1974 Photo of Nick "the king" Fotiu Cape Cod Cubs

[mikebflorida]

Originally Posted by pesadillamal

This post is filled with nothing but garbage and lies. You hypocrites talk about Fotiu fans going overboard and then you line up drooling to thank trash like this. There is not one fact in here.

You thanked Battleship 25 for saying many of the same things I said but mine are garbage and lies?

I guess you just didn't like the way I said it?

I think I've been VERY fair with Fotiu and my opinion and ranking of him.

As I said, I don't want to hate the guy, he has some redeeming qualities but the hype his fans and the media propped him up with is just disgusting, that's where the real garbage and lies are and you should understand that.

Has there been a tough guy more hyped than Nick? Ever? None that I know of and I've been following hockey since the mid 80's and vividly remember watching Calgary, loaded with gunslingers, putting foot to ass on all sorts of teams and Fotiu never being involved with his fists. He was a ghost but he had this huge reputation and couldn't find any dance partners? Really?

I've given him credit for his reputation as a boxer and as a good fighter so I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle, he couldn't find a guy to fight or just wasn't in the mood to fight or didn't want to get hit, ala Simon, Brash, Vukota but when he did fight he was very good at it.

Why the hate ?

[pesadillamal]

Originally Posted by mikebflorida

You thanked Battleship 25 for saying many of the same things I said but mine are garbage and lies?

I guess you just didn't like the way I said it?

I think I've been VERY fair with Fotiu and my opinion and ranking of him.

As I said, I don't want to hate the guy, he has some redeeming qualities but the hype his fans and the media propped him up with is just disgusting, that's where the real garbage and lies are and you should understand that.

Has there been a tough guy more hyped than Nick? Ever? None that I know of and I've been following hockey since the mid 80's and vividly remember watching Calgary, loaded with gunslingers, putting foot to ass on all sorts of teams and Fotiu never being involved with his fists. He was a ghost but he had this huge reputation and couldn't find any dance partners? Really?

I've given him credit for his reputation as a boxer and as a good fighter so I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle, he couldn't find a guy to fight or just wasn't in the mood to fight or didn't want to get hit, ala Simon, Brash, Vukota but when he did fight he was very good at it.

Why the hate ?

Sorry Mike but as mad as homers make you, the haters get to me. I don't have a problem with your general feelings about Nicky but mainly I thought your description of that brawl and then pinning his legacy on your misconceptions was horrible. I'll go over exactly what I felt was wrong instead of the pot shot I took at you.

"He was hiding behind the ref" - There were two refs on him and I am sure they thought they could calm the situation down if they controlled Fotiu. He was biding his time and you should know that going wild and trying to get away from two refs will only get you escorted off the ice. He made them think he was fine and then came out of the box to fight but you rip him for that. That befuddles me.

"He had his choice of Holmgren, Dupont, Kelly, or about six other tough guys" - First of all, I want these six guys named. Second, we have no way of knowing why he fought Cunningham there. Were these other 8 guys challenging Nicky but he made his way around them to fight Cunningham? No. Cunningham was probably trying to make a name for himself and secure a job. It's really unfair to lay that on Fotiu.

"Bridgeman is beating the tar out of Frank Seldom Beaton and Nick, who supposedly is the "deterrent" just stands there." - Beaton was supposed to help Nicky in the physical department and lost a fight. Big deal. And Nicky was not "just standing there", he was not in that area.

"Yet another in a long line of videos I've seen where Nick doesn't do anything and finally fights some chump." - Pure lies. Show me these videos and then tell me how you figured out that Cunningham was a "chump". Fotiu certainly was not looking for "some chump" when he made his way out of the middle of a scrum to confront Wilson in that famous clip.

Then you go on to ramble about fans/worshippers while there are many objective posters from different fan bases that keep it real. You compare your post to B25's but they are miles apart. B25 does not let the hype get in his way of making what seem like very accurate observations, good and bad for Fotiu, while you just put your own spin on one incident and pinned that on Fotiu as his legacy. Goon21 is not a Ranger or a Fotiu fan but he had a much better reply to you than I did and you should read his post and realize that it is indeed a two way street and the haters are just as bad as the homers.

[mikebflorida]

Originally Posted by pesadillamal

Sorry Mike but as mad as homers make you, the haters get to me. I don't have a problem with your general feelings about Nicky but mainly I thought your description of that brawl and then pinning his legacy on your misconceptions was horrible. I'll go over exactly what I felt was wrong instead of the pot shot I took at you.

"He was hiding behind the ref" - There were two refs on him and I am sure they thought they could calm the situation down if they controlled Fotiu. He was biding his time and you should know that going wild and trying to get away from two refs will only get you escorted off the ice. He made them think he was fine and then came out of the box to fight but you rip him for that. That befuddles me.

"He had his choice of Holmgren, Dupont, Kelly, or about six other tough guys" - First of all, I want these six guys named. Second, we have no way of knowing why he fought Cunningham there. Were these other 8 guys challenging Nicky but he made his way around them to fight Cunningham? No. Cunningham was probably trying to make a name for himself and secure a job. It's really unfair to lay that on Fotiu.

"Bridgeman is beating the tar out of Frank Seldom Beaton and Nick, who supposedly is the "deterrent" just stands there." - Beaton was supposed to help Nicky in the physical department and lost a fight. Big deal. And Nicky was not "just standing there", he was not in that area.

"Yet another in a long line of videos I've seen where Nick doesn't do anything and finally fights some chump." - Pure lies. Show me these videos and then tell me how you figured out that Cunningham was a "chump". Fotiu certainly was not looking for "some chump" when he made his way out of the middle of a scrum to confront Wilson in that famous clip.

Then you go on to ramble about fans/worshippers while there are many objective posters from different fan bases that keep it real. You compare your post to B25's but they are miles apart. B25 does not let the hype get in his way of making what seem like very accurate observations, good and bad for Fotiu, while you just put your own spin on one incident and pinned that on Fotiu as his legacy. Goon21 is not a Ranger or a Fotiu fan but he had a much better reply to you than I did and you should read his post and realize that it is indeed a two way street and the haters are just as bad as the homers.

Fair enough, I did come down too hard on him because of all the "love" he was getting.

Like I said, I want to like the guy and do but the hype surrounding him is gross and the fact that he had only 43 regular season fights in 12 seasons really bugs me. Part of it was his reputation and I think part of it was his unwillingness, how big those parts are is subject for, often times, heated debate. It really turns me off and maybe I characterize him unfairly sometimes.

Thanks