The matchups continue. Today we have Nate Longshore v. Kirk Everist. As many people remember, Longshore played QB for Cal and the fans have had a unique relationship with him. From fan favorite to whipping boy all in a matter of months. Kirk Everist is a National Championship winning Water Polo coach for Cal. Anything and everything you could ever want in a Cal athlete, Cal coach, and Cal fan.
They are in the Joe Kapp Regional and the winner will take on Geoff MacArthur. You can read the full bracket here. Voting ends this Friday, April 22, at noon. So, vote, vote, vote, and vote! GO BEARS!
Joe Kapp Regional!
Nate Longshore (8)
Nate. Longshore.
Just the mere utterance of his name can make even the most loyal Cal fan feel a mix of emotions. Some love him. Some hate him. Some love him and hate him. Some hate him and love him. We Cal fans as conflicted about him. Heck we even have a Hall of Fame fanpost CGB by the legendary danzig entitled "Nate Longshore: Setting the Record Straight." For what other player have we devoted such emotional angst? Okay, besides Kevin Riley. Anyone? Anyone?
But we digress. Putting the emotions aside, Nate Longshore has some legitimate CGB Hall of Fame credentials. Ohio Bear summed them up on the nominations thread
"He was the quarterback of Cal's 2006 Pac-10 co-champions, Cal's first share of a conference championship since 1975. He had particularly great performances that season against Oregon (on national TV) and at Oregon State. Until his injury in 2007 took us to the great "Nate or Kevin" debate to end all debates, Nate was the clear starter and a guy we had confidence in."[And] Nate was a Duck killer! 3-0 vs. Oregon!"
The fact of the matter is, Nate gave Cal football fans a lot of wonderful moments. He enjoyed a very good 2006 season, particularly his games against Oregon, Oregon State, Ucla, and the Holiday Bowl against Texas A&M. Pre-injury in 2007, Longshore looked the part of an elite Pac-10 quarterback in Cal's win against Tennessee and was as gritty as anyone in helping Cal beat Oregon at Autzen Stadium, one of the greatest Cal wins of the decade. Were it not for the ankle injury at the end of the Oregon game in 2007, which changed the course of Longshore's career, who knows where he would have ended up in the hearts and minds of Cal fans? We'll never know. But what we do know is that there have been few players for whom we've devoted as much mental energy in debating his merit and his place in the Cal program. There have been even fewer Cal players who quarterbacked Cal to a share of a Pac-10 championship.
Kirk Everist (9)
via grfx.cstv.com
The Cal water polo program has a storied history and Kirk Everist is one of the program's all-time greats. Everist has won four national championships as a Cal Bear: two as a player in the 1980s and two more as Cal's head coach.
Producing back-to-back NCAA titles, two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation crowns, 29 All-Americans and numerous academic honorees, Kirk Everist has proven to be the perfect individual to perpetuate the tradition of excellence that defines California water polo. In six seasons (140-40, .778) Everist has twice led the Golden Bears to the pinnacle of the sport; last year directing his alma mater to its NCAA-record 13th national crown with a 8-6 win over USC after a thrilling 7-6 last-second national championship victory over the Trojans in 2006.
A former three-time All-American, 1988 NCAA Player of the Year and two-time United States Olympian, Everist, 41, earned the 2002 MPSF Coach of the Year honors in his inaugural season when he guided Cal to the MPSF Tournament title and a national runner-up finish. Then in 2004, he was inducted into both the Cal Athletic and the USA Water Polo Hall of Fames. In 2006, Everist was selected USA Water Polo's Elite Co-Coach of the Year after leading the Bears to both the MPSF and NCAA titles. On July 29, 2002 Everist returned to his alma mater and immediately led the Bears to a 20-7 mark and Cal's first MPSF title and national runner-up finish since 1995. Now after guiding the Bears to the school's first back-to-back NCAA trophies since the early '90s, Everist and his troops are in a position to vie for a third-straight national crown in 2008.
Before his successful return to Berkeley, Everist had contributed to eight CIF North Coast championships as an assistant coach at Miramonte High School. During Everist's 11-year tenure at Miramonte, the school also produced nine league titles and three third-place finishes in the California State Tournament. He helped develop 22 high school All-Americans, and three of his former players went on to earn NCAA All-American recognition, while two ex-pupils have played on NCAA championship teams.
Ohio Bear: Water polo: played at Cal and is Cal’s current coach. 2 national championships as a Cal player, and 2 national championships as a coach.
Two time national champion as a player. Two time national champion as a coach. Three time All-American. On top of all of that, Everist was twice a member of the United States Olympic water polo team. Certainly, Everist has Hall of Fame credentials.