So he was instigating and a liar too. Good to know.
1-8 the past 9 years pretty frustrating
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Heh-heh. Sorry couldn't help myself. Seriously the only point I'm trying to make is that it was the allure of the NBA that was why he left and he later regretted it as he says in this interview where he calls it the biggest mistake he made in his life.
(http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-ba...ch-rick-pitino-calls-possible-uconn-move-dumb)
I'm sure he's happy now too. As with anyone, the decisions you make shape the person you become and he has lived and learned and now he has another top program that he's doing a fine job with. No hard feelings.
You and your buddy are full of it. You are on this site posting because of your strong feelings for the program. You are no different than most other fans of any other successful program in the country. I know it makes you feel good trying to pretend like you are different, but you are not. GET OVER YOURSELF!!
He told me. And "it's logical" covers those he didn't.
Looking forward to watching the bowl games this week? (No punch line yet...)
"Elite program", my a$$...
So why didn't Pitino bounce back to "Camelot" when you guys ran off Tubby? Or when Billy Clyde fell on his face? If that was really his "biggest mistake".
Unless it really wasn't.
"Elite program", my a$$...
Hey I'm just showing you what Pitino said. If you want to call him a liar that's your business.So why didn't Pitino bounce back to "Camelot" when you guys ran off Tubby? Or when Billy Clyde fell on his face? If that was really his "biggest mistake".
Unless it really wasn't.
"Elite program", my a$$...
But when UK made their coaching changes, they knew they needed a fresh start (and yeah, pickled-liver Gillispie was clearly not the answer) Enough people were pissed at Pitino for joining "the dark side" that faculty and fan alike knew that wasn't going to happen so he was never contacted. I doubt he would have come back if he had been. It was over and he'd started a new chapter. So good for him. Doesn't mean he didn't realize it was a bad move.
LOL. A bad move huh. The man has done something no other coach has ever done. He has national championships at 2 different programs. That bad move put him in the company of ONE.
You guys are just too funny!
Hey the move from Boston to Louisville was a great one. The one from Kentucky to Boston, not so much.LOL. A bad move huh. The man has done something no other coach has ever done. He has national championships at 2 different programs. That bad move put him in the company of ONE.
You guys are just too funny!
Cmon man, not taking any shots but Pitino only came clean after he knew the media was about to run the story. It was months and months after the affair happened. Also, you know Pitino has been known to say many things that just aren't true. He was obviously being sarcastic with his "answer".
You know if Cal had done this he would be ripped on here. You don't think he hears the same nasty crap when playing at the Yum?
Having overall records such as 85-13 against Auburn or 115-25 against Georgia or whatever on Earth that record is - and these are typical not outlier records in the SEC - means UK is an elite program, lol. An 80% winning record over a 70 year period or more, enduring away games with attendance nearing 4 figures, ha ha. Granted, there were some hugely breathtakingly talented teams over that period of Rupp's troubled past - the very best of which caused the ruination of NBA lives for 2 of the best talents ever to grace UK's court, in Frank Beard and Bill Spivey. Rupp's serious and very focused avoidance of Ed Diddle and Western led to his avoidance of all Kentucky college teams owing to the potential taint of the legacy of 90% winning pct's against the SEC. His legacy was more precious to him than any brushes with intrastate legitimacy. As an older guy, I was a part of the UK fan base as a kid. I listened closely to Cawood's announcing and celebrated Randy Embry - team captain and PG of UK who I spoke with just a couple weeks ago - when he was offered the scholly there.The last UK team I was a fan of was the Runts, 3 o whom I knew personally and one o whic - Tommy Kron - was the shortstop I replaced for the Owensboro 15 time state champ American Legion team. The shortstop he replaced? Randy Embry.
