John Calipari glad to have "lucky" watch back -- even if he likes his fake Rolex more
John Calipari’s celebrated Kentucky women’s basketball’s SEC Tournament title — just the second in program history — in Nashville like a true fan. Jumping up and down, cheering on made baskets, screaming and arguing with officials, Calipari wasn’t afraid to show he was a member of Big Blue Nation.
His antics came at a cost, though. Throwing his arms up in the air to celebrate Dre’una Edwards’ game-winning 3-pointer, the UK men’s basketball coach’s watch flew off his wrist. He realized it immediately, with a video from Kyle Tucker of The Athletic showing his reaction in real time.
Immediately after the game, Calipari congratulated UK women’s coach Kyra Elzy and the Wildcats on their win, but also asked fans to help him find his white gold Rolex watch.
“My watch, the pin may have come out, I don’t know,” Calipari said during his call-in radio show Monday evening. “But I (threw my arms up), it went five rows back. And I knew it was off my wrist, so I go — first of all, I was hoping it was near my feet. And it wasn’t. You have no idea where this thing went. And I told the guy, ‘Maybe you guys can go look around.'”
When he couldn’t find it, he turned to Twitter for help, adding that it was his “lucky watch.” Who found it? None other than Coach Elzy, who called Calipari and said his watch was safe and sound.
“Can you believe it?!? (Coach Elzy) wins an SEC championship in one of the greatest comebacks I’ve ever seen…” Calipari tweeted. “AND THEN SHE FINDS MY WATCH!! You’re the best, Coach Elzy!!!”
Elzy said that while she didn’t find the watch personally — a player’s family member found it — she wanted to do whatever it took to get it back to its owner in a timely manner.
“I didn’t find it myself, but one of the players told me one of their family members had it,” Elzy told KSR on Monday. “I was like, ‘I need to call him and let him know we’ll get it back to him.’ We’re excited we could do that for him. It was his lucky watch, he needs it so they can win an SEC Championship, as well.”
Why was it his lucky watch? Well, maybe Calipari stretched the truth a bit on that one. He later clarified that it wasn’t actually his “lucky watch,” rather a gift from his wife, Ellen, who would have a “real problem” with the UK head coach losing the valuable piece. Even if it was coach’s money that paid for it in the first place, jokes Calipari.
“I said “lucky watch.” The reason I said lucky watch — and I don’t want you to tell anybody this — my wife got me that watch for Christmas, paid for it herself with my money,” Calipari said. “She’s looking at me like, ‘If you don’t find that watch, you’re going to have a real problem.’ So I was saying ‘lucky watch’ (as in) ‘please be lucky and come back or I’ve got to face this woman.’
“So we get a call later that night, they said (the replay) was like the Zapruder tape. People are breaking it down, ‘His head went back, it must have come from the grassy knoll. It had that look, It’s going up.’ And all of a sudden, somebody knows somebody, and now Coach Elzy calls me and says, ‘We have your watch.’ I said, ‘You what?'”
The funniest part about the whole story? It’s not even Calipari’s favorite watch. In fact, he paid a crisp $20 bill for a fake Rolex that he received more compliments on.
When it worked, of course.
“I wear (the lost Rolex) a lot,” Calipari said. “I’ve got to wear it a lot because if not, Brad (Calipari) sneaks over to the house and takes watches. … I have another Rolex that I got in China, OK? Unbelievable, good-looking watch. I had more compliments on that watch — black face to it, white gold. I paid $19 for it. After two months, it stopped working. But $18 and 25 compliments, that’s worth it, having it for a month and then it stop. It didn’t sweep like a Rolex, it was ‘chop, chop, chop, chop.'”
It may not have been his favorite watch, and it may not be all that lucky, but it was one he needed back. If not, he would’ve been sleeping on the couch for a month or two.
“It wasn’t funny when I couldn’t find my watch,” Calipari said. “She paid for it with my money, but she paid a lot of money for it. I’m just happy I got it back. Happy it was with our fans. I did have some friends call me and say, ‘You’re lucky I didn’t grab that watch. You would’ve never saw it.'”
Watch-gate is now over, with Calipari’s white gold Rolex now back on his wrist — at least until the Kentucky women’s basketball team’s next big win.
Their NCAA Tournament run starts next week. As for the men’s team, its SEC Tournament run starts Friday.
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard