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Rupp's Rafters and "Blue Blood Programs"

No. You're just ignorant.
no i'm not. there you go just plain ole wrong again, tough life I guess I really don't understand why my post angered you so, it wasn't intended to be that kind of post at all.
 
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I can't really argue. The sport is in decline from when it was at its height in the 1980's. UK fans truly are the only ones who care, most people don't watch college basketball except for the first round in March until their brackets are ruined. The sad thing is UK fans work so hard to build the argument for being #1 in this fringe sport. For a while there was a guy who would do a regular post on their board, "Why UK basketball is #1 all time" and have pages and pages of stats to back it up.

I guess ultimately it's a "I'd rather be a big fish in a small pond" mentality. The state of Kentucky will always be close to last place in most economic, education, and overall wealth. It's the only thing poor people from around the state have to hang their hats on.

IMHO calling college basketball a fringe sport is wrong on so many fronts. TV executives don't spend BILLIONS of dollars for fringe sports.
 
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Something else that may shed some light on UK fans, they had a big night Friday night because Wiltjer and Indiana both got eliminated. Yes, a very successful night for the average UK fan, indeed.

I think that social media put the KW rumors to rest. I don't know of one person who was wishing KW to lose. The kid transferred....that is his prerogative........I don't hold it against him because he left.
 
College basketball is a niche sport. Outside the hotbeds, nobody gives a crap about it except for 4 days in March. Then it's back to obscurity. And like Kerry said, the past is the past. I didn't witness a UK title prior to the 1996 championship, so why should I care about it? Being relevant in the current landscape is all that matters. There are probably 20 teams that mostly fit that criteria on a pretty consistent basis. That's the only real list that matters.

Let me guess.......you remember the 80=86 titles by UL and not the 78 title that UK won.....?
 
I think you will find a lot of poor people in the city of Louisville. It isn't like the Metro area is a bastion of wealth.
Actually, it is one of the relative bastions of wealth in the US, lol. You won't find the plantation scenario that exists out in the state with horse farm owners being some of the richest people in the world while counties such as Owlsley depend incredibly heavily on federal and state help to even survive. The Appalachians, where so many UK fans collect, is utterly well-known nationally for the state of its economics. Compared to there, Louisville is Shangri La.

Louisville's immense, settled and conservative corporate culture creates management and leadership positions on a consistent basis. After all, so many of these people are responsible for the University's growth. Small businesses such as restaurants and the food and computer industries achieve stability and make for stunning world class eating at excellent rates. Louisville has some poor people, for sure, but nothing like other major cities and definitely not like the situation out in the state of Kentucky. That's near-starvation stuff. Why else would WalMart seem like a place to dress up for to go buy cheap UK apparel?
 
Actually, it is one of the relative bastions of wealth in the US, lol. You won't find the plantation scenario that exists out in the state with horse farm owners being some of the richest people in the world while counties such as Owlsley depend incredibly heavily on federal and state help to even survive. The Appalachians, where so many UK fans collect, is utterly well-known nationally for the state of its economics. Compared to there, Louisville is Shangri La.

Louisville's immense, settled and conservative corporate culture creates management and leadership positions on a consistent basis. After all, so many of these people are responsible for the University's growth. Small businesses such as restaurants and the food and computer industries achieve stability and make for stunning world class eating at excellent rates. Louisville has some poor people, for sure, but nothing like other major cities and definitely not like the situation out in the state of Kentucky. That's near-starvation stuff. Why else would WalMart seem like a place to dress up for to go buy cheap UK apparel?

This is a socioeconomic conversation rather than a sports conversation, but I think it's a ridiculous double standard that making fun of people for where they are born and what they look like/sound like is okay because they happen to be Caucasian.

Any of us could have been born into poverty. Some undoubtedly would have worked their way out of it, but the class in which you are born is the biggest indicator of what your future will hold. Making light of that for our own gratification is quite appalling.
 
