Sports cliches in cartoons?

[Anthonynotes]

I know, another poll... but oh, well:

(Open on: a TV-screen shot of a spinning desk globe... various shots of cartoon athletes are seen superimposed in little boxes across the screen...trumpet fanfare music plays)

ANNOUNCER: Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sport...

(Shot of: Cecil Turtle, dressed as a rabbit, crossing a racetrack finish line with help from gangster rabbits, from "Tortoise Wins By a Hare")

ANNOUNCER: The thrill of victory...

(Shot of: Homer Simpson trying to leap Springfield Gorge on a skateboard, then falling into the ravine and down the side of a cliff, from "Bart the Daredevil")

ANNOUNCER: And the agony of defeat...

(Shots of: Bugs Bunny trying to fight the Crusher; Charlie Brown trying to kick the football, only to land flat on his back; Garfield the Cat sitting sedentarily in a lounge chair watching sports on TV and not moving an inch.)

ANNOUNCER: The 'toon drama of athletic competition... this is Toonzone's "Broad World of Sports"!

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What the subject line says---what sports cliches are seen in cartoons?

To start:

- Championship games (and often regular games) will always be a close tie with the other team... unless the team's a "loser" in which case it'll be a ludicrously lopsided blowout. Never any middle-ground (being behind 11 points in basketball or something).

- Someone will try to place a bet on a sporting event.

- The game will always come down to the final few seconds/minute/etc. of play.

- Normal rules of the game will often be flouted to "make it funny" (example: Timmy in a Fairly OddParents episode shoveling in basketballs while standing next to a basket---despite that this is called "goal tending" and is against basketball rules; another example: a Bullwinkle episode where they're playing football has Bullwinkle running toward the other team's goal by mistake, but the gun sounds for the end of that quarter/start of the next quarter, and thus he's running the right way and can score a goal, since the goals are now switched with the start of the next quarter. Riiiight... ;-) ).

- When cheating or something grossly violating the rules of the game happens, the referees won't call the players on it (even if said cheating is obvious and visible to anyone remotely present)---see: well, the above FOP episode...

[oofadoofa]

In most of the shows I've seen, a team is considered bad if they lose a single game, and fans will adore a character only if they keep winning. Also, jocks are almost always protrayed as stupid, macho, bullies.

[Thom E. Elias]

hockey players are all dumb, hulking brutes, and hockey is a sport of violence. (at least according to cartoons)


Thom

[Sharklady]

If there's a lone female on the team she's generally the second-best player, after the Hero.

[DarthGonzo]

A main character who is a bad athelete at baseball somehow becomes very good at the game for whatever reason - see Homer in "Homer at Bat", Leela in "A Leela of her Own" and Jimmy Neutron in "The Retroville 9".

[tb4000]

Any epsiode featuring basketball will always be comprised of mostly black characters, with one standout that befriends the main character for some reason.

[Wussycat]

If it's in a school or camp setting, the opposing team will be made up of the bullies.

[Antiyonder]

In any animated competition, even if it's clear the opposing team cheats they still get to continue on rather than getting disqualified.

[STARTOUNZ]

In any animated competition, even if it's clear the opposing team cheats they still get to continue on rather than getting disqualified.

Or in case of the Really Rottens (featured in Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics), they continue their cheat tactics despite getting DQ'd or point deductions. About the same applied to Dick Dastardly and Muttley in The Wacky Races.

[Carolina Red]

- The game will always come down to the final few seconds/minute/etc. of play.And the last play will always be in slow motion.

[The Myst]

The team always loses, they end up hating the coach, and the dying kid they were going to win it for dies.

[HellCat]

If it's wrestling/boxing, the heroes initial matches will be staged. This is usually without their knowledge and leads to them challenging a real champion. They're finally informed close to the match and resolve to beat the opponent to prove themselves.