Porcelli's Teams Kissed The Clouds

Peter Porcelli says he's no genius. We won't argue the point. But he was smart enough to know what he was going into.

Porcelli built his Tampa Bay Smokers into a winner. His Smokers have kissed the clouds two of the last three years, winning the ISC World Tournament in 1996 and 1998.

He didn't spare the expense. He thought once his team climbed the mountain and kissed the clouds, everyone would learn to accept him.

That's really what he wanted. Even more than his teams championships.

We grow up in this country believing Americans love winners.

It's a myth.

We hate winners. We loathe favorites.

The Dallas Cowboys aren't America's team. They're America's villains. We grew liking the Denver Broncos. That's when they lost those Super Bowls.

Now, that the Broncos won the 1998 Super Bowl, we're not as likely to give up those cheers. It's a different story for them now.

We don't root for the rich to get richer. We root for the mighty to fall.

America roots for the underdogs. . .like Valparaiso in the NCAA Basketball Tournament or the Utah Utes playing against the mighty Kentucky Wildcats. Prairie View A&M and the Buffalo Bills.

We hate the Yankees. Only I have been the exception to that. The Yankees won all the time and America despised them for it. Everything came easily for them. They were the Bronx Bullies. Nothing has changed.

After winning, the 1996 ISC, Porcelli love tasting the champagne. He went out and signed the big one -- Darrin Zack -- and put the softball world on notice. He wanted to pop more champagne corks.

But let's not kid ourselves. We learned to hate Porcelli, because he had the war-chess to reach for the stars, and did.

At the same time, we hated Porcelli for doing it. We secretly wished our teams could do the same thing. We wished we could have a Todd Martin, Todd Garcia, or Zack.

We apparently got our wish.

Now, it seems like Porcelli's well has run dry. Zack has left the team, returning to his native Canada. Porcelli is reaching out for sponsors to keep his team intact. It's not like Porcelli is sitting on a corner in Manhattan, with a tin cup, calling out for a dime or a nickel.

He already has two sponsors and is reaching out for one more by Oct. 31st. Either that, or his team might pull off a Florida Marlin disbandment, one year after winning the World Series.

People aren't exactly rooting for him, either. Porcelli hasn't exactly been working with the establishment. He has been anti-establishment, not playing by the same rules. He made good fodder for the other teams.

He had a dream to reestablish central Florida in the fastpitch softball ranks. Create the same excitement the legendary Clearwater Bombers did during their glory years of the late 1960s, and 1970s.

In his way, he thought he was fulfilling his dream. The Tampa Bay Smokers are a softball power. No one is questioning that. But fastpitch softball, except for the women, has lost its aura in Florida. No one showed up to watch the 1997 ASA National Tournament.

And they didn't exactly scare up a crowd when the elite teams spent their weekends in Tampa Bay last summer, either.

And that frustrated Porcelli. That's like he has been doing for ISC fastpitch followers for years.

Rooting for Porcelli and his team was like rooting for Cinderella's sisters ugly. He is poster child for Leo's credo, "Nice guys finish last."

Maybe, just maybe before we root Porcelli out of fastpitch softball, we better not be to quick to sign off on his epitaph.

And after all, he didn't kick the dog, or beat his wife. He just built a team everyone loved to hate. And that just might ruin a summer for some, not having a team you love to hate.

I said this was not a story of right or wrong, or good and bad.

Maybe, Porcelli did learn a lesson, there isn't much difference between love and hate.

Editor's Note:
DAN PATTISON has been a sports writer and columnist for over 30 years with The Deseret News, Salt Lake Tribune, Las Vegas Sun, The Sporting News, Basketball Times & USA Today.  He is currently enjoying his association with men's major fastpitch and as an ISC Commissioner.