Let me guess.......you remember the 80=86 titles by UL and not the 78 title that UK won.....?

I didn't start watching college basketball until 1996 when I moved to Lexington. Have no recollection of any title run prior to 1996.
 
no i'm not. there you go just plain ole wrong again, tough life I guess I really don't understand why my post angered you so, it wasn't intended to be that kind of post at all.
Sure you got the stomach for this message board banter? You seem awful soft in the middle. Either way here goes,... I wasn't angered. I was making fun of you and your silly little response! Must be real tough not being able to see that mr. big bucks. ;)
 
I think you will find a lot of poor people in the city of Louisville. It isn't like the Metro area is a bastion of wealth.
Take our tax dollars from the state budget and see who's really poor. Not trying to be derogatory just agreeing with what was said.
 
Sure you got the stomach for this message board banter? You seem awful soft in the middle. Either way here goes,... I wasn't angered. I was making fun of you and your silly little response! Must be real tough not being able to see that mr. big bucks. ;)

No one who writes so poorly is making "big bucks." Schmuck#8 included.
 
No one who writes so poorly is making "big bucks." Schmuck#8 included.
where did I say I was making big bucks? I have been retired since 1993. I do understand tho that I am a visitor on your board and not discuss this anymore. This was somewhere taken all out of context, I may have been the culprit, I really don't know. I just don't understand all the hatred. I live on KY lake in far western KY and we just aren't that eat up over here.
 
I didn't start watching college basketball until 1996 when I moved to Lexington. Have no recollection of any title run prior to 1996.

My point was that just because you are not aware of them doesn't make them irrelevant.
 
This is a socioeconomic conversation rather than a sports conversation, but I think it's a ridiculous double standard that making fun of people for where they are born and what they look like/sound like is okay because they happen to be Caucasian.

Any of us could have been born into poverty. Some undoubtedly would have worked their way out of it, but the class in which you are born is the biggest indicator of what your future will hold. Making light of that for our own gratification is quite appalling.
I didn't begin the conversation. You may be new to all this - UK fans have reveled in their conventional take at Louisville's ghetto levels of poverty. lol. It is not just a truism over there, no matter how utterly wrong it is, it is an article of faith for your fellow fans.

You need to assess who it is you root for and the fans that accompany that. Your post was pathetically misapplied. Next time, I get pissed, lol.
 
I didn't begin the conversation. You may be new to all this - UK fans have reveled in their conventional take at Louisville's ghetto levels of poverty. lol. It is not just a truism over there, no matter how utterly wrong it is, it is an article of faith for your fellow fans.

You need to assess who it is you root for and the fans that accompany that. Your post was pathetically misapplied. Next time, I get pissed, lol.

He's posted over here for so long, he forgot what his own fan base is really all about.
 
I didn't begin the conversation. You may be new to all this - UK fans have reveled in their conventional take at Louisville's ghetto levels of poverty. lol. It is not just a truism over there, no matter how utterly wrong it is, it is an article of faith for your fellow fans.

You need to assess who it is you root for and the fans that accompany that. Your post was pathetically misapplied. Next time, I get pissed, lol.

I'm shakin' over here ;)
 
He's posted over here for so long, he forgot what his own fan base is really all about.

I think it's just that I have a different mentality than most. For a lot of UK fans, the equation is "U of L fan = idiot." The inverse is true for U of L fans. To me, that's a very childish take on things. I've met great people who are fans of either team, and not so great people who are fans of either team, which pretty much mirrors society in general.

I think poverty is terrible. Whether its inner city poverty in Louisville or rural poverty in Appalachia, it's a problem I wish we had a better solution for, but it certainly shouldn't be made fun of in the name of something so insignificant in the grand scheme of life as a sports rivalry. That's just one Canuck's opinion.
 
Deal with your Canadian Natives fairly then. I lived in British Columbia for 15 years. Trust me on the reservation situation. Canada's relationship with its Native Americans is appalling.

