Am I allowed to be happy with this season?

[Preachercat]

I see a lot of posters on here talking like it's silly to be satisfied with a winning season. My question is: what's wrong with it?
I've been watching UK football since 1987. During that time I've seen 10 winning seasons. Four of them were Brooks'. This will be the eleventh.
Why can't my expectation be that we string more than 4 winning seasons together before I start expecting SEC championships?
I'm as frustrated as anyone with the poor performances. Why can't I be frustrated with the performance and happy with the outcome at the same time?

 

[mdlUK.1]

Man, you're just making too much sense for this board.

 

[Levibooty]

I'm not sure anybody is saying that. At the same time I can understand people wondering why we can't beat teams who are so thoroughly down this year they are curb-stomped by teams who may not be as good as we are.

 

[Preachercat]

I get that. I really do. I wonder the same thing. I had hoped we'd be a lot better this year and I am disappointed that we aren't. But it's a winning season. And I'm going to go ahead and admit that I don't care if it's fool's gold. Fools gold is better than no gold.
I would probably feel different if winning seasons were the norm. But they're not. They're hard to come by at UK. So I'm gonna enjoy it even if it didn't happen like I thought it would.

 

[gobigblue812]

Yes, if this team can win at least 1 more game.

 

[Sawnee Cat]

I think the Florida loss really set us back and stunned the fan base. Especially seeing what has happened to them after playing us. We were sky high for that game and had it in the bag until.....well you know what happened.

But as several have said our history is not good and a 7 win season with a chance for one or two more is something we have seen little of the past 50 years. So yes we can be happy and thankful for that.

 

[anon_7tbtqcx308nxh]

Hell yeah you are allowed to be happy. Lost Badet, Boom, Toth, Mosier, and Ramsey and won 7 games with a chance for 9.

7-9 wins > 7 wins > 5 wins > 2 wins.

 

[Preachercat]

Yup. That Fla game made me physically ill. The biggest problem I have with Stoops teams is their lack of discipline. That's my frustration. Like I said, I understand how people feel about the mistakes and underwhelming performance. I feel the same way. I just don't see why it's silly of me to enjoy the 11th winning season in the last 30 years.

 

[kev69]

Yup. That Fla game made me physically ill. The biggest problem I have with Stoops teams is their lack of discipline. That's my frustration. Like I said, I understand how people feel about the mistakes and underwhelming performance. I feel the same way. I just don't see why it's silly of me to enjoy the 11th winning season in the last 30 years.

The Florida game upset me, but the Ole Miss game really deflated me. That's a game you have to win.
I really was a sore loser about that one. I said some things afterwards that I probably shouldn't have.

 

[pickled cat]

I see a lot of posters on here talking like it's silly to be satisfied with a winning season. My question is: what's wrong with it?
I've been watching UK football since 1987. During that time I've seen 10 winning seasons. Four of them were Brooks'. This will be the eleventh.
Why can't my expectation be that we string more than 4 winning seasons together before I start expecting SEC championships?
I'm as frustrated as anyone with the poor performances. Why can't I be frustrated with the performance and happy with the outcome at the same time?

Kentucky football is moving forward; we couldn't say that before Stoops arrived. Those teams that everyone says we only beat because they're down, are where we used to be. We are not there any more so let's enjoy where we are and keep building towards the next level on the ladder. We may not be on the top, but it sure beats being on the very bottom. GBB!

 

[Preachercat]

I told my wife I was done watching them after the Ole Miss game. But I guess I'm a glutton for punishment.
That's the only game that they have lost this season that I predicted they would win before the season started. UT is the only win I predicted they would lose.
So I guess they're right where I thought they would be. I just didn't expect the struggles.
By the way I predicted they would lose to UL. Now I'm not so sure. I don't know what to think about that one. I think they will score points. But I think they will have to score a ton to win. I don't know if they have it in em.

 

[ram1955]

I see a lot of posters on here talking like it's silly to be satisfied with a winning season. My question is: what's wrong with it?
I've been watching UK football since 1987. During that time I've seen 10 winning seasons. Four of them were Brooks'. This will be the eleventh.
Why can't my expectation be that we string more than 4 winning seasons together before I start expecting SEC championships?
I'm as frustrated as anyone with the poor performances. Why can't I be frustrated with the performance and happy with the outcome at the same time?