The pre-Pitino era at UK - and I include Rick's time at Louisville because of the looming legacy-inhale of UK fans with emotional investment in what he accomplished there - became something different following Rupp. The innocent age of domination and expectation gradually became something different as the Baby Boomers aged. A lot of that was because of the brash new Denny Crum of UCLA fame and the amazingly foresighted contract Olsen and Peck Hickman arranged that involved a cool million buck payment after 10 years in place. The irony of it all?? Crum played a style of basketball which actually was Rupp's style, featuring indefatigable players, presses and the real innovation of Rupp's - the fast break. It is ironic that this was the case - in every way.
Now the yearly mess of this rivalry is akin to an acid bath for Louisville fans and our coach. The hating towards Pitino disintegrates the love he generated for saving their arses and changes history itself - bringing a sad delusional take to everything UK. It forms a habitual mode of thinking which lesser minds - and UK specializes in them - use like a minute-old club to the side of the head. But the damage is done to themselves, no one else. I watch this pageant with a horror I saw developing when Rick was hired at UofL. It went viral and has become a juggernaut of diseased perspective.
During his stay at UK, fans so fond of historical revision suddenly don't recall the nods and winks about Rick's sexual behavior while coaching there. It's as if UK fans have undergone a Baptism and become miraculously pure when the fact was, everyone sort of enjoyed stories of his dalliances with cheerleaders and the program's straying horny wives, lol. He was their swordsman!! I laugh out loud when I watch Grover or the other mouth-breathers preach about his notorious infidelities. Nor does the discussion ever include the inclusion of Calipari's dalliance with his current squeeze - the former wife of Nolan Cromwell.....a lush bit of nonsense of its own which I honestly don't have much data on, nor really care.
That Rick would see this yearly experience as painful in the extreme is made ten times worse by the piling on of goobers who hate with a rare relish. The reasonable and actually quite numerous UK fans who are good enough people are smitten daily by the unfortunate company they keep. It taints everything and has succeeded in making UK more hated than any team in the game owing to the triage teams they extend outward when things go wrong, to say nothing of the social media gloating they spread like a diseased blanket to the Seneca Indians when things go right. The hate does a huge disservice to a reputation which could easily have been something other than that. Love of the game itself is intrinsic in both Louisville and Kentucky collective memories and - far more importantly - remains the case to this very day.
But hatred defines UK now. The shark is out of the cage. The experience Pitino must feel walking back carrying another loss on his shoulders while coaching a group of truly high character kids he badly wants to protect from harm, comprises one of the most complex emotional situations I have personally ever witnessed. I have sympathy for him, not simply because I am now a Louisville fan, but for reasons which are more universal. I write often about my high school baseball coach - a first ballot Hall of Famer in the KHSAA who won more state titles than anyone in the game - but who suffered a crippling case of polio at the age of 2, who overcame that to become the Giant of the game that he became. God was not kind to him to begin with. Well, God is not particularly kind to Rick either, presenting him with a unique historical stamp, utterly obscured by lesser minds who prefer hatred to reality because of the relishment of peer energy in a mob of quirky urban/rural argumantation. It has devolved into every inch the appearance of a literal and sometimes unconsciously hilarious hillbilly detestation, complete with a featured illiteracy no one seem to care about over there. The result is a bizarre mishmash of stunning hypocrisy, prone to mind-boggling hyperbole. The reasonable UK fans who post here - and thank you John and Michael and you others - know much of this, but I fear they overlook the eventual ramifications now very much underway.......and the total ruination it all presents which could so easily have been something else entirely. These emotions were never "destined". They remain a choice, even today. UofL fans watch in fascinated horror, even as they become your victims. No player should ever be subjected to the level of animosity which allows a fan base to so profane a man once so vital to your success. This occupies a dimension which could never have been intentional, but is an accident of projected mass psychology. Make no mistake, however ......It demeans the game and yourselves.
The annual game has become a phenomenon all it;s own - an indescribably manic event which takes a psychological direction all its own, irregardless of the reasonable folks who feel the backwash as legitimately toxic but who have become paralyzed by the size of the monster.