A huge - titanic - measure of the smack talk between the fan bases is socio-economic. You need to read your own frigging board.
 
This is why I wouldn't mind seeing UNC win the title this year. That would put a ton of pressure on Cal if UNC moved to 6 championships, just 2 behind UK. Couple that with Kansas and UNC approaching them on the all-time wins list. Like the OP pointed out, these things mean nothing to most people, but it's everything to a UK fan. They have to be the best and have to have those stats to prove it.

They can't accept the reality that there are several great traditional programs in this sport with none clearly above the rest. And they always fear someone is going to knock them off the top of a mountain they're not even sitting on. Can you imagine the kind of pressure they exerted on poor Billy Gillispie to 'maintain' Kentucky's status as college basketball royalty?
FWIW If Carolina won their 6th title this year it would put them exactly 20 years behind UK.
 
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What the hell does that mean, Clive? If Carolina wins tomorrow night they will have five championships since 1982. That's more championships, and a more sustained level of excellence than UK has had over the same period. At that rate, it won't take them 20 years to surpass UK.
 
It's taken them how many years to get to 6 (if they get to 6)? 1982 is irrelevant. Using that logic Uconn will pass UCLA soon.
 
I think it's just that I have a different mentality than most. For a lot of UK fans, the equation is "U of L fan = idiot." The inverse is true for U of L fans. To me, that's a very childish take on things. I've met great people who are fans of either team, and not so great people who are fans of either team, which pretty much mirrors society in general.

I think poverty is terrible. Whether its inner city poverty in Louisville or rural poverty in Appalachia, it's a problem I wish we had a better solution for, but it certainly shouldn't be made fun of in the name of something so insignificant in the grand scheme of life as a sports rivalry. That's just one Canuck's opinion.

Actually, it's an education thing. And I would speculate that UK has the largest non-degreed fan base in the country. That's why they say so much ignorant chit without worries. Ignorance is bliss.
 
IMHO calling college basketball a fringe sport is wrong on so many fronts. TV executives don't spend BILLIONS of dollars for fringe sports.

College Basketball may not be a niche sport but it is well behind with the American Sports public the NFL, MLB, NBA, College Football....the regular season is meaningless to most.
 
FWIW If Carolina won their 6th title this year it would put them exactly 20 years behind UK.

It's not worth much since no one knows whether they will even get #6 on Monday, much less how long it might take them to get to eight and beyond. For all we know, they might have their 8th championship as soon as 2018. Or maybe never. 20 years behind may be wishful thinking for either side, who knows?
 
College Basketball may not be a niche sport but it is well behind with the American Sports public the NFL, MLB, NBA, College Football....the regular season is meaningless to most.

It's decline quite a bit since the 80's. (Like half it's popularity.) It's behind auto racing and men's soccer. (Horse racing sits at 1% while college ball is 3%) Keep running it like some street hustle and pretending the best players are in HS and watch what happens to it. The NBA team in my city has to basically give away tickets if they're not in the lower bowl.
 
It's decline quite a bit since the 80's. (Like half it's popularity.) It's behind auto racing and men's soccer. (Horse racing sits at 1% while college ball is 3%) Keep running it like some street hustle and pretending the best players are in HS and watch what happens to it.

You're correct...with young ppl soccer is more popular-(due to the EA Game)...
 
As bad as Tourney hoops have been without UK winning this year...the current CBS contract for the rights is being considered for an early renewal for another 6 years at a higher payout. I tend to judge value by who pays how much for what, not anecdotal dreams or opinions. :)
 
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As bad as Tourney hoops have been without UK winning this year...the current CBS contract for the rights is being considered for an early renewal for another 6 years at a higher payout. I tend to judge value by who pays how much for what, not anecdotal dreams or opinions. :)

And it will still fall far short of what the NBA will receive next year when their TV Deal is up....also, when the B1G TV Contract is up they will receive a huge bump due to College Football....the exploding revenue in college athletics is due to Football...not Basketball...Football drives the bus in College Sports. We don't even want to go with what the NFL receives....over $3 Billion a year from TV alone...a deal that was made in 2011...watch and see what it rises up to when it up for renewal in about 3 and a half years.
 
