Sick of rats jumping off the ship

2bunnies

All-Conference
Apr 21, 2009
6,802
1,626
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i haven't seen too many posters, if any, criticize the recruit only the recruiting process and our 6 losses. I probably haven't read those threads due to the title or something. A college choice CAN BE a major decision for MANY of these 16-19 year olds. We can really only assume why one may decommit.
 

JBHolmesfan

All-Conference
Jul 23, 2009
8,181
4,747
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It seems as if some fans are fans of just being miserable. If we win by 10, it should've been 14. If we lose by 10, we need to replace the QB and/or coach. People, for whatever reason, just can't enjoy being fans. Every fan base has fans like this.
 

GonzoCat90

Heisman
Mar 30, 2009
32,377
34,559
0
Great post. It's a permanent mindset among too many. They've been waiting for things like this to happen, and the reaction has been building up because they somehow "expect" failure all along.

It isn't like they're going to cancel this upcoming season. We'll play our games, and I'll be cheering like hell in every single one of them, regardless of who's committed or suspended or what the opponent is ranked.

I'm only 24 and I've sure seen a hell of a lot worse than these last few days already. There's still a young, talented core there, with a coaching staff looking to prove itself, a stadium that's going to be much improved, and fans that are thirsty for success. All we can do is cheer them on and hope it happens. The hand wringing and bitching won't accomplish anything.
 

mrhotdice

All-American
Nov 1, 2002
21,923
5,450
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All those that complain about all things uk are bed wetters
Especially the honeymoon is over crowd. Haha
 

UKfan2151

All-American
Oct 1, 2003
14,064
8,372
113
There is a difference between people going off the deep end into the land of unspeakable doom as opposed to those expressing some legitimate concerns. No, this recruiting class falling apart very close to signing day isn't going to mean we cancel the upcoming season. But likewise, if you don't think what has happened over the past week isn't going to do serious harm to our future success, you are an idiot.

The SEC is the college football equivalent to a super power arms race. I think that if we can consistently sign top 20 or top 25 type classes, we can compete in this league if the coaching and effort is there. But we can't have gaps in the recruiting. One lackluster class can rob a team of tons of depth and create serious imbalances in the available experience. In short, when you play in a conference like the SEC, even one bad class can have major implications down the road when that class becomes juniors and seniors and you need to be relying on them for experience. Look at Joker's classes to see the results lackluster recruiting classes created among our upperclassmen the past couple of seasons.

No, the sky isn't falling. But we certainly are in a very precarious situation right now. Even before the defections in this class started, it was generally considered to be lagging behind the previous class in terms of overall talent. There are a variety of factors at play here but the biggest is the on-field success or lack thereof this previous season. The 6 game losing streak has created serious doubts in the minds of recruits. Last year we brought in ten 4 star recruits! Now we only have 2 committed. That is a serious step back. And the only way that can be corrected is to start winning some games.

I hope this coaching staff can work their asses off and manage to salvage a decent 2015 class. No, it won't be as good as last year's class. But if they can bump it back to a top 30ish class or thereabouts, it won't be a complete disaster. But everything ultimately hinges on what happens on the field this upcoming season. If we don't win 6 or 7 games and get to a bowl game, then recruiting is only going to continue to fall off. And two less than stellar recruiting classes in a row will likely bring about the sort of conditions that will make it extremely difficult for this coaching staff to recover from. So the bottom line is, we need a winning season in 2015. We need to try to avoid getting blown out and completely dominated. And we need to avoid a complete collapse on the back end of the schedule like we saw last year. If we can do that, I am confident that the positive buzz will return and this coaching staff will be able to land a top 15 or top 20 class again. But if they don't, I'm afraid their fate may ultimately be sealed, and ours along with it.
 
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Xception

Heisman
Apr 17, 2007
26,407
22,344
0
I don't see a problem , who in their right mind thought the process would be easy or run like a well oiled machine with no bumps in the road . Clearly there are a good number of fans who don't understand how it works when building a program up . There will be setbacks and the one we're in is being overblown big time . I'm never going to talk anyone off the ledge , jump already .
 

wbryant316

Junior
Jun 9, 2005
39,743
313
0
I'm usually the first to jump on board and be negative. I'm actually in a bit of shock currently. We've lost a bunch of commits and have a small group of players that can't seem to stay out of their own way. I'm not jumping ship but at some point you think we would get some luck to help with these situations.
 

c1doc

Junior
Mar 23, 2007
1,234
266
0
Stoops is the real deal!!! Just need to give him time, 2 or 3 years is nothing in football!! Need at least 5 or 6 years.... Obviously we should see signs of improvement which we have!!
 
Jan 31, 2003
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657
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Originally posted by GonzoCat90:

Great post. It's a permanent mindset among too many. They've been waiting for things like this to happen, and the reaction has been building up because they somehow "expect" failure all along.

It isn't like they're going to cancel this upcoming season. We'll play our games, and I'll be cheering like hell in every single one of them, regardless of who's committed or suspended or what the opponent is ranked.

