Kentucky fans at the Garden [Archive]

wallyman

11-17-2011, 09:57 AM

I've never been to a Kentucky game home or away, so have always taken the Kentucky hate with a grain of salt. But as per the piece on the home page, I was stunned by the level of idiocy by the Kentucky fans at the Garden Tuesday. Ones near me didn't boo K or spew racist bile, but they were falling out of the chair drunk by the time the Kentucky game began and seemed to pick up the drinking from there. I'll give them noise -- they outshouted us. But, boy, the knuckledragger ratio was awfully high. That said, at least they've got a classy coach.

miramar

11-17-2011, 10:28 AM

I'm not one to say nice things about UNC, but all of this reminds me of the time that Deano passed Adoph Rupp for the record, and an interviewer foolishly tells him something like, This must mean even more considering how much you admired Coach Rupp. Since Deano didn't amire Rupp or Kentucky at all (at least we have that much in common), he had to answer something along the lines of Well, I admire a lot of coaches, yada yada yada.

So perhaps among the few nice things we can say about Kentucky is that they are at least consistent, if not timeless. And that they manage to bring together Duke and Carolina fans, if only on this one point.

moonpie23

11-17-2011, 10:44 AM

So perhaps among the few nice things we can say about Kentucky

aside from Ashley Judd, please list the "few nice things" we can say about them.

PADukeMom

11-17-2011, 11:05 AM

I can't say I experienced any of that. The Kentucky fans that surrounded me were great.

devildeac

11-17-2011, 11:13 AM

aside from Ashley Judd, please list the "few nice things" we can say about them.

1. My brother-in-law, sister-in-law and niece live there. (Does that count as 1 or 3?) My BIL, SIL and niece don't like them either (check my profile:-) )
2. There are lots of nice horse farms there.
3. We got to drive through it (twice technically) on our way to/from Indianapolis for the 2010 National Championship.
4. I have run out of "nice things" I think.

CameronBornAndBred

11-17-2011, 12:18 PM

1. My brother-in-law, sister-in-law and niece live there. (Does that count as 1 or 3?) My BIL, SIL and niece don't like them either (check my profile:-) )
2. There are lots of nice horse farms there.
3. We got to drive through it (twice technically) on our way to/from Indianapolis for the 2010 National Championship.
4. I have run out of "nice things" I think.
Bluegrass Brewing Bourbon Barrel Stout.

2131

2132

ChillinDuke

11-17-2011, 12:19 PM

I can't say I experienced any of that. The Kentucky fans that surrounded me were great.

Kentucky fans were not great around me. One couple was quite nice directly in front of me. The rest in my section (and there were a lot of them) were not my cup of tea.

- Chillin

devildeac

11-17-2011, 12:39 PM

Bluegrass Brewing Bourbon Barrel Stout.

2131

2132

Ooooh, forgot about that one. Surely one of the better bourbon barrel-aged brews on the market. Sporks for you if I'm allowed so you can "eat" your stout.

moonpie23

11-17-2011, 01:20 PM

1. My brother-in-law, sister-in-law and niece live there. (Does that count as 1 or 3?) My BIL, SIL and niece don't like them either (check my profile:-) )
2. There are lots of nice horse farms there.
3. We got to drive through it (twice technically) on our way to/from Indianapolis for the 2010 National Championship.
4. I have run out of "nice things" I think.

i guess i was speaking about their basketball team/program/school...

which has you back to zero...

and you're right, kentucky is a beautiful state....

KenTankerous

11-17-2011, 01:23 PM

I apologize for any of my fellow bluegrassers that got stupid in MSG on Coach K's triumphant night. To make it up to y'all, if you are heading through the Ville, we have some great restaurants and night spots that we don't really share with tourists. But because these UK faithful acted this way, I think I can get a pass.

Maybe.

oldnavy

11-17-2011, 01:33 PM

I think that it is bigger than just Kentucky. I think it is a sign of the times. People are more nasty in general than I can ever remember. My son and I were at the Ravens-Cardinals game a few weeks ago and I thought I was going to have to fight my way out of the stands. The guy directly behind me was cursing non-stop right in my ear. After a full hour of it I politely turned around and asked him if he would mind not shouting his obscenities into my right ear. Funny thing, he was a Ravens fan as well and he was cussing his own team!
I guess my request was more than he could stand because he decided that he would rather fight... well it never got to that and he did finally quite down, but it seems that almost every public venue I go to there is at least one or a few idiots screaming insults or obscenities at the top of their lungs. I will say that I have never encountered this at Cameron, but I did go to a Duke game in W-S against WF and I witnessed a Duke fan being rather obnoxious.... there's one in every crowd.