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Clive Gollings, you are so full of sheet.

Half of UK's championships were from 1948-1958, an era when UNC had to run the ACC gauntlet to even get an invite to the tournament which was only 8-16 teams back then. A LOT easier championship for a team from a chump league that all but guarantees a glittery record and an SEC championship. Considering the fact that 5 of UNC's 6 (presuming they win tomorrow night) are from an era where not only was it inifinitely harder to have an impressive record let alone to win a very competitive ACC, but there were 64 or 68 teams competing, I'd say UK belongs at the kiddie table; they can leave legitimate discussion of NCAA championships to teams that have done their work in the modern era.
 
If there were only 16 teams in the tourney this year UNC's road would've been much tougher up until this point.
The highest seed they've played is a 5 seed. That's not their fault, but more teams doesn't equate to a tougher path.
 
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As bad as Tourney hoops have been without UK winning this year...the current CBS contract for the rights is being considered for an early renewal for another 6 years at a higher payout. I tend to judge value by who pays how much for what, not anecdotal dreams or opinions. :)

Actually it's a fact. It has lost half it's popularity according to the polls. Interesting they'd consider contract renewal so early given they have the rights through 2024 at less than a billion/yr. In a recent interview CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus ( yep..another dookie grad) paints a different picture. Ratings seem to fluctuate wildly from year to year. His take was depending on the story line. So yep, expect more story lines . BTW, I believe the head at ESPN is a NC graduate. --Dookie grad head of CBS sports and a tar heel head of ESPN. No wonder the media loves them.
 
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Actually it's a fact. It has lost half it's popularity according to the polls. Interesting they'd consider contract renewal so early given they have the rights through 2024 at less than a billion/yr. In a recent interview CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus ( yep..another dookie grad) paints a different picture. Ratings seem to fluctuate wildly from year to year. His take was depending on the story line. So yep, expect more story lines . BTW, I believe the head at ESPN is a NC graduate. --Dookie head of CBS sports and a tar heel head of ESPN.

Don't think they are considering renewal especially since CBS has to bid on the upcoming B1G Contract which is more valuable...what is happening is the 5 year look-in with the deal...they "might" extend it..they got the Tournament for relatively peanuts in the grand scheme
 
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Actually, it's an education thing. And I would speculate that UK has the largest non-degreed fan base in the country. That's why they say so much ignorant chit without worries. Ignorance is bliss.

A lot of that is systemic. The education my kids are getting here even in an affluent part of Lexington is a joke compared to what I received in Canada. I would imagine its even worse as you get into poorer counties in the State. Teachers here are terribly underpaid, class sizes are way too big, and as a result the kids who really need extra attention are simply left out in the cold.

And a degree is not necessarily indicative of intelligence. Some of the smartest and most successful people I work with don't have college degrees. I'll take experience and street smarts every day over the guy with a degree in mass communications.
 
Bill Derington, post: 287544, member: 3852"]"If there were only 16 teams in the tourney this year UNC's road would've been much tougher up until this point."

So you're saying 5 wins to get to the championship is easier than 3 wins? OK, I get it. You graduated from the Eric Bledsoe School of Algebra for kids who want to cipher good.
 
Bill Derington, post: 287544, member: 3852"]"If there were only 16 teams in the tourney this year UNC's road would've been much tougher up until this point."

So you're saying 5 wins to get to the championship is easier than 3 wins? OK, I get it. You graduated from the Eric Bledsoe School of Algebra for kids who want to cipher good.

