One of the beautiful things to come out of all this is that Sports Karma is real. Our current ride with Cal has been wonderful and some of the runs in the NCAA tournament are the most exciting in my lifetime. However, maybe because I was young without all the responsibilities I have now, the Pitino years were a more intense, more fun time in my fandom. And I get little enjoyment out of looking back on those years now because of Pitino.
I understood when Pitino went to Boston and for most of us, Boston automatically became our favorite NBA team. It's easy for people to say it's "just sports" but when he took the UofL job, I cannot explain how angry, distraught, and betrayed I felt. Part of that betrayal was that he forever cheapened and tarnished my favorite memories as a fan. I loved Mash, the '93 tourney run, '95 Arkansas SEC, 1996 championship but he had managed to subtract from the joy it gave me.
I don't look at those years the same way I did before 2001 because of one person. I'm an adult now and I know people lie and do what's in their best interest but Rick colors how I look at Coach Cal now. I love the guy and I think he's a much better man than Pitino but I can't help but roll my eyes at times with some of the "Always Be Selling" schtick. I was one of those fans who was angry at Sports Illustrated over their story on Pitino in 1996 not because of anything that was really that bad in the article but he was mad and upset about it so I was mad and upset, too.
Today, the "Got Pitino?" shirts went from shiv to UK fans, to joke when Cal got here, to cruel joke today. Yes, Louisville you do have Pitino, and hookers, and $10 million to pay back and banners to come down and karma has tarnished those memories x10. I think there's a perfect symmetry to the fact that UK and UofL fans can thank the same man for tarnished, cheapened memories.
I understood when Pitino went to Boston and for most of us, Boston automatically became our favorite NBA team. It's easy for people to say it's "just sports" but when he took the UofL job, I cannot explain how angry, distraught, and betrayed I felt. Part of that betrayal was that he forever cheapened and tarnished my favorite memories as a fan. I loved Mash, the '93 tourney run, '95 Arkansas SEC, 1996 championship but he had managed to subtract from the joy it gave me.
I don't look at those years the same way I did before 2001 because of one person. I'm an adult now and I know people lie and do what's in their best interest but Rick colors how I look at Coach Cal now. I love the guy and I think he's a much better man than Pitino but I can't help but roll my eyes at times with some of the "Always Be Selling" schtick. I was one of those fans who was angry at Sports Illustrated over their story on Pitino in 1996 not because of anything that was really that bad in the article but he was mad and upset about it so I was mad and upset, too.
Today, the "Got Pitino?" shirts went from shiv to UK fans, to joke when Cal got here, to cruel joke today. Yes, Louisville you do have Pitino, and hookers, and $10 million to pay back and banners to come down and karma has tarnished those memories x10. I think there's a perfect symmetry to the fact that UK and UofL fans can thank the same man for tarnished, cheapened memories.