ArtVandelay

11-17-2011, 01:41 PM

devilsadvocate85

11-17-2011, 01:57 PM

I have to hand it to them: the UK fans are serious. I was surprised that there seemed to be more Kentucky fans at MSG than Duke fans, given the usual crazy turnout of Duke fans in NY/NJ and the record on the line to boot. They also seem to be much better fans -- were way louder than the Duke contingent. I actually thought the Duke crowd was pretty subdued for most of the game.

I didn't experience anything too bad, but they were clearly not interested in any post-game celebration for Coach K. A number of them started chanting "Go Big Blue" while they were doing the interview with K and were yelling things like "get off the court!" To be fair, the first game ran really long and they were anxious to see their team, but given the circumstances, you'd think you could be respectful for at least 5-10 minutes.

We were 6 rows behind the Duke Band. There were a number of Kentucky fans who insisted on holding up their retractable Kentucky Wildcats/State Farm banners during the Duke - Michigan State game right in our view. Being asked to put them down while the game was going on seemed to increase their frequency of holding the signs up. Nothing real bad, just plain obnoxious.

devildeac

11-17-2011, 02:24 PM

i guess i was speaking about their basketball team/program/school...

which has you back to zero...

and you're right, kentucky is a beautiful state....

Yea, you did omit that one important detail ;-)) .

I'll start over...

rasputin

11-17-2011, 02:29 PM

I have to hand it to them: the UK fans are serious. I was surprised that there seemed to be more Kentucky fans at MSG than Duke fans, given the usual crazy turnout of Duke fans in NY/NJ and the record on the line to boot. They also seem to be much better fans -- were way louder than the Duke contingent. I actually thought the Duke crowd was pretty subdued for most of the game.

I didn't experience anything too bad, but they were clearly not interested in any post-game celebration for Coach K. A number of them started chanting "Go Big Blue" while they were doing the interview with K and were yelling things like "get off the court!" To be fair, the first game ran really long and they were anxious to see their team, but given the circumstances, you'd think you could be respectful for at least 5-10 minutes.

One thing you have to hand to Kentucky fans: they travel. We have had several NCAA regional finals and subregionals here in which Kentucky participated. Their fans far outnumber the contingencies from other schools (even taking into account the fact that they are only about a 7-hour drive from here).

Doug.I.Am

11-17-2011, 02:40 PM

I have to hand it to them: the UK fans are serious. I was surprised that there seemed to be more Kentucky fans at MSG than Duke fans, given the usual crazy turnout of Duke fans in NY/NJ and the record on the line to boot. They also seem to be much better fans -- were way louder than the Duke contingent. I actually thought the Duke crowd was pretty subdued for most of the game.

Say what you want about UK fans, and I am one of their more ardent haters, they will travel around the world to see their beloved Big Blue play. I always attribute that to the state of Kentucky where there's nothing really going on there remotely as interesting as their mens basketball program. They may be everything that everyone is saying about them, one thing they're not is complacent.

That being said, the next UK fan to come up to me and says, "you can't spell Duke without UK" will get a gentle reminder of Mr. Laettner's turnaround.

oldnavy

11-17-2011, 02:47 PM

One thing you have to hand to Kentucky fans: they travel. We have had several NCAA regional finals and subregionals here in which Kentucky participated. Their fans far outnumber the contingencies from other schools (even taking into account the fact that they are only about a 7-hour drive from here).

Hey if Duke supporters were paying our players as much as they are paying theirs, we would travel all over the see them play too! :p

Ima Facultiwyfe

11-17-2011, 03:10 PM

Well, at least MSG was big enough to house everybody! You haven't experienced the worst of it until you've been squished into that teeny tiny gym in Maui with the lot of them. Tickets are limited to equal numbers at all the schools and they pass out wrist bands at the entrance for each game. When we were there we couldn't understand why there were so many more KY fans than any of the others in the gym. We finally realized that they were slipping off their wrist bands and dropping them out the windows to others so they could get in. They're just scum and can't seem to help it, bless their hearts.
Love, Ima

hurleyfor3

11-17-2011, 03:18 PM

We finally realized that they were slipping off their wrist bands and dropping them out the windows to others so they could get in. They're just scum and can't seem to help it, bless their hearts.

