of it as a learning experience and it’s fun to hang out with friends!” Now, I think that, when down a few dozen points, those girls are going to completely shut down. After all, if you’re not even trying, it doesn’t matter how bad you lose.\* So the Covenant team went from playing a game against a hapless team to playing a game against a team that had already quit. My guess is that the Academy girls quit playing after the first 3 minutes of the game after they went down 25-0. Basically, I’m taking the Covenant coach at face value: they started the game playing for keeps, racked up some big numbers real early, and then switched to a conservative game. A conservative game against a team that’s not playing or is just not very good could have scores like the ones from this game. Back in the Nagano Olympics they had women’s ice hockey for the first time, and some of the games were painful to watch. In particular, the Canadian women played the Japanese team, and the game was completely lopsided–there wasn’t anything the Canadians could have done to make it less so. Or maybe the coach is just a dick. - This is among the reasons why I hated playing team sports in gym class in high school. If the teams were in any way lopsided, the team on the losing side would just give up right there. It’s not fun to lose, but if you just tell yourself “oh, I’m not even trying” then you’re not getting beat. Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/226 "2009-01-28T06:48:28Z")
It is about sportsmanship. I coached a womans softball team that was very good. When we were beating a team too badly ,my players felt sorry and let up. Then they had a mercy rule to prevent slaughters. But you could always find a way to take it easy if you wanted to. If they could not even get a foul shot , they were not playing at all. The game was a farce. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/227 "2009-01-28T14:35:34Z")
> [@storyteller0910](#): > > Please take that silly stupid strawman and go frighten it with your enormous genitals. While I disagree with your post, may I _please_ use this in a sig line? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/228 "2009-01-28T14:41:22Z")
> [@Agent\_Foxtrot](#): > > While I disagree with your post, may I _please_ use this in a sig line? 😃 Any time the words “enormous genitals” are used on a message board, an angel gets his wings. Feel free. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/229 "2009-01-28T16:55:20Z")
When I first heard this story, I didn’t understand what the winning team had done wrong. Like a lot of people on this thread, I thought that to do anything less than play their best would be to treat the other team disrespectfully, and that if there was any obligation, it was for the losing team to forfeit. But my wife played on the basketball team in High School and she had exactly the opposite reaction. She told me she had played in a couple of games where her team had run up a huge margin against the other team. She said that in these games, her coach started having her team (the winning team) handicap itself in various ways, for example, by only going for three pointers or only passing the ball once per point (or was it passing a whole lot? I forget and I don’t really know basketball that well) and things like that. The team didn’t call attention to the fact that they were doing this, they just did it and let the other team catch up a little bit to the best of their ability. Seems kind of funny to me, but my wife’s impression is that this is just standard operating procedure, and that the disrespectful thing would be to _not_ do something like this once one has such a wide margin. It would be sort of “rubbing it in.” I still think the norms should be different than what they are–it should be the burden of the losing team to forfeit–but given what my wife says about what the norms actually _are_ I no longer am sure the winning team in the current story should be excused. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/230 "2009-01-28T17:20:32Z")
> [@storyteller0910](#): > > Seriously, man, I’m behind you on this, but people are almost literally sticking their fingers in their ears and chanting “la la la I can’t hear you” at this point. Let it go; no one who is saying, by page four of this thread, that the only choices are to run up the score or “sit on their hands” is really paying attention, or really interested in a reasonable conversation. Goes to show how much “winning is everything” means to a lot of people. It’s an article of faith, never to be questioned. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/231 "2009-01-28T19:07:56Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > When I first heard this story, I didn’t understand what the winning team had done wrong. Like a lot of people on this thread, I thought that to do anything less than play their best would be to treat the other team disrespectfully, and that if there was any obligation, it was for the losing team to forfeit. > > But my wife played on the basketball team in High School and she had exactly the opposite reaction. She told me she had played in a couple of games where her team had run up a huge margin against the other team. She said that in these games, her coach started having her team (the winning team) handicap itself in various ways, for example, by only going for three pointers or only passing the ball once per point (or was it passing a whole lot? I forget and I don’t really know basketball that well) and things like that. The team didn’t call attention to the fact that they were doing this, they just did it and let the other team catch up a little bit to the best of their ability. > > Seems kind of funny to me, but my wife’s impression is that this is just standard operating procedure, and that the disrespectful thing would be to _not_ do something like this once one has such a wide margin. It would be sort of “rubbing it in.” > > I still think the norms should be different than what they are–it should be the burden of the losing team to forfeit–but given what my wife says about what the norms actually _are_ I no longer am sure the winning team in the current story should be excused. This is why men still run the world – women start to feel sorry for them if they get behind. Will women ever learn the lesson of keeping the boot (or fashionable pump) planted on the neck? ---
