i mean this in all seriousness and without trying to start anything

[TankedCat]

It's insufferable, and while the extreme Cal apologists can be annoying, there is nothing more annoying than the handful of hateful, anti-Cal agenda pushers. They don't realize how bad they are, but even then, they rationalize their hate with "well, it's Cal's fault I'm so pissed...I'm a true UK fan".

EDIT> Just look at the handful of responses already: "if you don't like it, leave"...."what, do you sleep with a full time Cal doll?"...."go visit other boards...good luck in your search". Of course, the OP was fooling themselves if they thought coming in with this "heartfelt" thread topic wasn't going to draw in these kinds of sophomoric responses. Hell, threads about beer or ice cream at Rupp have been turned into Cal hate threads (somehow)...

there was nothing heartfelt about OP's thread. Just another attempt to control the talking points on here

And there have been threads here for years, especially after a game, win or lose talking about how miserable people are and they should stop posting or go somewhere else, or questioning if they are really UK fans at all.

I can understand why people don't want to see the same guy start 3 threads bashing Cal or whatever, I totally get that

but you've been around long enough to know there is no shortage of "true fans" that tell people to quit posting, stop being miserable, etc, especially after a game that was close or we lost. The best ones are the people that have 15K posts on here talking about people that have no life while simultaneously trying to show they are both a casual fan and the most dedicated UK fan you can find.

You were duplicitous in your response framing it as only one side is at fault here.

 

[Mike-McD]

Bottom line there's posters on here who actually think they can move the needle regarding Cal.
It's no accident that there's daily threads condemning anything Cal related, the players he recruits and how he coaches the games.
It's a concentrated effort by some.
Like you said, the 22 was really good but got upset.
The 23 team was not as good but went one round further.
We currently have a top 10 squad so that 4 out of the last five years he's put a good to very good squad on the floor.
He gets a pass on the covid year, not from me but from Mitch.
If you listened to Mitch's interview with Matt Jones at the end of last season, you know Cal is nowhere close to the hot seat.
Mitch cares about the athletic dept as a whole increasing revenue each year which it does.
There is no "UK Illuminati" some secret group of big money boosters who can oust Cal.
That's laughable.
He's here as long as he wants to be here so just sit back and enjoy the game.

thanks bassfan

 

[sluggercatfan]

He's not the second greatest coach here.
That would be Pitino and it's not close

Would put him behind Joe B. and Pitino.

 

[cats2010]

Is there any UK basketball board where rational fans can talk UK and college basketball? this place has been so full of nonsensical Calipari hate it is just not a legitimate forum where reality can be talked about. I mean he isn't god he does make mistakes and he can be hard headed but No one in their right mind can argue he is one of the all time greats and while he had a few down years ( relatively as we were a 2 seed 3 seasons ago and a good not great season last year) He has righted the ship and has us as one of the top 5 teams in terms of a chance to cut down the nets . Yet people on here spend more threads attacking him as if he was some shlub not the 2nd greatest coach at UK ever. It just gets tiring when all I want to do is talk realistically about UK basketball , recruiting and sometimes UK players in the NBA . Is that too much to ask? There has to be a site for normal UK fans who aren't nuts in the worst way.

What gets tiring is watching a HOF hack not being able to do the simplest things any coach should be able to do much less one who has already been inducted into the HOF. Little things like playing the best players, teaching your teams multiple defensive sets, running and defending out of bounds plays, or making in game adjustments. These are things that are taught in the 100 level courses, cal could get us all to shut up if he just did the bare minimum but he doesn’t even do that. I’ve never wanted a coach here more than I did cal, and now I want him gone as much as I did tubby. I can’t stand his ass nor anyone who comes on here crying because the board content is not up to their standards. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

 

[Mike-McD]

there was nothing heartfelt about OP's thread. Just another attempt to control the talking points on here

And there have been threads here for years, especially after a game, win or lose talking about how miserable people are and they should stop posting or go somewhere else, or questioning if they are really UK fans at all.

I can understand why people don't want to see the same guy start 3 threads bashing Cal or whatever, I totally get that

but you've been around long enough to know there is no shortage of "true fans" that tell people to quit posting, stop being miserable, etc, especially after a game that was close or we lost. The best ones are the people that have 15K posts on here talking about people that have no life while simultaneously trying to show they are both a casual fan and the most dedicated UK fan you can find.

You were duplicitous in your response framing it as only one side is at fault here.

That's what he does. He carefully calls out those concerned about our losses or Cal, but refrains when it comes to scolding the Cal shieldbearers running around calling people idiots.

