Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
You may have heard about this shooting-sleeve point guard type of guy
who's currently driving Kentucky towards a top seed in the NCAA
tournament. Since recruiting him, Kentucky coach John Calipari got his
face on a special edition of Maker's Mark. He's all craggy and noble and stuff.
He looks like Al Pacino. Kentucky fans are somewhere between peeved and
apoplectic
that Pacino Coach didn't win Coach of the Year in the SEC*.
It doesn't matter that Calipari has left a trail of sanctions in his wake: the man is on his way to Nick Saban status in the Bluegrass State. Soon he, too, will be more popular than God. Jemele Hill's assertion that Kentucky fans would root for Charles Manson if he won enough games is in the running for "Most Accurate Statement That's Ever Required A Public Apology."
But there is an Internet, and sometimes people save things for later. Let's go way back to 2007, when Calipari was busy getting Memphis sanctioned, and see what Wildcat fans thought then. Archive.org provides...
Various Kentucky Fans' Answers To The Question "When John Calipari speaks, what are you thinking?"
Bizzare!
Accurate!
Unconfirmed But I Wouldn't Bet Against It!
Ironic Exchange!
pressfox: We should have gotten him maybe?
Adjustmydreams: Go cheer for Memphis...we don't
need you.
I can count on zero fingers the number of fanbases that wouldn't be enthusiastically in favor of their head basketball coach if they were in Kentucky's shoes right now, but the irony is rarely so fantastic. Sports fans: we're all moral relativists.
*(Not that he should have, right? Kevin Stallings has Vanderbilt at 23-7 without three guys who will go in the lottery whenever they decide to head for the NBA. Calipari's team is better, but there are awards for that called "conference championships.")
(Bourbon H/T to Eamonn Brennan)
This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.
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LOL. Awesome.
by IFChris on Mar 10, 2010 5:55 PM EST reply actions
Brian Cook is a failed computer engineer who decided to become a professional bomb thrower. As a computer engineer, I understand you’ve probably only had sex about 2.5 times in your life (that time the pretty girl asked you to fix her computer and touched you on the shoulder causing you to blow in your pants is a half) and that has made you bitter, but at least keep it within reason. Comparing UK chearing for Calipari to chearing for Charles Manson is laughable and inaccurate.
Also, if you don’t gloss over the details by simply saying "2 vacated final fours" or "sanctions in his wake" and look at the details I defy any smart individual to bash Calipari for the Umass situation. If anything it’s a positive for him. One of his players took money from wannabe agent and Calipari found out and reported it to the NCAA. Really, what exactly did he do wrong there. In the Memphis situation you could blame him for not doing more research into Rose’s test, which has never been proven he didn’t take just that it was flagged, but any coach in the country would have taken Rose so if you’re using it to say Calipari is worse than others it doesn’t support that argument.
You can find an archived message board thread and put it up as evidence of something, but what does it really show other than a small segment of supposed UK fans bashed Calipari when he wasn’t our coach. They were just as ill informed as other fans who do it today. So Brian, have fun watching Michigan sports bomb in both sports while you continue your descent into a Jay Mariotti clone.
by DustinUK on Mar 11, 2010 12:58 PM EST reply actions
I realize I misspelled cheering so don’t bother correcting me on it, thanks.
by DustinUK on Mar 11, 2010 1:01 PM EST reply actions
Jemele Hill is credited with the Charles Manson comment, but I think you proved his point.
by Paul Brown's Ghost on Mar 11, 2010 3:22 PM EST reply actions
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