SouthEastern Wildcat Review

So, before John Calipari was hired at Kentucky, how many of you had the same opinion as Matt Jones of Kentucky Sports Radio? Not that there is anything wrong with jumping on the bandwagon, tons of sports fans do it all the time. The only thing I hate is the fan who in the wake of the new "it" team winning big proclaiming to all that "Oh, I have liked them for a long time now, you didn't know that?" Or in the same category, the fan who hates/has a problem with the way a player or coach goes about their business until the moment that person becomes a member of their favorite team. But again, nothing at all wrong with it (except the aggravation bestowed upon the bandwagon jumper's friends/family) as long the reasons for the change of heart are explained. For example, how about this little nugget posted by moderator Matt Jones of KSR:

"Kansas vs Memphis….it is time for Kansas to win another. Memphis is a great team, but I simply cant pull for Calipari and the way he runs a program. Rock Chalk Jayhawk…."

Now in case you're wondering, this was posted on April 5, 2008 after the national semifinal game of UCLA versus Memphis. In the comments section of that same post, read for yourself this little exchange:

1.Cat Fan Says:
April 5th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Go Tigers. Memphis is absolutely loaded.

2.Cat Fan Says:
April 5th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Not sure why everyone wants to pile on Cal. He can absolutely get the best players in the country to come to Memphis and he plays an exciting brand of basketball.

3.Matt Jones Says:
April 6th, 2008 at 12:01 am
All the while running one of the dirtiest programs in America….

4.Wildcat81 Says:
April 6th, 2008 at 12:06 am
3) Matt you r dead on!

Again, I want to emphasize that everyone is entitled to their opinion, and also entitled to change their opinion. Also notice that poster Wildcat81 agrees with Mr. Jones' thoughts, as do quite a few more posters in the thread. But the negativity continues:

Matt Jones Says:
April 6th, 2008 at 12:57 am
I am not going to make a post on the subject. But travel in recruiting circles and you won’t find anyone who thinks that program is clean. You are free to have any feeling about Calipari u wish but I am not a fan of his tactics on building a program.

OK, again perfectly fine to speak your mind, especially if it's on your own blog (I mean, what do you think I do here?) Let's check and see if there are any more....

The Final Four kicks off tonight with the UCLA Championships playing the Memphis Arrest Warrants.

That one was a little earlier in the day in a post previewing the Final Four matchups. While not a direct shot at Calipari, it definitely alludes to a perceived lack of discipline in his program. Maybe I'm wrong, Lord knows I could make a career doing that, but how about this one:

You just knew it was gonna happen deep down. Karma is a weird thing and it strikes at weird times and you just couldnt imagine that Memphis would really be allowed to win a national title. With a team full of players that had run-ins with the authorities, after the fight earlier this season at UAB, after their constant problems with free throw shooting and Coach Calipari’s mocking of it as an issue and the coach’s less than stellar reputation with the NCAA, you just HAD to think that it would catch up with them.

As for Memphis, you just knew this would happen. All year, they have laughed in the face of those who said you didnt need to hit free throws to win, and it was those free throws that lost the game. I make jokes about this Memphis team and I do have some problems with how Calipari runs his program.

Digging back a little further in the KSR archives produced this comment in a post previewing the 1st round matchup of Memphis and the University of Texas at Arlington:

March 18 2008
Game One
Starting out- you have Memphis playing the University of Texas at Arlington. Think of this 1 vs. 16 match up much like you would Coaches vs. Cancer: as much as you would like to see the upset here, you already know the outcome. While University of T at A boasts a recent Southland Conference Championship and an upcoming performance of Aladdin in Texas Hall, they are playing Memphis in Little Rock, Arkansas. The smell of unsolved homicides may distract UTA but surely not the fine fellows of Tunica East.

Again with the suggestion (albeit jokingly) that Calipari allows murderers on his teams. OK, now let's go forward six months to December 11, 2008 when Jones made a post listing his version of UK's top ten current rivalries:

10 UK rivalries
(8) Memphis: EDITED…..Because now I love Calipari!

Because now he loves Calipari. I would love to know what opinion he had then, but alas it has been changed for all time. [EDIT BY ROB: Obviously there has been some confusion here, I should have clarified. This post was apparently edited by MJ to remove some negative comment he had there against Cal when he originally wrote the post. I don't have the original post and have no idea what it said. Common sense tells me it was something negative.] Now fast forward to the eve of the press conference at the Joe Craft Center announcing the hire of John Calipari as the new head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats:

What a day! Actually forget about a day….what a week! Remember where we were just five days ago? We had just gotten rid of a controversial coach in a bizarre scene that left no one with a smile on their face and questions as to who could be the coach for a program that looked to be in turmoil. Now five days letter, and as Gregg Doyel suggests in this article, the Kentucky basketball juggernaut is back! Since the first inkling that I received on Saturday afternoon that this could happen occurred, I have been afraid to get too excited. There simply cant be a better marriage than Kentucky basketball and John Calipari. A charismatic winner who is dying to take a place among college basketball’s all-time elites joins a program that needs reassurance it is the best in the land. A perfect marriage and one that is exhilirating for the Big Blue Nation.

As you can tell, I cant wait. I am getting up at 6:30 am to get there early and get ready. I hate mornings but I am not going to hate tomorrow morning. UK basketball as I know it is back….and I could not be happier. Dont believe me? Then read what Calipari said to the AD at Memphis when he asked how much money Calipari needed:

“You don’t have to give me anymore. It’s Kentucky.”

Once again, it certainly is…..

This post was made on March 31, 2009 and it echoed my feelings about the Cal hire exactly. The only thing I'm curious about is at what point did his feelings change from he runs one of the dirtiest programs in America to a perfect marraige?

There was a guy I used to work with that was the epitome of a bandwagon jumper. No matter what team won the World Series, Super Bowl, NBA Finals, or NCAA Championship, he had loved them for YEARS!! He would talk about past games and quote player stats, most of which were way off base, and we would have a nice chuckle at his expense. Even when called out that just a few weeks or months earlier he had said team so-and-so was his favorite, his defense was always that we didn't hear him correctly. Defend and deny, his motto to the bitter end.

Not that I am trying to compare Matt to this guy, I don't know Matt or anything about him, other than he has a great site that is probably the most visited UK site on the web. If the only thing that made him change his feelings about Cal was his move from Memphis to Kentucky, fine. Like I said earlier, everyone is entitled to their opinions and to change them at any given time. It's just as popular as he is and his site is, I would love to see a post explaining the change of heart. I would be willing to wager a guess that many, many 'Cat fans out there thought Cal to be a sleazy coach until UK hired him. I know a lot of people I know did. But I'm sure that bandwagon jumping has been around since the dawn of sports, and it will no doubt continue to be a popular practice.

I just want to go on record stating that now and forevermore, my teams are as follows:

1. The Almighty Kentucky Wildcats
2. The Atlanta Braves
3. The Detroit Pistons
4. The Dallas Cowboys

And that's the end. Maybe Matt will grant us an explantion, maybe not. He definitely doesn't have to, as my little site is nothing compared to the monster he has built, but it would be nice to satisfy my curiousity. See you guys tomorrow I will have some more great stuff up in the morning!! Have a good weekend!