I'm only 24 and I've sure seen a hell of a lot worse than these last few days already. There's still a young, talented core there, with a coaching staff looking to prove itself, a stadium that's going to be much improved, and fans that are thirsty for success. All we can do is cheer them on and hope it happens. The hand wringing and bitching won't accomplish anything.
Hear hear
 
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Big John Stud

All-American
Jan 14, 2003
23,281
8,876
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That's what UK football "fans" do, you shouldn't be surprised. We had 18k in the fans for senior day 3 years ago.
 

4UK

All-Conference
Sep 26, 2005
30,388
4,433
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How exactly are people jumping off the ship? This ship sank quite a while ago, and yet there are still a ton of fans on board who went down with it. UK's ratio of fans to on-field success has to be the highest in the nation, and yet every year, there are "call out" threads about so-called bad fans.
 

TeoJ

Heisman
Oct 19, 2001
24,357
20,376
65
They have jumped on and off 4 or 5 times since this was first posted.
 

ok-cats-computer

All-Conference
Oct 5, 2005
5,654
3,677
0
I try to stay positive, but it can be difficult. Overall, I think Kentucky football fans do a good job supporting the program. Some of us, myself included, have a little football fan PTSD after surviving the Curry years. As a result, people can get negative a little too quickly, but the enthusiasm comes back in September. At least our fans care enough to get angry.
 

willievic

All-American
Aug 28, 2005
6,167
7,111
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Guys, other then when the Bear was here, and a few other times, I have been waiting a "Hell of a long time," for us to be competitive in football. Every time we get a new coach, because we fired the other one, exceptions being Brooks and Morris in the last 30 years, I get my hopes up.

Well, I haven't changed! I think Stoops and his coaches might be the "real deal". Next year, 2017 will tell us a lot. He's had some good recruiting years, had a chance to red-shirt some players, got coaches who will coach the way he likes, and his type of offense. UK has made the changes to the complex that Brooks said we needed to be competitive in the SEC. Anything less then 8-4 next year would not be great, even though a lot of fans would accept 7-5. A season of 8-4 would help us get a lot of recruits who are wanted by top programs, and I don't think we would have near as many de-commits.
Stoops and staff are doing an excellent job of identifying recruits prior to other programs, but were having a hard time keeping them when the Alabama's, Ohio State, etc. come calling. Winning will change that!

OLD STOLL FIELD GUY!
 

Kooky Kats_anon

Heisman
Aug 17, 2002
25,741
46,563
0
When analyzing your team's success through a prism, there are two category factors that determine 'success'.

1) Record
2) Look Test (overall competitiveness)

1) The first is easy. We are exactly what we are. 5-7. Not good enough.

2) this is the subjective one. Last year, people couldn't tell if Towles was to blame, Dawson/Stoops, receivers... OLine, DLine, ST... it was all bad, really.

We cannot continually get squished by the run. We cannot look like Keystone Cops against mobile QBS. We cannot have coaching/clock gaffes. We cannot mail-in performances like we did v EKU.

Stoops needs to address point 2 and the wins will come. Even if we don't get 6-wins, excitement will come back to the program if fans see more prepared and spirited play.
 

Jamal Mercer

Heisman
Feb 7, 2008
10,805
23,536
0
I rarely post on the football board but I read a lot.

There are a handful of teams in the country who have fans that have a right to be negative or pessimistic. Kentucky is definitely one of them.

I am a little apathetic toward FBall this season because of how the last two years played out. 1-11 combined in the 2nd half of both season (or something like that).

I will always be a UK fan but I'm at a point where they have to prove something, anything to get me more excited.
 
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vhcat70

Heisman
Feb 5, 2003
57,418
38,482
0
You either like UK football warts & all or you're fair weather. You decide. I'll be disappointed whenever we lose, but I'll still be here & there. They don't have to prove anything to anybody.
 
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The_Godfather_rivals

All-Conference
May 22, 2002
25,432
3,795
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To be quite honest, it's hard for any UK football fan who isn't a complete dreamer to be skeptical at this point and not just buy into the promise of better times to come. We've heard it all before.

This notion that UK just magically has a large portion of negative fans is absurd. Their history of following this program has triggered that cynicism.

If you want people to believe in what you're doing, prove it. Win some damn games. Actually, simply don't have the team quit on you halfway through the season.

UK football fans have proven one thing through the years. You don't have to give them a whole lot in order for them to support the program. Simply not being incompetent is the first step. There aren't many schools in America that will refer to excitement over a 6 win season as a "bandwagon". UK is one of them.

At least these people still call themselves UK football fans. They could take the easy way out like those jackass 1/2 fans who support UK basketball and OSU football.
 
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JPFisher

Heisman
Jul 24, 2013
6,130
10,879
113
"IT'S NOT ABOUT THE THREAD.... IT'S ABOUT SENDING A MESSAGE."


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