People can't tell you what to be happy about and what not to be happy about. As a longtime fan, it's understandable to be happy with a 7 win season while still being disappointed or frustrated that we didn't win at least two of the games we lost. After the dust is settled, I've concluded that those losses are just part of Football. Stupid mistakes happen.
On a scale of 1-10, right now I'd say I'm at a 6 or maybe a little higher. If we can pull out a win vs ul it will be a 7. A bowl win would make it an 8 or 9.

 

[docholiday51]

I see a lot of posters on here talking like it's silly to be satisfied with a winning season. My question is: what's wrong with it?
I've been watching UK football since 1987. During that time I've seen 10 winning seasons. Four of them were Brooks'. This will be the eleventh.
Why can't my expectation be that we string more than 4 winning seasons together before I start expecting SEC championships?
I'm as frustrated as anyone with the poor performances. Why can't I be frustrated with the performance and happy with the outcome at the same time?

Preachercat,you cant't let the board dictate whether you are happy about the team or their record.We let some games get away there is no way around that,but we have 7 wins and a chance to pick up another win or two including the bowl game.Some on the board seem to think that unless we win 9 or 10 we might just as well win 4 or 5,that makes 0 sense. I have been following UK football since Jerry Woolum was the QB(ya'll figure out how long) and by some of the "logic" here 1977 was the only year we ever met expectations.

One more thought,No,Hell no, who and where we are in football is not the fault of us old time fans,we have been here we have stuck around thru worse times than some of the posters have ever seen.Do we want better,sure we do but we also know better when we see it and we choose not to bitch about it

 

[billoliver40]

Sure, be happy. Not a thing wrong with that. Anyone can be happy but not quite satisfied.
Compared to three years ago, this is a fine season. Absolutely we want more, but I actually think the program is going a good direction. I'd rather not see three or four years of success followed by eight years of two win seasons.

Got to find some way some how to get that recruiting up even more and develop those players. Interested to see what the redshirts we have will bring to the table next year.

 

[SpamburgerHamburger]

Of course you are and should be happy with this season. I am. That's doesn't meant we don't want more, and are frustrated at a couple of the loses. Despite how most of this boards, acts, we've gotten better every year under Stoops.

 

[merrimanm]

I see a lot of posters on here talking like it's silly to be satisfied with a winning season. My question is: what's wrong with it?
I've been watching UK football since 1987. During that time I've seen 10 winning seasons. Four of them were Brooks'. This will be the eleventh.
Why can't my expectation be that we string more than 4 winning seasons together before I start expecting SEC championships?
I'm as frustrated as anyone with the poor performances. Why can't I be frustrated with the performance and happy with the outcome at the same time?

Because we finally threw money into our program. That alone equals 4 wins because noone else does that and never have.

 

[UKRob 73]

We were underdogs at vandy. That probably speaks to how mediocre we are. We have a good record because of our schedule. That being said, I don't care why, I'll take it.
We beat UL then I'm happy about the season, we lose and it's beyond disappointing.

 

[kev69]

We were underdogs at vandy. That probably speaks to how mediocre we are. We have a good record because of our schedule. That being said, I don't care why, I'll take it.
We beat UL then I'm happy about the season, we lose and it's beyond disappointing.

I couldn't agree more with you.

 

[bluecoon1]

The Florida game upset me, but the Ole Miss game really deflated me. That's a game you have to win.
I really was a sore loser about that one. I said some things afterwards that I probably shouldn't have.

I couldn't agree more with you.

I was right there with you

 

[ram1955]

One more thought,No,Hell no, who and where we are in football is not the fault of us old time fans,we have been here we have stuck around thru worse times than some of the posters have ever seen.Do we want better,sure we do but we also know better when we see it and we choose not to bitch about it

Amen and for those saying we fans will continue getting what we've been getting until we expect more. Short of stopping buying tickets, we have no influence relative to the level of play or the outcome of games.

 

[LowCountryCat]

Because we finally threw money into our program. That alone equals 4 wins because noone else does that and never have.

Well shoot. Which 4 wins did it equal for us?

 

[merrimanm]

Well shoot. Which 4 wins did it equal for us?

Turn on your sarcasm meter.

