@IL Wildcat - easy solve brother, just ban them asap.
Lots of bitter people out there
- Thread starter IL Wildcat
- Start date
Yeah, I try to save that as a last resort. It's coming, though. 👍
I think some of it is the football team being terrible and leaving some bad vibes with us. But o the basketball side there is not a single thing to complain about right now
Yes sir it’s a great time again to be a Wildcats fan! Who am I fooling it’s always been great to be a Wildcats fan it’s just so much more enjoyable today with Pope heading the reins! Happy early Thanksgiving to you and all of BBN too!
A happy early thanksgiving to all here in the Rafters!
I remember when cats illustrated used to really be cats pause. When they started printing the cats pause many years ago, poppa had them delivered to us in Nashville, where we lived. We followed the University so closely, from my earliest memories, following Kentucky basketball and football since the 74 - 75 season.
And all the time online with the cats pause, I used to basically be just a silent lurker here! I didn't even register until well, whenever it says.
We've seen many come and go over these many years. Both online and now, sadly permanently offline. I give thanks for those that have been here with us that, sadly, cannot be. Honored to give thanks for those already in the Rafters above!!
But those Big Blue Angels above, like momma & poppa, and all of those we all miss and cherish forever, they've got the best seat in the house, if you ask me, and I give thanks to the Lord above I'm still going strong !
And we are all still here, merrily, I might add. Great to see the collective mass of BBN - especially out HERE. We deserve the happiness we are enjoying.
Much to be thankful for here, personally... Like .... I'm very happy to be back home living in my old Kentucky home (again!) this time, in a different nook of the Commonwealth for me !
Peace and Goodwill BBN & the Rafters !
AMEN!
Go Big Blue !
I remember when cats illustrated used to really be cats pause. When they started printing the cats pause many years ago, poppa had them delivered to us in Nashville, where we lived. We followed the University so closely, from my earliest memories, following Kentucky basketball and football since the 74 - 75 season.
And all the time online with the cats pause, I used to basically be just a silent lurker here! I didn't even register until well, whenever it says.
We've seen many come and go over these many years. Both online and now, sadly permanently offline. I give thanks for those that have been here with us that, sadly, cannot be. Honored to give thanks for those already in the Rafters above!!
But those Big Blue Angels above, like momma & poppa, and all of those we all miss and cherish forever, they've got the best seat in the house, if you ask me, and I give thanks to the Lord above I'm still going strong !
And we are all still here, merrily, I might add. Great to see the collective mass of BBN - especially out HERE. We deserve the happiness we are enjoying.
Much to be thankful for here, personally... Like .... I'm very happy to be back home living in my old Kentucky home (again!) this time, in a different nook of the Commonwealth for me !
Peace and Goodwill BBN & the Rafters !
AMEN!
Go Big Blue !
It amazes me to think that after what we have had so far this season, and what Cal put us through the latest few seasons, that there are ANY Cal first fans left. How can that be?
Hey i will be the first to admit I was growing really tired of the constant bickering bitching and complaining on the board . I did my far share too so I thought it was time to step away for a while . When Coach Pope was announced I thought well there goes the big time recruiting classes. As it turns out I was wrong about that. I love the way this team plays and how Coach Pope makes adjustments. I watched Arkansas the other night and I looked at my wife and said I sure don’t miss that !! When we played Dook I told my wife a Cal coached team wouldn’t have won that game.
Another thing for me, and maybe others feel this way, too....
I wanted Cal to adapt and change with the way the game has evolved since he came to Kentucky.
He was here 14, 15 years? But we did not see the kind of changes to keep pace with the sport on the floor with the product he delivered for us. Period. Arkansas fans should keep this in mind.
Our chief complaint was that Calipari coached teams were pretty easy to prepare for, outside of individual matchups.
Over time, his super talented freshman teams could not overcome more experienced teams. It's why he ONLY won one title at Kentucky.
Grasping to a One and done philosophy the way Calipari coaches, at least now, in today's sport, isn't enough to win titles.
