Biggest Premature Sports Reactions
Humans are reactionary. It's just how we are wired.
Knowing that, sports has become a great breeding ground for those reactions to manifest, then eventually explode. It doesn't matter if we're talking about Twitter, Facebook or MySpace—all right, maybe not MySpace—everyone has been guilty at times of reacting prematurely to something in sports.
The slideshow we're about to dive into is full of classic premature reactions from the 2000s. After reading this list, ask yourself, were you guilty of overreacting at times?
Chip Kelly's College Schemes Won't Work in the NFL
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"I just don't see NFL passing concepts in this offense," ESPN's Ron Jaworski famously told Harry Mayes and Nick Kayal on 97.5 The Fanatic (h/t Sheil Kapadia of PhillyMag.com).
Jaworski wasn't alone in believing that Chip Kelly's innovative offense would fail in the National Football League. The ex-college coach was met with skepticism when he took over the Philadelphia Eagles in 2013.
His offense was different and he wanted to bring change to this league. Forget the fact that the New England Patriots' up-tempo attack was somewhat inspired from Kelly's days at Oregon.
Above anything else, we've learned that Coach Kelly is an innovator. He's put a quarterback-friendly system in place that has given both Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez a chance to thrive. Besides that, he's also focused on sports science and nutrition to better his team.
During his first summer running the Eagles, the MMQB's Peter King wrote about Kelly's daring tactics.
To say that Kelly's philosophy has succeeded would be accurate. In his debut season, the Eagles won the NFC East with a 10-6 record.
The magic has yet to wear off, as the Eagles are currently 7-2 without DeSean Jackson or Michael Vick—both members of the '13 squad. He's tinkered with the roster, tweaked his scheme and created another playoff-caliber team in Philadelphia.
Kelly has become one of the most revolutionary head coaches in the business. Those who overreacted to the hype surrounding his hiring have all been served a diner-sized slice of humble pie.
The Big 3 Will Change How NBA Teams Are Built
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Remember when LeBron James sat there on stage with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade and rattled off how many championships the Big Three would win together?
Forming this trio of NBA megastars was something we hadn't really seen before in league history. Heat president Pat Riley has done a lot of remarkable things during his career, but getting these three guys to storm South Beach together may be at the top of that list.
The Big Three weren't a bust by any means. In the four seasons they spent together, they won two championships and made it to four-straight NBA finals. But James sitting there telling the world this party would last forever and would be filled with more gold than Trinidad James' mouth—no relation to LeBron—was a blatant overreaction.
Robert Griffin III Is Better Than Andrew Luck
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Robert Griffin III's rookie season in Washington was one of the most exciting things we've seen in the NFL.
The second overall pick from Baylor excelled under then-head coach Mike Shanahan and his son Kyle, who was the team's offensive coordinator at the time.
He completed 65.6 percent of his passes for 3,200 yards, 20 touchdowns and just five interceptions that year. Acting like a true mobile QB, he also ran the ball 120 times for 815 yards and seven TDs. Those numbers won him Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and added more fuel to the whole "Griffin is better than Luck" debate.
For the record, the official Luck vs. Griffin debate started before the 2012 draft.
Since that fateful rookie season, Luck has transitioned into one of the top young signal-callers around while Griffin has struggled through injuries and schematic changes.
I guess there was a reason ESPN's resident draft junkies Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. wrote that Luck had "no glaring weakness" before the Indianapolis Colts selected him No. 1 overall.
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Allen Iverson's 'Practice' Comments Will Forever Taint Him
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"We're talking about practice." Those are the words former Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson will always be remembered for.
As one of the best players in franchise history, Iverson carried the 76ers for the first 10 seasons of his career. He won the league's Most Valuable Player award during the 2000-01 campaign, and over the entirety of his 76ers tenure, he averaged an astounding 27.6 points per game.
Even with those accolades and a trip to the NBA finals, Iverson's "practice" speech still is one of his biggest calling cards.
You can imagine the response at the time. All these years later, the Iverson rant is still talked about. Just a few years ago, DJ Gallo wrote a piece for ESPN.com trying to decipher what the diatribe actually meant.
Long live the Answer, one of the most entertaining and fearless players we've ever seen fly around an NBA floor.
Tom Brady's Time as an Elite QB is Over
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The NFL has nurtured some of the most preposterous overreactions in all of sports. You can blame that on the league's soaring popularity, but these "hot takes" come fast and they come with fury.
After the New England Patriots were dismantled by a score of 44-14 by Andy Reid's Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football and Tom Brady was benched toward the end of the game, the hot take of the year emerged.
You know the one we're talking about: Should Brady be benched long term?
The Twitter universe wasn't the only place this question was brought up. A member of the media actually asked head coach Bill Belichick if "the quarterback position should be evaluated?"