 

[JC CATS]

Preachercat,you cant't let the board dictate whether you are happy about the team or their record.We let some games get away there is no way around that,but we have 7 wins and a chance to pick up another win or two including the bowl game.Some on the board seem to think that unless we win 9 or 10 we might just as well win 4 or 5,that makes 0 sense. I have been following UK football since Jerry Woolum was the QB(ya'll figure out how long) and by some of the "logic" here 1977 was the only year we ever met expectations.

One more thought,No,Hell no, who and where we are in football is not the fault of us old time fans,we have been here we have stuck around thru worse times than some of the posters have ever seen.Do we want better,sure we do but we also know better when we see it and we choose not to bitch about it

We cheated in 1977 so that doesn't count. We have never met expectations

 

[JC CATS]

Well shoot. Which 4 wins did it equal for us?

You are making his point for him

 

[sam_o]

I am happy with this season as well. We showed good improvement and have a chance to win 9 games this year. I'm not sure how anyone couldn't see that as progress. I'm not sure why any UK Fan wouldn't be happy with it .

 

[Crums Bald Spot]

We were underdogs at vandy. That probably speaks to how mediocre we are. We have a good record because of our schedule. That being said, I don't care why, I'll take it.
We beat UL then I'm happy about the season, we lose and it's beyond disappointing.

Pretty much my thoughts. My only fear is that this is more proof positive about how it's going to be in the future and the 5-6 wins Stoops will eek out that will good enough to keep his Barney happy but never get over the hump. I was naively hopeful that Stoops would be special. Unfortunately, this far in a new coach's tenure, you see flashes. Something they do well and you see they "have it". Nothing, other than recruiting, which puts him closer to Ron Zook.

 

[willievic]

Preacher, I think your misreading the fans on here. I have been watching the Cats since the 50's. Am I happy this year, yes and no. I am happy that we have 7 wins, and hopefully we get one more prior to the bowl game. Am I happy we gave two games away because of coaching mistakes, heck no. Do I want to see Coach stoops fired, definitely not. I don't buy the BS we will never be able to compete with the big boys. It will take time, and I hope Coach Stoops will be the coach to get us there, but time will tell. Your always going to have fans who are not satisfied unless we are undefeated, and fans who are happy with just 6 wins, and going to a bowl. That's their right, regardless of which way you are. That's what makes America so GREAT, you can have an opinion. A lot of people have given a lot for us to have an opinion.

OLD STOLL FIELD GUY!

 

[Comebakatz3]

The number of wins would typically be something that made me stoked. However, I think it is a product more of other teams regressing rather than us progressing as a program. I fear that when/if those other teams improve we will go back to having problems getting bowl eligible. I am practically positive that Stoops is not the coach to take us to another level. I come to this conclusion not from the win/loss total, but how we look fundamentally. I will still cheer for UK with all I have and will hope that they win every single game, but I just don't think it is going to get much better than this under Stoops. Hopefully I am wrong, I'll be happy to be wrong.

 

[ZenCatFan73]

Hell yeah you are allowed to be happy. Lost Badet, Boom, Toth, Mosier, and Ramsey and won 7 games with a chance for 9.

7-9 wins > 7 wins > 5 wins > 2 wins.

This a great point. Losing those players is often overlooked. I think it had a bigger effect than we previously thought.

@Preachercat I agree with you and it's definitely okay to be happy with the season. Don't let some of our fans get you down. There have been some disappointments, sure, but I've not forgotten where we were before. Go Cats!

 

[billoliver40]

College teams cycle through ups and downs. Even Alabama had some down years. Just normal. Kentucky doesn't need to be ashamed of meeting or beating those teams. Heck, most of em padded their seasons with us and Vandy. Just because UT is down is no reason to snub a win
The thing Kentucky has to do is keep building on the improvements it's made. If you don't, I almost guarantee UK will be everybody's homecoming game again. Because almost everyone else wants to get better too.

 

[gamalielkid]

I see a lot of posters on here talking like it's silly to be satisfied with a winning season. My question is: what's wrong with it?
I've been watching UK football since 1987. During that time I've seen 10 winning seasons. Four of them were Brooks'. This will be the eleventh.
Why can't my expectation be that we string more than 4 winning seasons together before I start expecting SEC championships?
I'm as frustrated as anyone with the poor performances. Why can't I be frustrated with the performance and happy with the outcome at the same time?

If you are talking about number of wins - I would say yes. Because I don't see another 8 win season in on the horizon for a few years.