 

[DreadLox]

Over 50 years ago, I discovered that one of the great reasons to avoid drugs was so that you didn't have to associate with drug users, All they talked about were the times they got wrecked, Golfers. Bridge players. UFO believers. Recent converts to a religion. Investors in cryptocurrency. Walter in The Big Lebowski. Graduates from Harvard. They all have one thing on their mind and will inject it into every conversation. Calipari haters. Same deal.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote "The world is so full of a number of things/I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings." Not our friends the Cal Haters. The world is full of one thing and boy do they want to tell you about it.

 

[sluggercatfan]

Bottom line there's posters on here who actually think they can move the needle regarding Cal.
It's no accident that there's daily threads condemning anything Cal related, the players he recruits and how he coaches the games.
It's a concentrated effort by some.
Like you said, the 22 was really good but got upset.
The 23 team was not as good but went one round further.
We currently have a top 10 squad so that 4 out of the last five years he's put a good to very good squad on the floor.
He gets a pass on the covid year, not from me but from Mitch.
If you listened to Mitch's interview with Matt Jones at the end of last season, you know Cal is nowhere close to the hot seat.
Mitch cares about the athletic dept as a whole increasing revenue each year which it does.
There is no "UK Illuminati" some secret group of big money boosters who can oust Cal.
That's laughable.
He's here as long as he wants to be here so just sit back and enjoy the game.

There's MILLIONS of reasons he has no pressure. He holds ALL the Trump cards because of those "millions" of reasons. It would be nice if we could feel like he has the best interest of the "program" as his top priority and not the nba and the draft. We are the only "supposed" top program in the country where this takes place. All the others it's about FF and winning the championship. Just my opinion which I think is shared by many.

 

[CaptainBoogerBuns]

Started by a Miami Hurricanes fan.

 

[ukfan1622]

Is there any UK basketball board where rational fans can talk UK and college basketball?

No. I'm assuming you meant "only rational fans" so, sorry, that place does not exist. Especially since anybody that disagrees with you would be a non-rational fan.

 

[Padsfs07]

I don't think any message boards like that exist anymore. I've heard KSR has one, but I've never been there.

KSR's facebook group and the 'funchester' facebook group have a lot of posts, similar to here, and I am often shocked by how much more positive those posts are.

 

[Big Foot 275]

Cal is a far better coach than Pitino will ever be. And it's not close. If it was close, Pitino would find a way to lose.

Cal is a far better coach than Pitino will ever be. And it's not close. If it was close, Pitino would find a way to lose.

So the coach with an .814 winning percentage at UK would find a way to lose. Yeah ok.

 

[TankedCat]

Over 50 years ago, I discovered that one of the great reasons to avoid drugs was so that you didn't have to associate with drug users, All they talked about were the times they got wrecked, Golfers. Bridge players. UFO believers. Recent converts to a religion. Investors in cryptocurrency. Walter in The Big Lebowski. Graduates from Harvard. They all have one thing on their mind and will inject it into every conversation. Calipari haters. Same deal.

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote "The world is so full of a number of things/I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings." Not our friends the Cal Haters. The world is full of one thing and boy do they want to tell you about it.

using your drug user logic, then why do you post here at all?

You average 3 posts a day here

 

[Random UK Fan]

Is there any UK basketball board where rational fans can talk UK and college basketball?

I understand this fully. If you find one, let me know.

The “All Things UK” Thread

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

Is there any UK basketball board where rational fans can talk UK and college basketball? this place has been so full of nonsensical Calipari hate it is just not a legitimate forum where reality can be talked about. I mean he isn't god he does make mistakes and he can be hard headed but No one in their right mind can argue he is one of the all time greats and while he had a few down years ( relatively as we were a 2 seed 3 seasons ago and a good not great season last year) He has righted the ship and has us as one of the top 5 teams in terms of a chance to cut down the nets . Yet people on here spend more threads attacking him as if he was some shlub not the 2nd greatest coach at UK ever. It just gets tiring when all I want to do is talk realistically about UK basketball , recruiting and sometimes UK players in the NBA . Is that too much to ask? There has to be a site for normal UK fans who aren't nuts in the worst way.

Question? Do you think it’s possible to separate the two cal and uk basketball? The two are go together. He is face and leader of the program, and if things are going well he gets credit and if they are bad he gets blamed. I do agree however that we all as a community on here probably should start 100 threads every game about cal and how bad he is.

 

[CatsFanIL]

While I disagree with what some people say on here, it's their opinion. Everyone has the right to speak their mind (without breaking the rules).

His point remains true though, it'd still be nice to have rational arguments - not saying we all have to agree - but at least with a dose or rationality. Some of posters on here don't even try to hide their blind hatred or even pretend to approach an argument from a relevant perspective

 

[CatsFanIL]

All the negativity will end as soon as CCC is replaced! He's done too much damage here to ever recover from.