**Author:** ![Hi\_Neighbor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hi_neighbor/32/494_2.png) [@Hi\_Neighbor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hi_Neighbor)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/232 "2009-01-28T19:19:53Z")
Marta was watching basketball game with me when she said, “You know, most of these sports are based on the idea of one group protecting its territory from invasion by another group.” “Yeah,” I said, trying not to laugh. Girls are funny. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/233 "2009-01-28T19:27:56Z")
> [@Hi\_Neighbor](#): > > Marta was watching basketball game with me when she said, “You know, most of these sports are based on the idea of one group protecting its territory from invasion by another group.” “Yeah,” I said, trying not to laugh. Girls are funny. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/234 "2009-01-28T20:01:19Z")
> [@Hi\_Neighbor](#): > > Marta was watching basketball game with me when she said, “You know, most of these sports are based on the idea of one group protecting its territory from invasion by another group.” “Yeah,” I said, trying not to laugh. Girls are funny. Wow, 180 degrees off. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/235 "2009-01-28T20:02:17Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > She said that in these games, her coach started having her team (the winning team) handicap itself in various ways, for example, by only going for three pointers Yet many here were complaining that the winning team didn’t _stop_ going for three-pointers as they were running up the score. ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2009, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/236 "2009-01-28T21:25:08Z")
They were also striving so recklessly to score that they neglected their defense. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/237 "2009-01-30T04:34:45Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > I think that this is one of those cases where there are two camps, and neither will ever understand the other. > > Camp #1 - Sport is really important. Winning at sport is the most important thing there is. If an NFL team turned out against a pee wee football team, they should try to run up at least 400 points. > > Camp #2- Sport should be fun. Results are not important. I know Timmy is in a wheelchair, but let’s give him a shot at playing QB just to make him feel good. And the boys should be made to wear dresses Or something. Witty and well-put! ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/238 "2009-01-30T04:58:22Z")
The only thing i don’t get is the outrage over the three point shots. Taking lots of three pointers does not mean they were running up the score. In fact if they were doing that they would score A LOT less than if they took all the guaranteed layups they easily could have had against that team. IMO the fact that they were chucking up three pointers which don’t really get a lot easier even against a bad team instead of easy layups leans a lot more towards the “holding back” side of the equation. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/239 "2009-01-30T05:34:48Z")
The “no mercy” crowd always seems to miss the point of these threads. The reason you don’t run up the score has much less to do with protecting the feelings of the losers; it’s about protecting the sensibilities of the _winners_. Getting your ass thoroughly kicked in public can indeed be a valuable learning experience. But what, exactly, is the learning experience one takes from winning 100-0? How is a child supposed to feel after knowing that he thoroughly destroyed a much-less skilled opponent? Pride? Joy? I, too, worry about creating a bunch of whiners unaccustomed to failure. But I’m also worried about creating a bunch of un-empathatic me-first bastards. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013/240 "2009-01-30T05:57:07Z")
…not to be cliche, but is this just an American thing? The All-Blacks are the New Zealand national rugby team, and when they aren’t choking at the world-cup are generally regarded as one of the best rugby teams in the world. There biggest winning margin was against Japan where they scored 145 points to 17: that works out to be 21 tries to 2. What got the biggest cheers that day? Obviously the two tries scored by Japan. Whenever the “minnows” score against the Blacks the look of elation on the face of the try scorer is fantastic to see. While the All-blacks didn’t field their full-strength team they didn’t let up and they didn’t “play down” and I don’t doubt thats exactly what Japan wanted. What sort of achievement is it to score tries against a team that isn’t putting in any effort? Another instance at the World Cup 2007: (Noone bring up the game against France, allright!) > **[Rugby: Emotional Portugal savour famous day - NZ Herald](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/rugby-emotional-portugal-savour-famous-day/T2D4JGHLGCORUEL6LDH3Q3W3NM/?c_id=4&objectid=10463881)** > > Latest breaking news articles, photos, video, blogs, reviews, analysis, opinion and reader comment from New Zealand and around the World - NZ Herald > **[Reuters | Breaking International News & Views](https://www.reuters.com?edition-redirect=uk)** > > Find latest news from every corner of the globe at Reuters.com, your online source for breaking international news coverage. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1aYjztlAzmk/hqdefault.jpg "Rugby World Cup 2007 - NZ v Portugal football game") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aYjztlAzmk) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Ievgtv6U0Eg/hqdefault.jpg "Portugal x Nova Zelândia") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ievgtv6U0Eg) Play hard, play fair, have a beer (or a juice!) with the opposition after the game, thats sport isn’t it? The idea that a team would “handicap” itself in anyway except resting players seems to be a completely different paradign: am I alone amongst non-US dopers? (Obligatory link to an old Haka) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SInVdZMrIwc/hqdefault.jpg "classic all blacks haka in japan") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SInVdZMrIwc) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-is-classy-ro-h-s-girls-basketball-blowout/483013.md?page=13)