As I noted earlier in the thread, since I'm not a Wildcat fan I am more attuned to the crazy stuff that I hear from UK fans — and I hear a lot of it. You just don't want to believe it because you find those folks embarrassing, but choose to ignore them rather than address the problem.

 

No actually, you don't know anything about what I hear and how I process it. I've been a UK fan for my whole life. However, I'm a sports fan first and I'm a realist on things. I don't choose to ignore stupid, offensive or racist comments by UK fans or any other fans for that matter. I've got friends that are completely unrealistic on their expectations or unable to see through anything besides blue-tinted glasses and I've had numerous arguments with them when they are off base. So don't tell me I just ignore things like that because I don't--you don't know me. Again, you are making a generalization about me, and other UK fans that I find offensive. I was at UK during the 1991-92 season and have been around my fair share of overzealous to outright ignorant fans and I can tell you that not one time have ever heard a single fan say that they wish Laettner dead or that they'd like to kill him......and I've heard some pretty derogatory things said about him. If there were really "tens of thousands" of fans that would wish him dead don't you think I'd have heard someone say something to that effect at least ONCE since they show the replay of that shot tens of thousands of times (it seems) each spring? Again probably 1/3 of the UK fanbase were preteens when that play occurred and have no meaningful memory of how they felt or how they actually felt about Laettner. Again, you might not hate UK but when you make a blanket statement with absolutely no evidence to support it about "tens of thousands" of UK fans that want another human being to die it is offensive to all UK fans--and totally uncalled for. I can understand saying that number of fans are unrealistic and ignorant in some of their beliefs but saying that they would wish something like that is just wrong.

No actually, you don't know anything about what I hear and how I process it. I've been a UK fan for my whole life. However, I'm a sports fan first and I'm a realist on things. I don't choose to ignore stupid, offensive or racist comments by UK fans or any other fans for that matter. I've got friends that are completely unrealistic on their expectations or unable to see through anything besides blue-tinted glasses and I've had numerous arguments with them when they are off base. So don't tell me I just ignore things like that because I don't--you don't know me. Again, you are making a generalization about me, and other UK fans that I find offensive. I was at UK during the 1991-92 season and have been around my fair share of overzealous to outright ignorant fans and I can tell you that not one time have ever heard a single fan say that they wish Laettner dead or that they'd like to kill him......and I've heard some pretty derogatory things said about him. If there were really "tens of thousands" of fans that would wish him dead don't you think I'd have heard someone say something to that effect at least ONCE since they show the replay of that shot tens of thousands of times (it seems) each spring? Again probably 1/3 of the UK fanbase were preteens when that play occurred and have no meaningful memory of how they felt or how they actually felt about Laettner. Again, you might not hate UK but when you make a blanket statement with absolutely no evidence to support it about "tens of thousands" of UK fans that want another human being to die it is offensive to all UK fans--and totally uncalled for. I can understand saying that number of fans are unrealistic and ignorant in some of their beliefs but saying that they would wish something like that is just wrong.

 

I totally agree. Sounds a lot like it is around me. Good post.:thumb:

No actually, you don't know anything about what I hear and how I process it. I've been a UK fan for my whole life. However, I'm a sports fan first and I'm a realist on things. I don't choose to ignore stupid, offensive or racist comments by UK fans or any other fans for that matter. I've got friends that are completely unrealistic on their expectations or unable to see through anything besides blue-tinted glasses and I've had numerous arguments with them when they are off base. So don't tell me I just ignore things like that because I don't--you don't know me. Again, you are making a generalization about me, and other UK fans that I find offensive. I was at UK during the 1991-92 season and have been around my fair share of overzealous to outright ignorant fans and I can tell you that not one time have ever heard a single fan say that they wish Laettner dead or that they'd like to kill him......and I've heard some pretty derogatory things said about him. If there were really "tens of thousands" of fans that would wish him dead don't you think I'd have heard someone say something to that effect at least ONCE since they show the replay of that shot tens of thousands of times (it seems) each spring? Again probably 1/3 of the UK fanbase were preteens when that play occurred and have no meaningful memory of how they felt or how they actually felt about Laettner. Again, you might not hate UK but when you make a blanket statement with absolutely no evidence to support it about "tens of thousands" of UK fans that want another human being to die it is offensive to all UK fans--and totally uncalled for. I can understand saying that number of fans are unrealistic and ignorant in some of their beliefs but saying that they would wish something like that is just wrong.

 

OK, fair enough. Let me ask you this: Why is it so hard to believe that if there are enough UK fans -- some, as I never once said "all" -- who would fill the inbox at the UK hoops office with a steady stream of death threats aimed toward a person who won them a National Championship, those same folks wouldn't also feel the same way toward a guy who delivered two of the most crushing blows to UK in history, in the same game? I guess I don't understand why you guys think it's such a leap from one to the other. :idunno:

 

And while I don't know you that well, we have met on a few occasions, if you remember correctly.