3 coaches in a row - Tubby, Billy, Cal - all saw pretty negative and hateful criticisms thrown their way from certain portions of the fanbase. Some criticisms were warranted, many were not

 

[Seakat311]

Go visit other teams boards. Our board is more negative after a win than most are after a loss. We are just built different. Just how it is.

Good luck in your search

This. I don’t mind legitimate criticism, but the emotional dislike on this board is intolerable. There once was a time where people used to criticize Tubby but it was actual basketball or recruiting based. Many of the posters here now are just over the top emotional and clearly either don’t know squat about ball or they are so blinded by emotion they end up posting really stupid illegitimate criticisms. Clearly there are many good posters on this board, the problem is the haters are just louder and more voluminous.

 

[catben]

All the negativity will end as soon as CCC is replaced! He's done too much damage here to ever recover from.

Or just stop losing to unranked opponents by double digits and when we beat a team we are supposed to, stop lecturing the “Basketball Benny’s” for questioning your methods.

If this team suddenly turned it on and rattled off 12 straight wins to end the season and went into the SEC Tournament blistering teams, the fans would forget all about what has happened the past 3 seasons!!

Is Cal capable of pulling that off after all of the crap we’ve seen lately????

 

[ukfan1622]

All the negativity will end as soon as CCC is replaced!

Then how do you explain all the negativity that was here before Cal got here?

 

[runt#69]

Hay Cane, glad to see you posting and hanging tough around here !

I see many of the long time posters joining in on this thread, I like the premise and will try to put a couple worthwhile cents in.

Many of us have been here for a LONG time. So we all know by now, Rafter's is a place where we "eat our own" as I like to say. Well, not like to say it, but it's true. That said, it's still a central place where a lot of people come to talk college hoops. It's why most of us stuck here after it split from the Cats pause to Cats illustrated.

Although there are a lot of negative posters with a negative agenda, and negative threads, there's actually positive ones too. I've tried to be respectful towards everyone and actually make it a better place here even though I've gone off a deep end and really given Cal hell before. I chilled though. ( Still ready for a change though )

For myself, I try to focus on the good posters and good threads, pretty much ignore or not participate in the really ugly, negative threads, and try to stay positive and optimistic. That's how I've tried to handle it all. It's changed here a lot over the years, and it is much more difficult to get much positive stuff here any longer. But it's still possible.

I dunno, really, if there is anywhere else to satisfy a more positive angle. I don't think there is one. So I would say just focus on the posters you like, tune out the negative ones you dont (even though I dont ignore anyone, there is that feature for those consistently obnoxious to your tASTES) srryy caps lock, man i hate this keyboard ! lol

Hang in there, hopefully cal can make the changes to make thhis a better palce, because thats all we really want. The negativitiy would die down if he just won.

Peace and harmony, my friend. Best of luck finding a positive foothold in a difficult place. I also don't come around much after a loss here. Learned that a long time ago for myself, at any rate. Maybe if more of us tried to stay positive, tried to keep the negativity to a minimum, but respectfully disagree , this would be a better place.

then again, wouldn't the entire world be, too, if we all did that?

rock on !

Go Big Blue !

 

[TankedCat]

Then how do you explain all the negativity that was here before Cal got here?

Gillespie

 

[ukfan1622]

Gillespie

Wrong; it was as bad or worse when Tubby was here. I am not making any kind of Cal statement, either positive or negative, but you don't have a leg to stand on when arguing that the negativity will disappear when Cal is gone.

 

[storm1507]

@runt#69

I agree. I try to stay optimistic but am a realistic person who can/does become pretty negative. I don't need to feed the negativity so avoid this site after a loss too. Actually, I don't even look at it after a win until the next day. If the UK teams loses all hope of a good year I'll just walk away. It's not worth it. I like discussions but when a poster is all about proving their point of view in every thread....I'm done with that thread in a hurry. The worst is when a thread is taken over by 2 posters who decide to bicker like 13 year old girls.

 

[TankedCat]

Wrong; it was as bad or worse when Tubby was here.

I didn't realize it was an either /or question

Your correct response is - then how do you explain the negativity before Gillespie?

 

[ukfan1622]

I didn't realize it was an either /or question

Your correct response is - then how do you explain the negativity before Gillespie?

okay but the negativity isn't going away with or without Cal; his leaving isn't going to change human nature

 

[OmahaCats]

He's not the second greatest coach here.
That would be Pitino and it's not close.

You think Calipari’s first 7 years are second to Pitinos 7 years at Kentucky?