And the sad thing is, we wanted him to change.
I think it was Coach Rupp once said basically that a good coach needed to learn to adapt and change with the evolving sport.
(basically, to paraphrase him)
He was right.
Calipari stubbornly clings to his philosophy and his x's and o's strategies is getting his teams beaten more and more as time has gone on.
So it'll be interesting to see how "well" he does now.
I'll not stick a fork in his side, because he's a great recruiter and gets great talent. But his teams are not a threat to win a title
Not now, not with how this sport has changed. A blind man can see that.
It's a shame he ultimately failed to continue to deliver at Kentucky, but he is who he is.
I'm glad to have a new coach and new direction. Thanks Coach Cal, but now you'll have to learn what it's like to LOSE to Kentucky as an EX-coach. And lose he is going to be doing, more and more.
Entirely different experience coming up for the hall of famer.
I wanted Cal to adapt and change with the way the game has evolved since he came to Kentucky.
He was here 14, 15 years? But we did not see the kind of changes to keep pace with the sport on the floor with the product he delivered for us. Period. Arkansas fans should keep this in mind.
Our chief complaint was that Calipari coached teams were pretty easy to prepare for, outside of individual matchups.
Over time, his super talented freshman teams could not overcome more experienced teams. It's why he ONLY won one title at Kentucky.
Grasping to a One and done philosophy the way Calipari coaches, at least now, in today's sport, isn't enough to win titles.
And the sad thing is, we wanted him to change.
I think it was Coach Rupp once said basically that a good coach needed to learn to adapt and change with the evolving sport.
(basically, to paraphrase him)
He was right.
Calipari stubbornly clings to his philosophy and his x's and o's strategies is getting his teams beaten more and more as time has gone on.
So it'll be interesting to see how "well" he does now.
I'll not stick a fork in his side, because he's a great recruiter and gets great talent. But his teams are not a threat to win a title
Not now, not with how this sport has changed. A blind man can see that.
It's a shame he ultimately failed to continue to deliver at Kentucky, but he is who he is.
I'm glad to have a new coach and new direction. Thanks Coach Cal, but now you'll have to learn what it's like to LOSE to Kentucky as an EX-coach. And lose he is going to be doing, more and more.
Entirely different experience coming up for the hall of famer.
When Cal was here I was all for him. Every coach we have had I wanted them to win. I am UK fan always. When a coach leaves us I don’t care what they do. I will pull for Pope big time!!
He was holding on to his old style for many years at UK. He was forced to change at least one time and that was supposed to be the plan this season, before he decided to leave instead. So, he chose leaving a 15-year job over changing. I don't think he's changing. He thinks he can do what he wants at Arkansas now. I think he misunderstands that fanbase. He thinks they're not as rabid as we are, and maybe they're not quite as rabid, but they're very serious about their basketball.
Idk but I would wager that they have only known Kentucky basketball under Cal.
I dont believe there are. I believe there are only trolls at this point. If there are Cal huggers left it has to be a handful or less just waiting for the first loss. It’ll be obvious.
Well said. It has been a very long time since the program has been this healthy and competitive, I really haven't felt this happy as a UK fan since the Pitino days.
Pope made it about the team
Cal made it about the NBA
BG made it about the bottle
Tubby made it about hustle and coasting
Pitino made it about the team
In 12 years, I'll be 80, and in 20, 88. From what I've seen so far, with so many wonderful aspects to the developing Mark Pope Story and his era, I want him to help take me home...I want him to be the last coach in my life at Kentucky. I get the distinct feeling that he is the perfect guy to do just that, heading up this program that I cherish and revere greatly in my heart, soul, and fiber. This first team is truly already beloved for each choosing to come here and for now helping him create something very special. Their focus on winning -- the absolute hallmark of this amazing program -- is right where it should be. It is intriguing to contemplate the exciting future that lies ahead.
Thank you for your insightful and level-headed comments. You've made my day.