OK, fair enough. Let me ask you this: Why is it so hard to believe that if there are enough UK fans -- some, as I never once said "all" -- who would fill the inbox at the UK hoops office with a steady stream of death threats aimed toward a person who won them a National Championship, those same folks wouldn't also feel the same way toward a guy who delivered two of the most crushing blows to UK in history, in the same game? I guess I don't understand why you guys think it's such a leap from one to the other. :idunno:

 

And while I don't know you that well, we have met on a few occasions, if you remember correctly.

 

 

Jim, this is the first I've heard of Tubby Smith receiving death threats. Where is your proof of that?

Jim, this is the first I've heard of Tubby Smith receiving death threats. Where is your proof of that?

 

The Herald-Leader had either a story or column about it around five years ago or so; I can't remember which. One of the main secretaries in the hoops office was quoted.

I'm looking, but I can't find it for the life of me. It was only mentioned in passing and buried several paragraphs down in the article -- it was not the main newspeg -- so I'm not sure how much luck I'll have. As I've remembered more of it, it was a column either by Story or Clay. Either the secretary in question said Tubby just laughed all of it off, or Tubby himself was quoted.

OK, fair enough. Let me ask you this: Why is it so hard to believe that if there are enough UK fans -- some, as I never once said "all" -- who would fill the inbox at the UK hoops office with a steady stream of death threats aimed toward a person who won them a National Championship, those same folks wouldn't also feel the same way toward a guy who delivered two of the most crushing blows to UK in history, in the same game? I guess I don't understand why you guys think it's such a leap from one to the other. :idunno:

 

And while I don't know you that well, we have met on a few occasions, if you remember correctly.

 

 

First off, you didn't say all but you did say, "tens of thousands" and painted that as a conservative estimate. Then you used the number 30,000. You keep bringing up the inbox at UK being "filled" with death threats--can you post a link that mentions that? Because I've done multiple searches and can't find one.....Isn't it more likely that a few lone nuts sent those and it wasn't anywhere approaching the hundreds or thousands that you portray it to be? And again I've been in a lot of places around a lot of UK fans when Laettner is mentioned and I've heard him called a lot of names, heard his sexuality questioned and stuff but never once have I heard someone say they'd like to kill him or wish he were dead. In a state with no bigger a population than Kentucky you would think that I would have run across one of those 30,000+ people by now.

 

I think its much more likely that those crazy fans are much more likely to be completely unrealistic in their view of the Cats than they are in wishing someone dead. If you told me that 10,000 UK fans would have wanted Calipari fired if they'd have lost the UL game or if they lose in the first round of the NCAAs--sure I can buy that. But I'm sorry you've produced no reason at all for me to believe that tens of thousands of UK fans want Christian Laettner to die or even that the inboxes at UK were filled with death threats for Tubby Smith. A few threats and a few people wanting Laettner dead, yeah sure I can believe that. I know people that want the mailman dead for delievering their bills....But thats a big difference in the numbers you insinuated.

I'm looking, but I can't find it for the life of me. It was only mentioned in passing and buried several paragraphs down in the article -- it was not the main newspeg -- so I'm not sure how much luck I'll have. As I've remembered more of it, it was a column either by Story or Clay. Either the secretary in question said Tubby just laughed all of it off, or Tubby himself was quoted.

 

 

UK's basketball coach receiving death threads is buried in an article, and only mentioned in passing? Come on Jim. I'm starting to worry about you. :lol:

UK's basketball coach receiving death threads is buried in an article, and only mentioned in passing? Come on Jim. I'm starting to worry about you. :lol:

 

It was a general column about the fan pressures of the job. I'm not in the business of making stuff up, and it's really annoying me that I can't track it down.

It was a general column about the fan pressures of the job. I'm not in the business of making stuff up, and it's really annoying me that I can't track it down.

 

 

You mentioned that he was getting thousands of death threats. I can't believe something like that wouldn't make national news.

You mentioned that he was getting thousands of death threats. I can't believe something like that wouldn't make national news.

 

I didn't say thousands. I said that the article reported a steady stream of death threats (as well as other ridiculous hate mail) during his time.

The Herald-Leader had either a story or column about it around five years ago or so; I can't remember which. One of the main secretaries in the hoops office was quoted.

 

I'm looking, but I can't find it for the life of me. It was only mentioned in passing and buried several paragraphs down in the article -- it was not the main newspeg -- so I'm not sure how much luck I'll have. As I've remembered more of it, it was a column either by Story or Clay. Either the secretary in question said Tubby just laughed all of it off, or Tubby himself was quoted.

 

I didn't say thousands. I said that the article reported a steady stream of death threats (as well as other ridiculous hate mail) during his time.

 

So essentially you made a broad assumption that "tens of thousands" of UK fans want or wanted Laettner dead and that death threats to Tubby Smith "filled the inboxes at the athletic department" without any proof of either? Do you know how many death threat emails it takes to fill up an inbox? And yet if we think that you're going off the deep end on your assumptions and numbers then we have a narrow world view? Got it.

 

 

Isn't it much more likely that you threw out numbers designed to make a passionate, often over the top fanbase with its share of idiots look even worse?