 

[The_Answer1313]

Is there any UK basketball board where rational fans can talk UK and college basketball? this place has been so full of nonsensical Calipari hate it is just not a legitimate forum where reality can be talked about. I mean he isn't god he does make mistakes and he can be hard headed but No one in their right mind can argue he is one of the all time greats and while he had a few down years ( relatively as we were a 2 seed 3 seasons ago and a good not great season last year) He has righted the ship and has us as one of the top 5 teams in terms of a chance to cut down the nets . Yet people on here spend more threads attacking him as if he was some shlub not the 2nd greatest coach at UK ever. It just gets tiring when all I want to do is talk realistically about UK basketball , recruiting and sometimes UK players in the NBA . Is that too much to ask? There has to be a site for normal UK fans who aren't nuts in the worst way.

You lost me at "right the ship and has us as one of the top 5 teams in terms of a chance to cut down the nets"

This team isn't currently a 1 seed.
This team isn't currently a 2 seed.
This team in most brackets isn't even a 3 seed.

I know this wasn't the point of the post but since you want to talk about UK basketball and rationally I would be interested in knowing why you think this team is a top 5 chance of cutting down the nets.

Maybe......come March. As presented constructed? No. Just no. We are very good. But I'm not putting this team in a group of say 6-8 teams that can win it all right now.

 

[TankedCat]

okay but the negativity isn't going away with or without Cal; his leaving isn't going to change human nature

no its not, its performance based.

How about this - where was the negativity between say 2010 and 2012? 2015?

 

[DreadLox]

using your drug user logic, then why do you post here at all?

You average 3 posts a day here

Old and bored. And there are other posters here than Cal haters.

I realized the other day that I recognized the author of a post by their avatar. Shame on me. I intend to forget it. People post anonymously so that they won't be connected to their posts.

 

[Rockfly78]

no its not, its performance based.

How about this - where was the negativity between say 2010 and 2012? 2015?

No it’s not just performance based

 

[TankedCat]

You think Calipari’s first 7 years are second to Pitinos 7 years at Kentucky?

were you an adult during the latter part of Suttons years here ?

 

[TankedCat]

No it’s not just performance based

For Calipari, I'd argue otherwise.

 

[UKWildcats1987]

People were negative when Pitino was around as well and he had about as good a 6 year run as one can have only winning 1 title. UK fans are always gonna be negative as it is part of what we do.

 

[kybloo92]

Yeah, just have to find the right FB group that fits the narrative you are looking for. Their admins are quick to hand out the ban hammer to anyone that doesn't tow the line in them.

 

[ftp000]

The OP poster thought this thread was going to end up with the sweaty, angry masses on both sides dropping to one knee, lowering their head and saying what exactly? LOL

Nah, he's been around here long enough to know what the stupid people would say.

 

[ukfan1622]

no its not, its performance based.

How about this - where was the negativity between say 2010 and 2012? 2015?

u serious? There was negativity in all those years, except for after the end of the 2012 season; people griped about Cal's recruiting philosophy and coaching from day 1. There was major negativity during the 1998 championship season, didn't stop until after we won it all. There was major negativity near the end of the Pitino era. That's all of our 4 coaches during the internet era. Think Sutton would have been an exception? No, he was despised by a large part of the fanbase. People always griped about Joe B's coaching and Rupp was forced into retirement. There has been negativity towards ALL of our coaches from part of the fanbase, at least for part of their tenure, and it will be the same for the next coach.

 

[ftp000]

People were negative when Pitino was around as well and he had about as good a 6 year run as one can have only winning 1 title. UK fans are always gonna be negative as it is part of what we do.

Which is why most people consider UK fans to be rabid morons.

 

[storm1507]

I'm still negative about Pitino's lack of guarding the inbounds pass and the softest double team ever on the best player of the decade. I may get over it one day though.

 

[Rockfly78]

he wasn't here long enough to get it.

That may be true. But we will never know. Thank god Mitch did the right thing

 

[TankedCat]

u serious? There was negativity in all those years, except for after the end of the 2012 season; people griped about Cal's recruiting philosophy and coaching from day 1. There was major negativity during the 1998 championship season, didn't stop until after we won it all. There was major negativity near the end of the Pitino era. That's all of our 4 coaches during the internet era. Think Sutton would have been an exception? No, he was despised by a large part of the fanbase. People always griped about Joe B's coaching and Rupp was forced into retirement. There has been negativity towards ALL of our coaches from part of the fanbase, at least for part of their tenure, and it will be the same for the next coach.

thank you

so what have we learned ? That is not unusual or exceptional for UK fans to be negative and has been proven over decades.

So why....why do people continually show up here and act surprised and butthurt at the thought of negative UK fans posting opinions on here?

It makes me question if they really have been around any significant number of UK fans in their life.