To be fair, more than once I (with the assistance of NC State friends) got into games at Reynolds Coliseum this way.

CameronBornAndBred

11-17-2011, 03:23 PM

I will say that I have never encountered this at Cameron, but I did go to a Duke game in W-S against WF and I witnessed a Duke fan being rather obnoxious.... there's one in every crowd.

I'd suggest that it was probably DevilDeac, but since he was at a wedding that game he gets a pass. I've yet to leave a football game with my voice fully intact, so maybe it was me. (Yelling "Fire Roper!"):rolleyes:

mailman2927

11-17-2011, 03:33 PM

i was at the champions classic and could not believe how bad kentucky fans really are. i was sitting by one who used profanity and degraded the kansas players throughout the first half. at ne point he screamed f*ck duke and all the kentucky fans around him cheered. let me add that there were young kids around that had to listen to his mouth. thank god he moved at the half or i would have been thrown out for beating him if i had to listen to anymore. he was a total classless dirtbag.

oldnavy

11-17-2011, 03:46 PM

killerleft

11-17-2011, 03:49 PM

To be fair, more than once I (with the assistance of NC State friends) got into games at Reynolds Coliseum this way.

And to be fair, I once got several friends into Duke games at Cameron this way using a photographer's pass. Dropped the pass out of the mens' room window.

devildeac

11-17-2011, 04:59 PM

I'd suggest that it was probably DevilDeac, but since he was at a wedding that game he gets a pass. I've yet to leave a football game with my voice fully intact, so maybe it was me. (Yelling "Fire Roper!"):rolleyes:

No, this was many, many years ago, and unfortunately the Duke fan was with our group!! He was an older man with a very short temper... He wasn't that bad, but he did embarse me a bit!

Whew, off the hook. I attended 1 Duke-WFU MBB game at Wake during my time at Duke and it was this one:

Team 1st H 2nd H Total
Duke 56 53 109
Wake Forest 66 56 122

Had a few beers before the game and sat in the back row. Amazing game. Still can't believe we lost by 13:eek:.

jkidd31

11-17-2011, 07:05 PM

That being said, the next UK fan to come up to me and says, "you can't spell Duke without UK" will get a gentle reminder of Mr. Laettner's turnaround.

I had a UK fan tell me that once, my reply was most UK fans can't spell DUKE.

My wife is s UK slum snd she really could give too cares less about the basketball program. Snd she was there during the Pitino era and knew several of the players.

To be fair there are a couple levels of UK fans. There are some that the only time they have been in Lexington is driving through it on I 75. I think you get this with many state schools (ie Ohio State football fans).

burnspbesq

11-18-2011, 11:40 AM

The UK sickness, whatever it is, is passed down from generation to generation. Case in point: a few years ago, the Duke women came out to play in a holiday tournament in San Diego. The college tournament is held in conjunction with a big girls' HS tournament, and the high school players all get comped into the college games. When Duke came out to warm up, there was polite applause from the crowd, except for vociferous booing from one small group in a corner of the upper deck (the college tournament alternates between SDSU and USD, and it was at USD that year). Turned out that the booing came from ... You know what's coming ... A HS team from Kentucky, most of whom would have been in diapers in 1992.

Kewlswim

11-18-2011, 11:57 AM

Hi,

I was in Louisville for the Derby this past year. If you go, in my opinion don't sit in the infield, you owe it to yourself to get a box. It is a ton of fun and worth while doing at least once in your life.

Back to Kentuckians. Everyone I sat with was from either Lexington or a graduate of UK. They all hate Duke. However, they were really civil. When they had a chance to talk about it, it came down to this--pure and simple--jealousy. One of the group, who didn't make it to the Derby with us, clearly admitted that UK wished they had Coach K and as he put it, "Coach Cal is crookeder than a hind dogs leg." The interesting part is that they are all sure Duke is cheating and wish the NCAA was smart enough to stop it.

GO DUKE!