The pre-Pitino era at UK - and I include Rick's time at Louisville because of the looming legacy-inhale of UK fans with emotional investment in what he accomplished there - became something different following Rupp. The innocent age of domination and expectation gradually became something different as the Baby Boomers aged. A lot of that was because of the brash new Denny Crum of UCLA fame and the amazingly foresighted contract Olsen and Peck Hickman arranged that involved a cool million buck payment after 10 years in place. The irony of it all?? Crum played a style of basketball which actually was Rupp's style, featuring indefatigable players, presses and the real innovation of Rupp's - the fast break. It is ironic that this was the case - in every way.
Now the yearly mess of this rivalry is akin to an acid bath for Louisville fans and our coach. The hating towards Pitino disintegrates the love he generated for saving their arses and changes history itself - bringing a sad delusional take to everything UK. It forms a habitual mode of thinking which lesser minds - and UK specializes in them - use like a minute-old club to the side of the head. But the damage is done to themselves, no one else. I watch this pageant with a horror I saw developing when Rick was hired at UofL. It went viral and has become a juggernaut of diseased perspective.
During his stay at UK, fans so fond of historical revision suddenly don't recall the nods and winks about Rick's sexual behavior while coaching there. It's as if UK fans have undergone a Baptism and become miraculously pure when the fact was, everyone sort of enjoyed stories of his dalliances with cheerleaders and the program's straying horny wives, lol. He was their swordsman!! I laugh out loud when I watch Grover or the other mouth-breathers preach about his notorious infidelities. Nor does the discussion ever include the inclusion of Calipari's dalliance with his current squeeze - the former wife of Nolan Cromwell.....a lush bit of nonsense of its own which I honestly don't have much data on, nor really care.
That Rick would see this yearly experience as painful in the extreme is made ten times worse by the piling on of goobers who hate with a rare relish. The reasonable and actually quite numerous UK fans who are good enough people are smitten daily by the unfortunate company they keep. It taints everything and has succeeded in making UK more hated than any team in the game owing to the triage teams they extend outward when things go wrong, to say nothing of the social media gloating they spread like a diseased blanket to the Seneca Indians when things go right. The hate does a huge disservice to a reputation which could easily have been something other than that. Love of the game itself is intrinsic in both Louisville and Kentucky collective memories and - far more importantly - remains the case to this very day.
But hatred defines UK now. The shark is out of the cage. The experience Pitino must feel walking back carrying another loss on his shoulders while coaching a group of truly high character kids he badly wants to protect from harm, comprises one of the most complex emotional situations I have personally ever witnessed. I have sympathy for him, not simply because I am now a Louisville fan, but for reasons which are more universal. I write often about my high school baseball coach - a first ballot Hall of Famer in the KHSAA who won more state titles than anyone in the game - but who suffered a crippling case of polio at the age of 2, who overcame that to become the Giant of the game that he became. God was not kind to him to begin with. Well, God is not particularly kind to Rick either, presenting him with a unique historical stamp, utterly obscured by lesser minds who prefer hatred to reality because of the relishment of peer energy in a mob of quirky urban/rural argumantation. It has devolved into every inch the appearance of a literal and sometimes unconsciously hilarious hillbilly detestation, complete with a featured illiteracy no one seem to care about over there. The result is a bizarre mishmash of stunning hypocrisy, prone to mind-boggling hyperbole. The reasonable UK fans who post here - and thank you John and Michael and you others - know much of this, but I fear they overlook the eventual ramifications now very much underway.......and the total ruination it all presents which could so easily have been something else entirely. These emotions were never "destined". They remain a choice, even today. UofL fans watch in fascinated horror, even as they become your victims. No player should ever be subjected to the level of animosity which allows a fan base to so profane a man once so vital to your success. This occupies a dimension which could never have been intentional, but is an accident of projected mass psychology. Make no mistake, however ......It demeans the game and yourselves.
The annual game has become a phenomenon all it;s own - an indescribably manic event which takes a psychological direction all its own, irregardless of the reasonable folks who feel the backwash as legitimately toxic but who have become paralyzed by the size of the monster.
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This question is directed at Kentucky fans and Louisville fans and not the casual, social fan from Louisville that babbles about liking both state teams or whatever.