Belichick's response was perfect.
Since the question came to light, the Patriots have won five games in a row. And what about Brady? All he's done is throw 18 touchdowns to just one interception in that span.
LeBron James and the 2014-15 Cavaliers Are Going to Be Terrible
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To open up the 2014-15 NBA season, LeBron James and his new-look Cleveland Cavaliers went 1-3.
Who cares if there were new pieces in place and that they had a brand new head coach in David Blatt? There were even reports that James and guard Kyrie Irving had exchanged words in the locker room, per ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
Panic mode had set in and everyone took to his or her laptops to figure out why they were struggling.
Even ESPN personality and Grantland paterfamilias Bill Simmons sort of rolled up his sleeves and got in on the action. On fellow ESPN personality Colin Cowherd's radio program, Simmons questioned James' ability without jumping the gun too much or giving up on the NBA's best player.
Still, the writing was on the wall. The Cavaliers were struggling and people took notice. Since that 1-3 start, LeBron's crew has won two straight games and started to find some chemistry.
I guess we all should have listened when James channeled the great Aaron Rodgers on Twitter and told Cavs fans to "relax."
Notre Dame Is the Team of Destiny
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There were firm believers at the time that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish would go out and beat the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2013 BCS National Championship game.
It didn't matter that they were grossly outgunned by Alabama, they were the deemed the team of “destiny.”
Their season was extraordinary. That year Notre Dame beat the likes of Oklahoma, Stanford, Michigan and Michigan State on their way to a perfect 12-0 record.
Ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation, a final win over USC granted them a chance to play Alabama in the National Championship game. It was the first time they had made a National Championship game since 1988.
ESPN.com's Gene Wojciechowski published a column before the game detailing how the Fighting Irish could take down the almighty Crimson Tide.
All of the big wins and momentum in the world couldn't stop what came next. Nick Saban's program marched out onto the field and crushed the Irish 42-14. The game was never close, and despite the magical run they had endured, Notre Dame was not the team of destiny.
'Linsanity'
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In 2012, Mike D'Antoni and the New York Knicks found hope in the form of a 6'3" unheralded point guard named Jeremy Lin.
Out of seemingly nowhere, Lin was thrust into the starting lineup and set off "Linsanity" in Madison Square Garden. The Knicks won seven games in a row at one point, while Lin's crashing, intense style of play riveted audiences across the world.
Linsanity may have taken over for a brief period of time, but it all came tumbling down after that. Star forward Carmelo Anthony returned from injury and the Knicks began to struggle once again. D'Antoni resigned and was replaced by Mike Woodson toward the end of the season.
Though the Knicks would reach the playoffs, the Miami Heat would make quick work of them in the first round.
That offseason, the Knicks didn't bring Lin back into the fold. Instead, he signed a deal to play for the Houston Rockets.
Since Linsanity died down, the man behind it has fallen back down to earth. Now with the Los Angeles Lakers, he's averaging 12.8 points and 4.9 assists per game—a far cry from those magical days in New York City.
Tim Tebow Will Make It in the NFL
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Tim Tebow will go down as perhaps the most polarizing player in the history of the NFL.
He was a hero at the University of Florida and had the misfortune of being drafted too high by the Denver Broncos in 2010. Talent-wise, Tebow should never have been taken in the first round of the draft.
His passing mechanics were heavily flawed, which made him a project in that area of the field.
But in classic Tebow fashion, he made the most of his opportunity when the Broncos gave him a chance. We will never forget his 80-yard touchdown pass in overtime to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas that allowed the underdog Broncos to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In fact, the 316 yards he passed for that game to this day are the highest of his professional career.
After all of that, who would have figured that would be the last time Tebow got the chance to lead an NFL franchise?
The Broncos signed Peyton Manning to be their quarterback while the Jets traded for Tebow. In his one season in New York, Tebow would attempt just eight passes.
If given a chance, would Tebow have wound up as a starter in this league? Some would tell you yes, while others would laugh at the notion. Ultimately, we may never know the answer to that question.
Tiger Woods Will Break Every Record There Is
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We may never see anything quite a prime Tiger Woods golf again. He was as dominant as they come in a sport laced with legends.
The 1997 Masters, the 2001 Masters, there were so many incredible moments during Woods' career. Everyone thought he would go on to break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major championships by the time it was all said and done, including the Golden Bear himself.
But injuries and lethargic play have put a damper on that conviction. Though Nicklaus still thinks Woods will surpass him, nothing is certain anymore.
Sitting at 14 majors for his career, the 38-year-old is now on the comeback trail, per Bleacher Report's Tyler Conway.
All MLB, NBA, PGA, NHL, college football and NFL information and stats provided by ESPN.com, unless noted otherwise.
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