It’s hilarious to see at least one obvious troll on here responding to the OPs post positively. It’s like IL said “Beetlejuice” three times and they appeared. lol
There are a number of fans who love Kentucky, but don't like Cal no longer being the coach. Those fans were very vocal leading up to the start of the season. There were plenty of messages talking about what Kentucky didn't have as opposed to what it does have. That bunch hasn't gone anywhere, and they haven't been converted to loving the Pope hire. They are a quiet storm just waiting to explode. The trigger point for this storm is a couple of poor performances resulting in loses.
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It was SO HARD being a fan of a basketball team a when you CANNOT STAND the guy coaching it . I was there .
I still remember getting bashed on here for trashing Cal going on his 2nd, 3rd, 4th bad seasons in a row. Some people thought we were married to the dude, and we wouldn't go on without em. Thank Cal for his good times here, and move on to better things. You can't let someone Bob Knight your program.
That’s the dude that only ever posted photoshops right? Definitely sketchy
Man I fought hard for him. Until St Peter’s and even that was too long. But I have no problem defending the good times and he gave us plenty. It was evident that those days were behind him. There’s no worse feeling than apathy and that’s where everyone was due to the contract. I’m afraid Stoops is entering the same area, also due to a contract. Now we get to see if Stoops learned from Cal’s past mistakes of refusing change.
Yeah, I hear you Rockfly. I defended him also, for much longer than he deserved. During those last 3 seasons, I wasn't happy with the product we were getting. I just felt since I knew we weren't going to fire him mid-season, I would just support the team and hope for the best. That was my approach until we finished with a first round loss to Texas A&M in the SEC-T followed by that Oakland loss. I had an outside hope that with the talent on that team, they could make a run. And there is no questioning the talent on that team. But in the end, all that talent was just the final nail in his coffin. My thought became- if he can't get out of the first round of the SEC or the NCAA tournaments with this team, he will never do it.
At that point, the REAL issue wasn't player personnel, assistant coaches, and it certainly wasn't the fans. The problem was John Calipari, and he had to go.
It’s a strange thing to observe and you mentioned it. You said you knew we weren’t going to fire him and all you could do was hope for the best. That was me all the way. It’s how I’m wired. I simply can’t wish things into existence so I don’t try. I just try to cope with what’s available. The fanbase to me has a major disconnect with fans who take this stance. It’s almost as if to say if a person can’t match my rage then they must be my enemy. We all have one thing in common, we are all huge UK fans. We all want to win. But when a situation becomes so far out of the control of the fans then to me, you just have to roll with it. That doesn’t mean I’m happy with where we are or happy with the coaches.
I’m trying to see it from the other perspective even though it’s perplexing. People will say “he’s not pissed enough so he’s a cal lover or a stoops lover”. That’s usually not the case. People just deal with apathy differently.
Good thread
I would say you and I definitely have that in common. When it comes to my Cats, I'm gonna keep watching and supporting, always hoping for the best, no matter what. Even when I'm not happy with the coach, I'm rolling with it. And you're right that some of of our fans want you to match their rage or you're not a real fan. They also assume that, since you're rolling with it and hoping for wins, you must approve of everything, which is not true. I was mad about the results at least from 2021, on. But I will admit, I was matching their rage at the end of this last season. The tipping point was realizing all the talent on that team and 2 first round exits back to back to teams we should have beat by double digits. (Stacked on top of 2 years of early exits to double digit seeds) I was furious about it and I was completely done with Cal. I don't know what I would have done this season had he returned. I'm just glad I never had to answer that question. And I couldn't be happier with Mark Pope.
Well said Illinois Wildcat. The only thing I wish would go away is the constant Cal talk, everything and every thread turns to Cal. He is gone, lets enjoy what we have and not what we HAD. It brings down a lot of good threads. We get it, he sucked the last few years, no need to keep bringing him back into the spotlight with the NOW UK. New day, new era, let Cal go !!!! He is NOT worth discussing.
I couldn't agree more. Those posters literally are miserable. MISERABLE. But I felt the same last year too, even if DJ had a good game, they would refuse to give him credit. So on and so forth, but no need to dive back into all of it
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