In all honestly I've tried very hard to stay away from all the Rick Pitino discussion for some time (even before the firing). It's an issue that people have different viewpoints on and has in many ways divided the fanbase.
With that said, reading the "Pitino to UCLA" thread, I just decided to put my viewpoint on some of the disgusting remarks made by a few of the so called UofL fans.
For me I never really understood how many UofL fans were anti-Pitino until stripper gate and then later on his firing. I never realized how many UofL fans had never accepted Pitino even from day one. Never mind the nostalgia for Denny Crum and how much people over look things that happened under his watch while they put a microscope on Rick Pitino.
To relate this to me, I am 35 and grew up in the mid and late 90s. I don't remember the glory days of Denny Crum (I wasn't even born for the 1980 title and was way too young to remember the 1986 title) but I do remember the downfall of Crum. The losing seasons, getting beat by teams like UAB by 30 points, the horrible recruiting, bad team GPA and even NCAA violations. I remember playing in an old and dilapidated Freedom Hall. But more than anything, what I remember and in many ways associate with Crum, was being IRRELEVANT in college basketball. Looking up to the blue bloods in college basketball because as far as I was concerned (as well as other UofL fans my age) we were NOT a blue blood.
Crum was very much like Bobby Knight, a fading legend. A coach who once had success but who had lost that fire (he would rather go on fishing trips than get on the road and recruit) to be at the top and who had let the game pass him by. And UofL, like IU, was a fading program who's best days were behind them. Under Crum I never even thought about the idea of winning the National Title or even making a Final Four, it was inconceivable. I just remember hoping UofL would get into the NCAA Tournament and maybe, if we were lucky, get out of the first weekend. With all the success UK was having (under Pitino) it was a hard time to grow up as a UofL fan.
It seems to me that many of the Crum worshippers on here have either downright forgotten that or decide to conveniently gloss over it. Some of you talk about Pitino tearing down what he built, but if that's the case then Crum is also guilty of tearing down everything he built. We were irrelevent.
I bring this up because to me and most people under 40 Pitino, not Crum, was UofL basketball. It amazes me how many of you have forgotten that Pitino did save this program. Let me remind you that TJ was going to hire that wonderful loser Larry Eustachy if he didn't get Pitino. I know that Pitino had his personal failings but they were nothing compared to Eustachy. So if we didn't get Pitino we would've still had the personal failing BS with Eustachy but without the success. The 2000's would've been a lost decade for UofL basketball just like the 90s were. We would've been right there with IU in terms of being irrelevant.
