[Stardust]

I've been a UK fan for probably longer than most of the posters on here have been alive. Coach Rupp is not something that I had to read about in history books. So, my loyalty to the program is not questioned.

It seems like so many come to the defense of Cal, ONLY because he is UK's coach! That's fine. You can like whoever you want and you can support them for whatever reasons you choose. Conversely, not everyone else has to like him.

My disdain is deep rooted for Cal. This is the same arrogant coach that had nothing positive to say about his rival in the mid-90's when he was at the University of Massachusetts. He was no fan of Pitino or Pitino's squads. That's fine, he's a coach and even though this North East connection tried to make things appear peachy between them, it was not. Calipari was someone that I hated as a UK Blue-hearted fan.

I disliked him for the way that trouble followed him. He may be squeaky clean, but he is the only coach in NCAA history to have two Final Fours stripped from his record. He may have had nothing to do with the reasons they were stripped, but fact is, it's HIS record that will be tainted forever. And I as a UK fan, seeing what happened to the Basketball program under Eddie Sutton's reign never wanted to see that happen again. So, that sets the tone for why I was no supporter of Calipari and still have a hard time accepting him now.

I've never been a fan of his coaching ability. Does he win? YES! Why? Because he has better talent than any other coach! How? I don't want to know!

But he has never proven that he is a great coach. A great coach takes any level of talent and wins. A great coach prepares his team and "Calls" a game. Running up the side-lines is not coaching! It's just running up and down the side-lines! Making defensive adjustments like playing different defenses such as a zone when needed. Or calling a critical timeout to stop an opponents run. Or not calling the exact same full-court plays with under 5 to go in two consecutive losses. Or figuring out that your team is is getting fouled purposely in a National Championship game to put you on the foul-line, and you make ZERO adjustments. Or you let the '96 Cats press you with no ability to adjust to it. I'm sorry fans, great coaching has nothing to do with great records.

Now, all that said, do I support him? You bet you! I've seen the comments about he is so much better than BGP and we should be thankful that we have him instead! Well, that's fair. I do not like Obama, but I sure am happy that he is in office instead of Hillary Clinton! But do I like Obama, NO! Do I want Obam to be successful? A resounding YES! Because, if Obama is not successful, then my NATION will fail!

So, do I want Cal to be successful? YES! If not, I pay the price as a fan!

But, my question was - "Do I have to love Cal just because he is the coach of the team that I love?"