Can anyone imagine a UK fan out there that understandably dislikes Louisville but deeply appreciates what Rick Pitino did for the UK program? You know, like how he cleaned up that scandal ridden mess in Lexington and led them to 3 straight Title games and to the road they're on now. So much so that they could never have any ill feelings for the man even though they love to root against the team he coaches now? They say that there are people like that out there but I've yet to find evidence of one and I lived in Lexington for Rick's first 4 years at UofL. Oh sure some will say that but if you had a camera following them for the next hour you would see its just BS.
Here's another thing to ponder. If Denny Crum would have taken, say, the NY Knicks job in 1987 and flopped and returned to to the college game by taking an open job as UK's head coach would the majority of UofL fans boo him and would a big portion of them scream vile obscenities at him when he returned to Freedom Hall? I highly doubt it.
I for one would be disappointed that he took the UK job and would still always root against them but I also would give him a standing ovation every time he came to the Ville especially when my own team ( just like UK) has been in great shape because of him since he left. Would I look at Denny differently? I'm sure I would but I would still be grateful to the man and show him respect and could never hate him.
Believe what you will but there is and always will be that difference in the 2 fanbases a few knuckleheads aside. That's what happens when people's entire identity is tied to a basketball team I guess. Kind of sad. So come out of the woodwork guys and tell us how you gave Rick a personal ovation the last time he came to Rupp.
Can anyone imagine a UK fan out there that understandably dislikes Louisville but deeply appreciates what Rick Pitino did for the UK program? You know, like how he cleaned up that scandal ridden mess in Lexington and led them to 3 straight Title games and to the road they're on now. So much so that they could never have any ill feelings for the man even though they love to root against the team he coaches now? They say that there are people like that out there but I've yet to find evidence of one and I lived in Lexington for Rick's first 4 years at UofL. Oh sure some will say that but if you had a camera following them for the next hour you would see its just BS.
Here's another thing to ponder. If Denny Crum would have taken, say, the NY Knicks job in 1987 and flopped and returned to to the college game by taking an open job as UK's head coach would the majority of UofL fans boo him and would a big portion of them scream vile obscenities at him when he returned to Freedom Hall? I highly doubt it.
I for one would be disappointed that he took the UK job and would still always root against them but I also would give him a standing ovation every time he came to the Ville especially when my own team ( just like UK) has been in great shape because of him since he left. Would I look at Denny differently? I'm sure I would but I would still be grateful to the man and show him respect and could never hate him.
Believe what you will but there is and always will be that difference in the 2 fanbases a few knuckleheads aside. That's what happens when people's entire identity is tied to a basketball team I guess. Kind of sad. So come out of the woodwork guys and tell us how you gave Rick a personal ovation the last time he came to Rupp.
Please provide link.
Since you put this in quotations please provide link to the exact quote.
Please provide link that he was offered the job.
So I'm a pretty hardcore UK fan. I watch every minute of every game. I (like many, many UK fans) have a good job and am not an "inbred" and although I have some emotional investment in the success of UK's basketball team, I don't live and die with the results. So, those types of insults are lost on me and seem petty. They are kids playing basketball for our entertainment while many get rich on their backs. It's a game, nothing more. A hundred things in life outrank it's importance.
I moved to Lexington in 1996, when UK was in the midst of a 3 year run the likes of which are rarely seen, thanks to Rick Pitino. Having been nothing more than a casual college basketball fan, I latched on to the UK team and have been a fan ever since. Through reading and speaking with UK fans who lived through the scandal in the late 80s, I can appreciate that what Rick did for the program was nothing short of miraculous, and the fact that he was even willing to take on such a monumental challenge is commendable.
I think it is simple - he is coaching our biggest rival. Really, our only "true" rival. We have no rivals in football because we stink at it, and nobody really cares about any other sports. So, we are left with basketball, where we have been as dominant in our conference as we have been bad at football. It's hard to call the other elites (Duke, KU, UNC, etc) real rivals because we don't play them enough.
