UK Basketball: Critics need to chill

UK Basketball: Critics need to chill

http://www.winchestersun.com/stories/2010/01/28/spo.701661.sto

by Keith Taylor/Sun Sports Editor
January 28, 2010

I worry about some people. I really do.

Following Kentucky’s 68-62 loss to South Carolina on Tuesday night, some so-called fans couldn’t handle the fact that the Wildcats lost for the first time this season. Kentucky opened the John Calipari era with a 19-game wining streak, but the loss apparently was too much to swallow for some followers.

To the posters who decided to make harsh remarks on Patrick Patterson’s Facebook page, shame on you. That’s not the right way to handle a loss. Also, for those who decided that President Barack Obama’s speech to the team before the game was a distraction and a curse, shame on you, too.

The last thing Patterson or any members of the team needed following such a loss were not degrading and insulting comments on a social media Web site. Do you really think Patterson, the coaching staff and his teammates wanted to lose to the Gamecocks on purpose?

But then again, some fans are so emotionally involved, they can’t handle it when things go wrong.

Remember when Indianapolis was criticized after first-year coach Jim Caldwell rested his starters in a 29-15 loss to the New York Jets, ending the team’s chances at what might have been a perfect season heading into the Super Bowl? In the grand scheme of things, the coach did what he thought was best for his team.

Although it wasn’t a preferred approach by the coach, those who criticized the move are silent. The Colts are 14-2 and could be the league champions, but yet critics made their voices heard in the midst of an incredible season.

It never ceases to amaze me how the world is perfect to critics one minute and doom and gloom the next.

How can you be an objective fan with such an attitude? Losing doesn’t feel good, but sometimes it helps.

In the case of the Wildcats, there’s a lot of basketball left to play and one loss — the first one in 20 games for that matter — isn’t something to get all upset over.

You have to remember, this is a team that starts three freshmen, one sophomore and one junior. Despite being ranked as the best team in the nation, it’s still a young team learning how to survive and manage success.

Most of the players are still teenagers. The coaches are human and there’s no such thing as perfection.

It’s not life and death. It’s just a game.