OBNUG Roundtable: Public Enemy #1

Public Enemy #1 has been a raging, ribald debate at OBNUG. The distinction of being the most hated villain for our website is not to be taken lightly, which has made the decision all the more difficult. Whoever wins will receive our scorn for the next 365 days, so we want to get it right.

Recently, a few of OBNUG's finest discussed the candidacy of our Public Enemy nominees. Here is that conversation:

kevanlee: Dan Hawkins, Sean Renfree, Colin Kaepernick, Robb Akey, Mike Prater, and Hal Mumme. Just seeing this list makes me rather upset. As a Boise State fan, these six people are some of the most despicable I have ever seen. A liar, a loser, a fink, a slanderer, a traitor, and a blowhard. What a group.

Picking just one will be a hard task, but at least we can't go wrong with any of these guys. The interesting thing is that each one of these candidates stands as a different burr to Bronco Nation. Some are threatening and some are annoying.

I'm leaning toward Kaepernick, Akey, and Hawkins. Kaepernick has the potential to absolutely ruin the lives of BSU fans this season, and he seems to have a hidden agenda to take down the Broncos. Akey is Idaho's coach, and he grows more and more intolerable every day. And I have a personal vendetta against "Hawk" for the way he left BSU.

Which crime is worse? Being a life-ruiner, being a cad, or being a Judas?

Nick: It's really too bad we are having this discussion this year instead of last. I mean, Kaepernick, Mumme, and Akey really all pale in comparison to the douchebaggery last year in Hawaii's duo of June Jones and Colt Brennan. For those reasons alone, I'm probably leaning against those three.

I'm also leaning against Hawkins. It's been two full seasons since he left, and although he did so in the lowest of fashions, some of Boise State's greatest moments have happened since then. If he were in the same conference or even succeeding at Colorado, I might find more contempt in my heart for him. Unfortunately, I just don't care enough.

By process of elimination, that leaves Renfree and Prater. I think it's a little premature to vote for Renfree. He hasn't even had a chance to not live up to his potential at Duke.

So that leaves Mr. Prater. The fact that he hired Brian Murphy is more than enough reason for me to dislike the guy. Fortunately, there are many more including the aforementioned debacle that he is on the radio along with his Vandal blood. Could KTIK get a less charismatic personality on the mic? I'd rather listen to a confused Paul J any day over the apathetic and uninspiring Prater.

Kenton Arthur Lee: I think that Dan Hawkins could still be Public Enemy #1, and here's why:

1) He's kind of a freak compared to Peterson. There is a huge contrast there.

2)I don't really like his kid, either. And I hope his kid doesn't succeed down there. He could have been awesome at BSU and then we wouldn't be having this quarterback controversy right now.

3) Not everybody knows the names of people on that list, but every BSU fan remembers Hawkins. I think more people identify with not liking Hawkins.

kevanlee: Maybe we would have been better off nominating the entire Hawkins family.

I agree, Nick. Robb Akey and Colin Kaepernick are very similar to WAC nemeses like June Jones and Colt Brennan. It seems like we will always have someone to hate in our conference, and that is the way it should be. That said, should they be considered less since they are merely iterations of past enemies? I don't think so.

Now to Hawkins and Prater. Hawkins has an interesting case because he has been out of the public scorn of Bronco Nation for a few years now, yet we all seem to still have a total distaste for the guy. That should count for something. Prater's offenses are evident, and he has the opportunity and power to seriously affect how Bronco fans get their news. The main reason I hesitate to support Prater's case is because his indiscretions are harder to quantify. That, and I can't find any good pictures of him.

Sounds like Renfree and Mumme are safe. Let's give Kaepernick a pass on this year's P.E.#1 since he will still be around to hate for a couple more season. That leaves Akey, Prater, and Hawkins.

Nick: In response to Akey, Kaepernick, and Mumme, it's not that they are past iterations of past enemies. It's that they pale in comparison to past iterations. Can you really take Akey seriously with a mustache like that? I feel like we would be giving too much credit to Kaepernick when he's really not done anything else. It's hard for me to hate Mumme too much when I get so much joy from watching him prance around on the sideline imitating a drunk Gary Busey.

I would not be opposed to Prater or Hawkins. I definitely had more hatred in my heart seeing Cody run around in Colorado's backfield and thinking about how he reneged on his verbal commitment to follow Daddy to a guaranteed starting job leaving us into this never-ending cycle of trying to find a starting quarterback. I might be able to get behind that.

kevanlee: Hawkins or Prater, huh? The ghosts of our past or the bane of our present? The case for Hawkins is so completely different than the case for Prater that it is hard to even compare the two. On the one hand, you have a former coach who spurned a loving fanbase. On the other hand, you have a local media personality who roots for the local team's rival. Both are terrible people, but in different ways.

Who will it be? We might need to sleep on this one for a day or two. Keep your fingers crossed, Hawkins and Prater. We'll have our answer on Wednesday.

Public Enemy #1: Hal Mumme's case

OBNUG is in the process of deciding who should be this website's most hated villain. We'll be presenting the cases for all of the candidates over the next few weeks. Enjoy.

Hal Mumme

Hal Mumme's case for Public Enemy #1 was written by Drew from the Fight, Fight, BSU blog. Drew's distaste for the New Mexico State head man is powerful, convincing, and well-worded. Enjoy his dissertation.

Whenever a coach "invents" a lame, gimmicky offense and then gives it an even lamer, gimmicky name like "the Pistol", "Wildhawg", or, in Mumme's case "the Air Raid," I automatically think that that coach is...well, lame and gimmicky. But couple that lameness with an undeserved air of importance like the towel-toting Hal Mumme exudes and, well, you have made a case for Public Enemy #1.

Mumme, well-known for running several programs into the ground, believes his own hype that he's some sort of offensive genius, cozies up to other hated head coaches like June Jones, and has the audacity to compare teams that have beaten his teams after the fact. The latter was exactly what Mumme did in '06 after their brutal loss to Hawaii. He said (with nothing to gain) that Hawaii was better than Boise State! Boise State had beaten Hawaii weeks earlier. Then to add insult to insult, Mumme voted for June Jones as WAC coach of the year over eventual NATIONAL coach of the year Chris Petersen.

All these things are enough to make any Bronco fan despise Mumme and glory in the fact that his team was absolutely humiliated by BSU in '07...but Mumme tops it all off by disgustingly wiping his nose constantly on the snot-soaked towel that he drapes across his shoulders and can often be seen running his no-doubt mucous-covered hands through his majestically feathered hair. Mumme, in so doing, achieves the rare double whammy...he offends fan's sensibilities and turns their stomach.

Favorite quote: "Mumme needs bandages" (Marty Tadman's infamous quote after the Broncos drubbed the Aggies on the blue in '07)

For more from Drew, check out his Bronco blog at Fight, Fight, BSU.