I think as time wears on, when Rick retires or moves on to something else, the good feelings will come back for most of the UK fanbase. It's difficult to not root against a guy who is trying to beat you. I don't speak for the whole fanbase because every individual is different, but that is my take on it.
I moved to Lexington in 1996, when UK was in the midst of a 3 year run the likes of which are rarely seen, thanks to Rick Pitino. Having been nothing more than a casual college basketball fan, I latched on to the UK team and have been a fan ever since. Through reading and speaking with UK fans who lived through the scandal in the late 80s, I can appreciate that what Rick did for the program was nothing short of miraculous, and the fact that he was even willing to take on such a monumental challenge is commendable.
I think it is simple - he is coaching our biggest rival. Really, our only "true" rival. We have no rivals in football because we stink at it, and nobody really cares about any other sports. So, we are left with basketball, where we have been as dominant in our conference as we have been bad at football. It's hard to call the other elites (Duke, KU, UNC, etc) real rivals because we don't play them enough.
I think as time wears on, when Rick retires or moves on to something else, the good feelings will come back for most of the UK fanbase. It's difficult to not root against a guy who is trying to beat you. I don't speak for the whole fanbase because every individual is different, but that is my take on it.
senore, I'm not going to copy your whole post to reply because it would take up half of my internet bandwidth but I am going to reply to one particular piece of it.
Let me point out that I'm atheist, so I'm not offering my own opinion on god, but you point out in your post that god has not been particularly kind to Rick Pitino. I'd argue that Pitino has led a life that a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a % of the people in the world wouldn't be envious of. He is rich, does what he wants when he wants, doesn't have to worry about his next meal, lives in affluent, safe neighborhoods, the list goes on and on. If you don't think god has been kind to Rick Pitino, I'd hate to see what your definition of "kind" is.
but I am going to reply to one particular piece of it. Let me point out that I'm atheist, so I'm not offering my own opinion on god, but you point out in your post that god has not been particularly kind to Rick Pitino. I'd argue that Pitino has led a life that a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a % of the people in the world wouldn't be envious of. He is rich, does what he wants when he wants, doesn't have to worry about his next meal, lives in affluent, safe neighborhoods, the list goes on and on. If you don't think god has been kind to Rick Pitino, I'd hate to see what your definition of "kind" is.
And you are a UK fan posting on a Louisville forum. Why are you here? I'm here because I enjoy the Louisville Cardinals as a fun diversion from everyday life. It is not my way of life and you will never find me posting on a UK site seeking acceptance from your kind. You are here because you cannot just enjoy your team...it is your life and what happens with the Cayuts affects how you feel about yourself and trying to irritate U of L fans makes you feel superior to them. The fact that you are posting on this board says all I need to know about you. UK fans are not like fans of other successful programs...they are a kind all unto their own. The only ones that don't realize that are you guys.
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LOL..UL.. Bowl Games, reigning national Champs in state Mens BBall, Womens BBall been to a title game, College World series...I could go on...and all you have is Basketball....We will be watching our bowl game tonight...you can replay the basketball game over and over...You see UL plays sports 12 months out of the year.
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I'll actually watch the UofL game tonight. I love bowl season, its like an endless buffet of college football for several days in a row.
Fair questions. No offense taken, as a life long Kentucky fan. Here's my honest answers.
I have zero animosity toward Rick Pitino for leaving Kentucky or taking the job at Louisville. I hated to see it when it happened but who could possibly blame him? I absolutely appreciate what he did for our program in the time he was there. And I'd still say he's a top 5 coach in the country. I have no qualms whatsoever about him as a coach and the way he recruits and strategizes in game. Some say he should have his name removed from the rafters. I do not.
What gives me a sour taste towards him more than anything is Rick the person. Part of this is because we're living in an Information Age where as soon as someone says something they shouldn't have, 20 national analysts have tweeted it. Another part is that when Rick left in '97 I was 14 years old. Now I'm 32. All I knew at the time about Rick Pitino was what he looked like and that he had turned UK back into a monster of a basketball program.