Go Big Blue!

 

[VAWildcat15]

The Florida game upset me, but the Ole Miss game really deflated me. That's a game you have to win.
I really was a sore loser about that one. I said some things afterwards that I probably shouldn't have.

I was at both of those games.Drove from Washington, DC to watch them. I really think that ruined my ability to think rationally about this season, I admit that. I know I should be happy that we are going for 8 wins but it's hard for me to be there right now. That was a lot to process and I had eight hour car drives after both games to simmer on what I had just experienced.

 

[KY1WING]

I was at both of those games.Drove from Washington, DC to watch them. I really think that ruined my ability to think rationally about this season, I admit that. I know I should be happy that we are going for 8 wins but it's hard for me to be there right now. That was a lot to process and I had eight hour car drives after both games to simmer on what I had just experienced.

That's more than one should have to
endure

 

[KY1WING]

Be happy lest others here will post on how miserable a life you have otherwise

 

[VikingsCat]

I see a lot of posters on here talking like it's silly to be satisfied with a winning season. My question is: what's wrong with it?
I've been watching UK football since 1987. During that time I've seen 10 winning seasons. Four of them were Brooks'. This will be the eleventh.
Why can't my expectation be that we string more than 4 winning seasons together before I start expecting SEC championships?
I'm as frustrated as anyone with the poor performances. Why can't I be frustrated with the performance and happy with the outcome at the same time?

I'm 100% with you. I predicted (hoped for) a 10-2 season, and we have been close. Am I frustrated over the Florida and Miss St losses, off course I am. But more importantly I see us inching closer to being a football program to be proud of. I'm not wanting us to win 9 or 10 games every 10 years, I want more. To do that you need to build a program. The blue bloods of football have had head coaches that built their programs over 20-40 years, just like we had Rupp building our bb program. To change our program into a top 10 program takes time, and as long as we aren't moving backwards I'm 110% behind Stoops.

 

[why_not_kentucky]

Hell we are all happy with Mediocracy in the football program as long as the Basketball team keeps winning championships. Oh yea.....the basketball team doesn't though does it.

 

[NamelessOne]

I see a lot of posters on here talking like it's silly to be satisfied with a winning season. My question is: what's wrong with it?
I've been watching UK football since 1987. During that time I've seen 10 winning seasons. Four of them were Brooks'. This will be the eleventh.
Why can't my expectation be that we string more than 4 winning seasons together before I start expecting SEC championships?
I'm as frustrated as anyone with the poor performances. Why can't I be frustrated with the performance and happy with the outcome at the same time?

You can be happy, just not here.

 

[warrior-cat]

I see a lot of posters on here talking like it's silly to be satisfied with a winning season. My question is: what's wrong with it?
I've been watching UK football since 1987. During that time I've seen 10 winning seasons. Four of them were Brooks'. This will be the eleventh.
Why can't my expectation be that we string more than 4 winning seasons together before I start expecting SEC championships?
I'm as frustrated as anyone with the poor performances. Why can't I be frustrated with the performance and happy with the outcome at the same time?

In a word ....yes. As it is also OK for those who are not happy. We really could be 9-2 but coaching errors kept that from being pure and simple.

 

[NewWildcatOrder]

By all means, be happy - it beats the heck out of the alternative! Who here can honestly say that they would not have been happy with finishing in the top 3 of the division, for two years running, prior to hiring Coach Stoops? Being happy with the end result does not mean we haven't had disappointments or left wins on the table. There have been games where we could have played better or had a different result, but from our position at the end of the season it will be easier to get where we all want to be than in years past. It's called climbing the ladder. It's called being results oriented. I think most expected some growing pains on the D-line prior to the season and we've seen that play out.

If we can consistently maintain our current position in the pecking order and be in a place where we have a chance to compete for the crown in the east year in and year out (no matter how ugly the wins), I think we'll all be happy. Hopefully Stoops can continue to bolster the depth and development of this team where we can become a permanent fixture at the top of the division rankings. It will take time and continued work.

 

[cats2010]

Sure you can be happy with the season, for the most part no one here is disappointed to have 7 wins under our belt with a chance for 8. But to go beyond that and to state we have turned the corner is a bit of a stretch. We still see the same boneheaded mistakes made by the staff and team that we have all grown accustomed to and until that changes we will not have turned the corner we all so desperately want.