Here's another anecdote, bloodisred. Decided to play Football Manager 2010 a few days back (chose to manage Liverpool, of course), and come the Champions League group phase draw we get Juventus and Atletico Madrid along with some team from Eastern Europe that I don't recognize. And my first thought was, "OMG, what a strong group!" And then I thought, "No, idiot, that's a weak group. Those are Europa Cup teams. This is the Champions' League! What am I afraid of?"
Then I realized that the reason I had that knee jerk reaction is because I know that if the current (real life) Liverpool team went out to play either of those sides, I wouldn't even put money on us drawing.