It's probably counter intuitive to make that argument, but to Bill's point, UNC has yet to play a team that would have even qualified for a 16 team tournament. So one could argue that beating 3 top 16 teams to get to the championship might be more difficult than beating 5 teams that ranged from 20-175.

I remember when people on this board used to argue that winning the Big East tourney was more difficult than winning the NCAA tourney. Same premise.
 
I don't buy it. Syracuse was a 10 seed. They made it to the final four by beating higher ranked teams, thus proving themselves to be much more than their seed.

The more games you have to play, the greater the risk of losing. Simple statistics. Unless you're an EBSoA alum.
 
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I don't buy it. Syracuse was a 10 seed. They made it to the final four by beating higher ranked teams, thus proving themselves to be much more than their seed.

The more games you have to play, the greater the risk of losing. Simple statistics. Unless you're an EBSoA alum.


Playing 4 teams in which you are a heavy favorite (as has been the case with UNC thus far) will result in 4 wins far more often than playing 3 games where you are a slight favorite will result in 3 wins. The 1 vs 16 game has been proven to be a throwaway, so it's really 4 games against decent teams vs 3 games against elite teams. I don't think CardGame is very active on this site but he could probably explain the reasoning a lot more eloquently than I can. Look at it this way. Say the Cards played 4 neutral site games vs Notre Dame, Syracuse, Indiana, and Providence, then played 3 neutral site games vs Kansas, West Virginia, and Villanova. Which series would you feel better about going unbeaten in?

If we estimate that UNC projects to win 75% of the games vs the 4 teams they have played thus far in the tourney (again, the 1 vs 16 game shouldn't count,) they'd win all 4 games 31.6% of the time. Playing three other teams all ranked in the top 15, we'd probably expect UNC to win 60% of those games - in that case, they win all three of those games just 21.6% of the time.

Just because Syracuse managed to win 4 games (against some low seeds themselves, Virginia not withstanding) doesn't mean they are all of a sudden on equal footing with the other final four teams. They were a 10 seed for a reason. Why do fans of high seeds cheer for upsets to happen in other games in their bracket? It's because they'd rather play an 11 seen than a 2 seed.
 
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A lot of that is systemic. The education my kids are getting here even in an affluent part of Lexington is a joke compared to what I received in Canada. I would imagine its even worse as you get into poorer counties in the State. Teachers here are terribly underpaid, class sizes are way too big, and as a result the kids who really need extra attention are simply left out in the cold.

And a degree is not necessarily indicative of intelligence. Some of the smartest and most successful people I work with don't have college degrees. I'll take experience and street smarts every day over the guy with a degree in mass communications.

Yeah, the state has in place a system that's not very good at educating their kids. Which usually leads to a poor and ignorant population. Your point? In comparison, Louisville relies heavily on on the Catholic school system and a few good public high schools. You won't find many Catholic schools out in the state because the baptists HATE Catholics. It has been my experience they hate minorities even more. Like it or not, that is the fan base you have aligned yourself with my friend.
 
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Yeah, the state has in place a system that's not very good at educating their kids. Which usually leads to a poor and ignorant population. Your point? In comparison, Louisville relies heavily on on the Catholic school system and a few good public high schools. You won't find many Catholic schools out in the state because the baptists HATE Catholics. It has been my experience they hate minorities even more. Like it or not, that is the fan base you have aligned yourself with my friend.

I'm an atheist, but I don't hate anyone for their religious beliefs. I seem to be the George Costanza of UK fans according to you guys :)
 
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I'm an atheist, but I don't hate anyone for their religious beliefs. I seem to be the George Costanza of UK fans according to you guys :)

Not according to me. ;) We have so many fake fans over here nowadays, hardly makes it worth it to visit. I only do guest appearances myself these days.

But you're wrong when you say both teams have their share of crazies..Just numbers alone gives UK a 50-1 advantage. And education (and all that accompanies it) is the reason.
 
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