The Meltdown That Is Happening At CatsPause

[05_never_again]

The true meltdown at TCP is over who's going pro and who's staying. So much angst.

Why would that cause a meltdown? It's virtually an entirely new team every year; one group of 5-stars is exchanged for another. It's worked well for Cal for the most part. Thought y'all were used to it at this point.

 

[butchna]

Why would that cause a meltdown? It's virtually an entirely new team every year; one group of 5-stars is exchanged for another. It's worked well for Cal for the most part. Thought y'all were used to it at this point.

Duke took that class this go round.

 

[VolFreakJosh]

The true meltdown at TCP is over who's going pro and who's staying. So much angst.

Why would it be any different from Cal’s previous years?

Rinse and repeat.

 

[VolGee4]

...and 5-5 since 2013. That ain't bad.

Over the entire time we have played each other, no, it isn't a rivalry though.

Just curious, who would be UK's rival? If you are basing it off record, I believe that UT has a better winning % over UK than Louisville does. UT is 71-152 against UK, while Louisville is 14-34. It's not by much, but your insinuation is that we aren't a rival because of record.

 

[McCat]

Just curious, who would be UK's rival? If you are basing it off record, I believe that UT has a better winning % over UK than Louisville does. UT is 71-152 against UK, while Louisville is 14-34. It's not by much, but your insinuation is that we aren't a rival because of record.

I've been around this stuff for 40+ years as a fan. There have definitely been periods when UT was a rival. Bernie/Ernie/Mears years were definitely one. Pearl years, sure. And it's heating up again now.

But Louisville hate burns deep. IDK. How do you distinguish how much you hate Bama vs. how much you hate Florida? It's just a totally different level.

 

[VolGee4]

I've been around this stuff for 40+ years as a fan. There have definitely been periods when UT was a rival. Bernie/Ernie/Mears years were definitely one. Pearl years, sure. And it's heating up again now.

But Louisville hate burns deep. IDK. How do you distinguish how much you hate Bama vs. how much you hate Florida? It's just a totally different level.

It's gotten to where in the last 20 years, I almost hate UGA just as much. It's their fans. They act like they will win something every year, and then they fizzle. At least Bama wins. Old UT fans definitely hate Bama, but before this current streak, the series was pretty even. Bear even said that he learned all he knew from Neyland and never beat him.

 

[TnScooby]

It's gotten to where in the last 20 years, I almost hate UGA just as much. It's their fans. They act like they will win something every year, and then they fizzle. At least Bama wins. Old UT fans definitely hate Bama, but before this current streak, the series was pretty even. Bear even said that he learned all he knew from Neyland and never beat him.

I had a co-worker who insisted the Green Bay Packers fashioned their helmet "G" logo from Ga..The Green Bay "G" logo was first used in 1961 while Georgia adopted it in 1964..But Ga fans never let facts stand in the way of their version of history...

 

[05_never_again]

Just curious, who would be UK's rival? If you are basing it off record, I believe that UT has a better winning % over UK than Louisville does. UT is 71-152 against UK, while Louisville is 14-34. It's not by much, but your insinuation is that we aren't a rival because of record.

I'm actually not basing it off of record at all. Tennessee/Kentucky isn't really a rivalry primarily because Tennessee doesn't fancy itself as a basketball school, doesn't have the institutional commitment to basketball that Kentucky does, and nowhere near the fan interest. It's hard to have a true rivalry when one of the parties in the rivalry has kind of a "Eh, it's cool to have a good year in basketball and beat you guys, but this isn't overly important to me" attitude about it. IMO, that's what really makes a rivalry - two institutions that both want the same thing, they want it very badly, and are both willing to commit a lot of resources to getting it.

You can have a rivalry (which Kentucky/Louisville is) even with the overall record being one-sided. Kentucky and Louisville both consider themselves premier basketball schools with national titles as realistic goals every year (well, I guess L'ville not so much now) and both commit a ton of resources to achieve that goal. In college sports in particular, I think what gets rivalries especially heated is when schools recruit the same kids. Louisville and Kentucky do this, but Tennessee and Kentucky do not.

That is why, in football, Tennessee/Alabama is a rivalry despite Alabama completely dominating on the field lately, while Tennessee/Vanderbilt is not despite the teams being evenly matched on the field lately.

 

[LittleCat]

There's a lot of things that go into what makes a rivalry a rivalry. For UK and UL, obviously #1 is the fact they are 70 miles away and are also a basketball school. That will always at some level cause a lot of conflict. You have the Rick Pitino situation which only ramped up the entire rivalry as well. When UL finally took a step forward and started being relevant nationally, then it was almost on the level of UNC and Duke with both teams always been ranked pretty high. But in classic UL fashion they've completely self-sabotaged themselves.

UT and UK is different. Both schools clearly favor different sports. Even though the states border one another, I don't feel that it's a big deal. I don't see many UT fans around, although I imagine there are a lot of UK fans in the big TN cities. But regardless, the fact we care about different sports and there isn't really parity in either one, it doesn't feel like a game that generates the rivalry feel.

 

[05_never_again]

UT and UK is different. Both schools clearly favor different sports. Even though the states border one another, I don't feel that it's a big deal. I don't see many UT fans around, although I imagine there are a lot of UK fans in the big TN cities. But regardless, the fact we care about different sports and there isn't really parity in either one, it doesn't feel like a game that generates the rivalry feel.