So try to put yourself in a UK fan's shoes. You talked about Denny Crum. Let's finish the analogy. Let's say after Crum comes to coach Kentucky he gets caught cheating on his wife, he makes ambiguously back-handed comments you're pretty sure are about the new UL coach (without naming names of course), he flips the bird to the crowd as he's leaving because of a heckler (bigger deal to some than others; not that big a deal in my opinion), and UK, under Crum, is being investigated for allegedly hiring strippers and prostitutes for recruits. (Not commenting on whether it's true or who knew about it, just bare bone facts) I find it extremely hard to swallow that you would still give him a standing ovation.
And again, compound this with the fact that he's at your arch rival school. Part of it is perception because if he is your coach, you want very much to like him. But for most of us, it's nearly impossible.
It all depends on your milieu, my friend. God took away his best friend in 9-11. God saw his infant son pass away. Maybe you think those are gifts from a benevolent Fate - I don't.senore, I'm not going to copy your whole post to reply because it would take up half of my internet bandwidth
Let me point out that I'm atheist, so I'm not offering my own opinion on god, but you point out in your post that god has not been particularly kind to Rick Pitino. I'd argue that Pitino has led a life that a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a % of the people in the world wouldn't be envious of. He is rich, does what he wants when he wants, doesn't have to worry about his next meal, lives in affluent, safe neighborhoods, the list goes on and on. If you don't think god has been kind to Rick Pitino, I'd hate to see what your definition of "kind" is.
I agree we earn most of our Karma. But that doesn't explain why bad things happen regularly to good people. Not to belabor the point, but I happen to believe he was made far stronger by events which have taken place, the depth of which may very well have driven him deeper than you can even conceive of. The gift in that case was his own resolve and the discoveries happened onto by people who have a brush with Death. I had my own just this year following two surgeries stemming from the discovery of cancer. It has led to an understanding that defied what I once thought of as profound.
I'll let you figure all that out.
And for the record, I am also quite agnostic. I don't even care if there is a god, frankly, because of its inconceivability and what I now understand as the foibles of fallible men who - much like UK fans - make up reality and then actually live it.
Apparently what's rich is any attempt to have a civil conversation with anyone on this site. I've been as benevolent as possible when I try to discuss basketball with you guys, holding no ill will because you guys are just fans of your team like I am of mine. Yet every time, someone replies with an insulting or degrading comment. I frequent a number of other boards; Duke, Mich St, Kansas, etc; and I never have any problem being welcomed so long as the conversation stays civil.
Seriously guys, I'm here in peace.
Sorry to hear about the cancer Senore. It's a terrible disease, I hope you're kicking it's ass. Happy holidays sir.
Every one of you that comes over here pulls that passive-aggressive bs about "just trying to talk basketball", which you weren't when you went in your little spiel about "Rick the person." Grow some thicker skin. Or better yet go away
Rupp was far from being alone in that department. Racism south of the mason-dixon line during that period was the natural lay of the land. Jim Crow was considered normal during that period across the entire state of Kentucky.
My God, Jay, what were you thinking?? We can't all be Martin Luther Friggin King. Some of us are failures.
Dude, you are delightful to have around. I am kicking it's dumb butt, for the record, ha ha. I just got back from San Diego - finally healthy enough to travel again - I got me a sunburn, a happy only-child daughter who is the 24 year old love of my life and my strength back, all at the same fuggin time. It's a good time to be me, at least compared to me.
I have to agree with you about the thicker skin comment. I go to other teams' message boards because l like point of views other than the homer ones. With that said, I don't expect to be welcomed by everyone, so I ignore those that issue insults. There is no need of complaining because there is always the choice of leaving the board if it bothers me that much.
Seems we both have some thin skin. I was simply answering a question. That's a lot of UK fans' perspective on it. I'm sure you disagree but at the same time, I know most of you guys feel the same about Calipari, to which I disagree. I'm fine with disagreeing and I'll gladly drop the subject now.
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