Believe it or not, Vol fans, as much as UK fans reveled in seeing the Vols get drubbed, and to see Meeks 'posterize' the night, it did have a noticeable effect that UK fans didn't appreciate.
UK fans love to win. And hate to lose. Far more than most other program's fans, and not always to the betterment of the fans.
I don't even have to quote the numbers. You know what Meeks did. It was an all world night. 10 3's, 14-14 from the line.
Try being a UK fan. All we hear about for the history of basketball is the Duke UK game from 92. Laetter goes 10 of 10 and 10 of ten. Wins the game on a ridiculous last second shot.
Sounds good, huh? The stuff dreams are made of.
OF course, the part that ESPN sorta forgets is that that was national champion returning DUKE with a load of starters taking on one of the the least talented teams in UK basketball history. A team with a crew of 4 players that weren't even recruited my Division 1 schools. A team that had one good player. Not a team with 4 or five pro prospects, three of whom were starters.
This game can only be viewed with honor to Duke and it's most legendary shot.... When it should really be seen as an embarassment to a team that should've never been taken to overtime, or had to win it on a last second 16 foot jumper.
So, to be frank, what Jodie did was much more impressive by any standard of any basketball fan. He lit the moon up, against a team with several Pro prospects from top to bottom, did it on their home floor, made more free throws, made more shots, against better defensive talent, scored 54 points, AND did it regulation. And he did so much, so well, that ESPN was just flat robbed of the opportunity to even have this be a moment in time because it was enough to bury UT, which it should have been.
Which LAettners performance should have been. Which it would have been if UT had a player score 54, and shut down the rest of UK. UT would have won by twenty.
SO,... to make a long story short, UK fans love the win, but don't (in large part) like the fact that ESPN and others played and replayed it until it became more of rubbing it in, than giving it's due.
I kid you not. There is even email going around the private chats about how the moment was ruined more than helped with the press it got. Seems weird, but it's true.
So, to that end. Go on with a good season, UT. Real UK fans may love to win, and love good games, but KNOW the difference between a good game between good teams, and one player having what may be the best game of his entire career, against a team that happened to have a bad night at the same time.
UK fans love to win. And hate to lose. Far more than most other program's fans, and not always to the betterment of the fans.
I don't even have to quote the numbers. You know what Meeks did. It was an all world night. 10 3's, 14-14 from the line.
Try being a UK fan. All we hear about for the history of basketball is the Duke UK game from 92. Laetter goes 10 of 10 and 10 of ten. Wins the game on a ridiculous last second shot.
Sounds good, huh? The stuff dreams are made of.
OF course, the part that ESPN sorta forgets is that that was national champion returning DUKE with a load of starters taking on one of the the least talented teams in UK basketball history. A team with a crew of 4 players that weren't even recruited my Division 1 schools. A team that had one good player. Not a team with 4 or five pro prospects, three of whom were starters.
This game can only be viewed with honor to Duke and it's most legendary shot.... When it should really be seen as an embarassment to a team that should've never been taken to overtime, or had to win it on a last second 16 foot jumper.
So, to be frank, what Jodie did was much more impressive by any standard of any basketball fan. He lit the moon up, against a team with several Pro prospects from top to bottom, did it on their home floor, made more free throws, made more shots, against better defensive talent, scored 54 points, AND did it regulation. And he did so much, so well, that ESPN was just flat robbed of the opportunity to even have this be a moment in time because it was enough to bury UT, which it should have been.
Which LAettners performance should have been. Which it would have been if UT had a player score 54, and shut down the rest of UK. UT would have won by twenty.
SO,... to make a long story short, UK fans love the win, but don't (in large part) like the fact that ESPN and others played and replayed it until it became more of rubbing it in, than giving it's due.
I kid you not. There is even email going around the private chats about how the moment was ruined more than helped with the press it got. Seems weird, but it's true.
So, to that end. Go on with a good season, UT. Real UK fans may love to win, and love good games, but KNOW the difference between a good game between good teams, and one player having what may be the best game of his entire career, against a team that happened to have a bad night at the same time.