Yep. I really wish Tennessee had a rival in football where 1) we saw them as our biggest rival AND 2) they saw us as their biggest rival. Most schools have this in either football or basketball, but Tennessee doesn't.

Depending on who you ask, Tennessee sees Alabama, Georgia, or Florida as our biggest rival, but none of those schools see Tennessee as its biggest rival. Vanderbilt sees Tennessee as its biggest rival, but we don't see them as a rival at all. Kentucky sees Tennessee as a big rival (not as big as Louisville), but Tennessee in football doesn't see Kentucky as a rival.

 

[LittleCat]

Yep. I really wish Tennessee had a rival in football where 1) we saw them as our biggest rival AND 2) they saw us as their biggest rival. Most schools have this in either football or basketball, but Tennessee doesn't.

Depending on who you ask, Tennessee sees Alabama, Georgia, or Florida as our biggest rival, but none of those schools see Tennessee as its biggest rival. Vanderbilt sees Tennessee as its biggest rival, but we don't see them as a rival at all. Kentucky sees Tennessee as a big rival (not as big as Louisville), but Tennessee in football doesn't see Kentucky as a rival.

UK football doesn't have any rivalries outside UL so it makes since a lot of fans consider UT and UF to be rivals. Fans have to get pumped for something, so I guess pick the team you hate the most and call them a rival.

 

[McCat]

UK football doesn't have any rivalries outside UL so it makes since a lot of fans consider UT and UF to be rivals. Fans have to get pumped for something, so I guess pick the team you hate the most and call them a rival.

I'm old enough to remember when it was a rivalry. Talk to folks in Eastern Kentucky. They couldn't give a flip about the Louisville "rivalry." For them, it's all about beating UTK.

 

[SEC-GoalTenda]

UK/UT are both in the Sweet 16 next week. #HEROESOFTHEDORM. Rivalry?

 

[LittleCat]

I'm old enough to remember when it was a rivalry. Talk to folks in Eastern Kentucky. They couldn't give a flip about the Louisville "rivalry." For them, it's all about beating UTK.

Those are probably the fans who only follow UK from November to April and couldn't care less about the football. I've met a ton of Eastern Kentuckians who don't care a bit about UT or the entire sport of football.

 

[TnScooby]

Those are probably the fans who only follow UK from November to April and couldn't care less about the football. I've met a ton of Eastern Kentuckians who don't care a bit about UT or the entire sport of football.

I doubt there actually IS a ton of them..

 

[McCat]

"Probably". Your research methodology on anecdotal evidence is impeccable.

Those are probably the fans who only follow UK from November to April and couldn't care less about the football. I've met a ton of Eastern Kentuckians who don't care a bit about UT or the entire sport of football.

 

[LittleCat]

"Probably". Your research methodology on anecdotal evidence is impeccable.

We're obviously from different generations with very different backgrounds so I expect our perspectives to be different. Anecdotal evidence is all we have unless you show me a research paper breaking down the UK fanbase.

 

[05_never_again]

I'm old enough to remember when it was a rivalry. Talk to folks in Eastern Kentucky. They couldn't give a flip about the Louisville "rivalry." For them, it's all about beating UTK.

I don't know all that many Kentucky fans, but I find that very hard to believe. Every Kentucky fan I know lives and breathes Kentucky basketball, Louisville is the hated team, and football is a nice diversion until basketball season starts.

 

[McCat]

Anecdotally, I am the exception. Football > Basketball, and I get no greater joy than to see us beat the Vols in football. Now that Pitino is gone from Louisville, I don't know that they will be the hated basketball rivals that they once were. I really want to like Chris Mack.

I don't know all that many Kentucky fans, but I find that very hard to believe. Every Kentucky fan I know lives and breathes Kentucky basketball, Louisville is the hated team, and football is a nice diversion until basketball season starts.

 

[SmokyRiverDog]

I doubt there actually IS a ton of them..

Why not? That is basically two ladies in Middlesboro plus one in Corbin.

 

[joevol33]

Anecdotally, I am the exception. Football > Basketball, and I get no greater joy than to see us beat the Vols in football. Now that Pitino is gone from Louisville, I don't know that they will be the hated basketball rivals that they once were. I really want to like Chris Mack.

My dad is that way. He actually hasn't cared about basketball that much since pitino was your coach.

 

[Grand Vol]

Bump for anything good?

 

[ptcarter]

Bump for anything good?

Worth a bump Grand Vol, however I don't detect a meltdown. What happened in Rupp to us was real. UK is still a good team. Pretty much a foregone conclusion these teams will meet in a few weeks in Nashville. Maybe a meltdown after that.

 

[McCat]

Rubber match at the SEC tourney, probably, but I'd rather meet in the Final 4. Everybody howling how the ACC has 3 of the top 4 currently, but I think that the SEC has 2 teams with a legit shot at it all.

 

[Boca Vol]

Rubber match at the SEC tourney, probably, but I'd rather meet in the Final 4. Everybody howling how the ACC has 3 of the top 4 currently, but I think that the SEC has 2 teams with a legit shot at it all.

Unless UF can beat LSU, the grudge match will be on Sat and not on Sun. Even though the Vols lost, I loved watching UT vs UK in the SECT finals last year.