The House of Blue

I will be the first to admit that I have spewed my share of venom this season, but it has mostly all been directed at the offensive playcalling and the refusal to adjust the scheme to fit our players strengths and weaknesses and to put them in the best position to succeed early and often in their career. That is almost a mirror image of my complaints last year about and his D. Those are issues I am passionate about as I feel they can be fixed by the coaches; however, I do get annoyed by the "UKAA doesn't give a damn about football.....Mitch is horrible and doesn't give a damn about UK football.....FAAAAAAAAAAAR Joker......FAAAAAAAAAR Mitch....etc." posts and threads.

Like others have noted, I believe what has led to a lot of this (and even the more civil criticisms from most of us who have been on here for a long time) is the taste of remote success the program and the fans have tasted since 2006. Five years of consecutive trips to bowls, albeit lower tier bowls, followed by a LOT of talk from Joker & Co. about how we are taking the next step up the ladder and looking to win championships at UK, really raised a lot of people's expectations for this program....not just for this year, but as a whole. Then, when we see the team performing like this, it really takes the wind out of our proverbial sails all at once. Its tough and you will see a lot of people come to the boards to vent their frustrations with other fans. It just happens.

The key is.....don't let the commentary go from voicing your criticisms about decisions made by the coaches and the players performing worse than we know they are capable of to blatant personal attacks at the players or making nonsensical demands about how we should fire the staff mid-season, fire the AD (who has done more for UK football than any UK AD in history), and how we should be competing with the "big boys" for the best recruits. Also, if you want to be taken seriously here, don't come on here and start talking about how we should throw $5 or $6 Million per year at a guy like Spurrier to get them to UK.

Noone has bashed you at all. We have said we are tired of the constant UK sucks fire Joker now negativity that you constantly bring. Its simple blue either add something to the conversation that sparks discussion or don't comment. Noone has a problem with you not liking a certain aspect of UK that is fine. All we are asking is that you tone down the negativity. Also I can guarantee Slinger is gonna be one of the last people to bash someone. He has been an outstanding contributer since before this particular sites inception.

You guys think criticism is bad you don't know. Consistent top 25 in attendance with a passionate fan base is football heaven. IU with a bigger student body averaging 30% attendance per year and NO ONE CARES. IU is football hell. The answer to our problems is easy. Don't be the worst offensive team in all of college ball. Be competitive and play like you know the purpose of the game and UK fans will worship you. The last 7 games have been embarrassingly bad. That is the problem. Stop blaming the fan reaction. If someone is paying $3,000 a year for season tickets he should expect more and be able to criticize.

I'm all for fair criticism, I do it myself, but that isn't what I'm talking about in this thread. What is becoming unbearable is the unrelenting barrage of negativity that some posters apparently take joy in spewing. It's become commonplace to bring up the same criticisms day after day after day and beat the same dead horse in as many threads as possible.

It's fair to say "Newton has struggled with his accuracy and decision-making this season", that is a fair criticism. What is being posted by a select few, and is quickly becoming the norm is "Morgan sucks and he isn't D1 material" and what makes it worse is this same nonsense gets posted repeatedly in almost every thread no matter what the topic is. You can pretty much count on the following in any thread, "Morgan sucks", "Joker should be fired", "Mitch should be fired", "the UKAA sucks", and last but not least, "UK will never have a legit program until we hire a big name coach".

All I'm saying is it's time to give some of this negative crap a rest, at least try to mix in something positive from time to time.

I totally agree with you all your points. I have questioned some of the talk of how UK can't afford a top tier coach. Not because I want Joker gone, but because I really tire of talk that UK lacks such funds. Money was thrown at Cal to get him here, I just think football deserves the same opportunity if it presents itself. I really hope this season turns around and I really want to see Joker get the job done. It is very frustrating this year, more so than anytime I can remember in some time. I think it is due to the mediocre success that UK has had. Lets just hope we have a lower tier bowl to enjoy this year.

Like or not, fans reach different levels of frustration... and they display their disappointments accordingly. That can only come across one way... very negatively. That doesn't mean they're any less of a fan, than those who remain positive... it just means they are demanding better. They want their voices to be heard. Mediocrity is no longer acceptable.

The bottom line is... the "negativity" surrounding the program in NOT the fault of the fans. This is a problem created by the UKAA.... they are solely responsible for the fans frustrations. If they are not happy with all the negative comments, then FIX IT!!!! They made this mess.... they are the ones who must clean it up. NOT THE FANS!

I figure if they want "positive" fan reaction... they will find a way to give us something to be "positive" about. Don't blame the fans for what you are hearing... or reading.

Btw... there is nothing "COOL" about it... fans don't enjoy feeling the way they do.

I've done some bashing myself recently but the boards have become pretty negative recently, I think we need to get behind the team as we head into a stretch of winnable games, Ole Miss, Miss State, Jax State, UT, Georgia and USC are winnable, so lets support the Cats!

We should all take the example I saw last night in Tokyo, went to see the local baseball team, the Yomiuri Giants play, they lost on a catch on a hit that was a few feet from being a homer, people shouted or gave a wry look, shrugged, smiled, laughed about it and got on with their night. There was no getting bummed out about it, they lost the baseball game, so be it, back to real life. It was refreshing to see and how I watch sports, get involved, be passionate but once the final whistle blows, win or lose, get back to real life =)

Our point is if you are upset that is fine. Doesnt matter who its with. Take it to the source. If you are upset with a PFC you dont go to his buddy. Go to the source. Tons of people are coming here to express their anger which is fine for a while but then you get what you're getting now. The rest of us are ready to move on. If you want the UKAA to change, send emails, write letters, do what is necessary to express your opinions. Hell "OCCUPY UKAA" JJ I know you can make yourself known if you wish. Being upset isnt the fault of the fans, being completely negative about every post you make is the fault of certain, and I use this loosely, "fans" that post on TCP.

I dont disagree with a lot of that post Z. I will say I have offered my opinion many times outside of FIRE JOKER, which makes no sense midseason. I have even said if this trend continues then Joker and everyone else needs to be looked at and some if not everything need to be changed. This thread is more toward the people who dont offer any solutions. Pretty much everyone has said there is reasoning in the fans being upset. I dont know one single person who is content with the way UK is playing. As for your final points 1. I will agree 2. If you read the rules it says...". All members and visitors are required to respect each other and show respect for University of Kentucky coaches, players and administrators. Constructive criticism is permitted and friendly debate encouraged, but must be done in a civil manner that demonstrates a basic respect for all involved." Several times that hasnt been the case. That stuff needs to stop. 3. Completely agree and I think we see it starting on Sat.

The points some of you seem to be missing is simple

1. NOBODY is happy with the season thus far.
2. We ALL want and demand better
3. We recognize that you need to vent and get your frustration out but that doesn't give you carpe blanche to post continuously in a negative mindset. Buck up and let it go. Post something positive and stop being a chicken little all the time.
4. We here at the new TCP want a more positive board and the constant negativity won't be allowed. This is a FAN site and if you are so upset and despise the team so much stop being a fan or get a life and stop letting it bring you down so much. just sayin'

+1 for you and cobbycobb.