VaDukie

11-18-2011, 03:35 PM

HaveFunExpectToWin

11-18-2011, 04:18 PM

I think I posted about a recent experience with UK fans at a friend's wedding in another thread, so I won't go into details here. Bottom line, my Duke fandom was irritating to almost all UK fans, and lead to two heated discussions with one guy. And by heated, I mean that had it not been a wedding, it would have escalated to something ugly. They really dislike Duke.

wilko

11-18-2011, 04:31 PM

I'm mostly over '78... but if 92 still bugs UK, then GOOD.

However it just stuck me... UK IS the BBALL contender in the SEC. period

The point..
The ACC w/o Duke.... UK/UNC would be like looking in a mirror.
It would be the exact same thing. Pity Vandy for not being able to rise up to UK once in a while.
UNC need US to keep them humble, especially as we put them in the rear-view mirror.

HaveFunExpectToWin

11-18-2011, 04:47 PM

Pity Vandy for not being able to rise up to UK once in a while.

We'll always have this... 93-52 http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280430238

Go Dores!

weezie

11-18-2011, 04:50 PM

UK/UNC would be like looking in a mirror.

Yeah, one big cracked mirror of ugly. Barf.

wilko

11-18-2011, 04:50 PM

We'll always have this... 93-52 http://espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=280430238 Go Dores!

Much luck to ya.... Hope the Dores start winning enough SEC championships to make UK really sweat.

subzero02

11-18-2011, 05:33 PM

I sat in the Kentucky section for their ncaa tournament games against Princeton and West Virginia. They were very energetic and nice, with the exception of one man who had anger management issues. These games were played in Tampa at the St. Pete Times Forum and there were more Kentucky fans than there were fans from any other school, including U of Florida.

DukieInKansas

11-18-2011, 06:38 PM

77devil

11-18-2011, 07:17 PM

I'm mostly over '78... but if 92 still bugs UK, then GOOD.

I finished exercising my 1978 demons in March 1980 at the sweet 16 in Rupp Arena. No, it wasn't the national championship, but it was on their home floor and I was there to enjoy it. Duke was so dominant in the first half you could almost hear a pin drop. The second half was a different story, but Duke held on for the win. Duke's first win that season was against Kentucky too, a real slug fest overtime game at the tip off classic in Springfield, MA, that I also attended. I'm a little hazy on the details though. I was a guest of Anheuser Busch. Seriously, I'm not kidding. While there weren't many Duke fans at the game, my friend and I carried the torch. We had to after all.

TheDevilMadeMeDoIt

11-18-2011, 07:26 PM

Say what you want about UK fans, and I am one of their more ardent haters, they will travel around the world to see their beloved Big Blue play. I always attribute that to the state of Kentucky where there's nothing really going on there remotely as interesting as their mens basketball program. They may be everything that everyone is saying about them, one thing they're not is complacent.

That being said, the next UK fan to come up to me and says, "you can't spell Duke without UK" will get a gentle reminder of Mr. Laettner's turnaround.

First, a little background. I have an undergraduate degree from Duke and a law degree form UK. I have had the misfortune of spending my entire adult like in Kentucky. I was never a UK fan, but I didn't learn to hate UK until 2002, when the UK fans bought up all the tickets to the NCAA Regional in Lexington and then came to root against Duke and cheer for IU, a team they always hated. From that point on I have rooted for UK to lose every game.

I also commented to my wife, a native of Chapel Hill and a UNC grad, that even UNC fans wouldn't walk across the street to see Duke play, even if you gave away the tickets. But the classless UK fans would buy tickets and come to a game just to root . That is truly pathetic.

Now, to the point of the above quote. About 4 years after THE DUKE/UK game. My teenage daugther's boyfriend reminded me of the above quote. I quickly replied he was right, that UK was exactly half the school and basketball program that Duke was.

Indoor66

11-18-2011, 08:07 PM

I finished exercising my 1978 demons in March 1980 at the sweet 16 in Rupp Arena. No, it wasn't the national championship, but it was on their home floor and I was there to enjoy it. Duke was so dominant in the first half you could almost hear a pin drop. The second half was a different story, but Duke held on for the win. Duke's first win that season was against Kentucky too, a real slug fest overtime game at the tip off classic in Springfield, MA, that I also attended. I'm a little hazy on the details though. I was a guest of Anheuser Busch. Seriously, I'm not kidding. While there weren't many Duke fans at the game, my friend and I carried the torch. We had to after all.

I was in Rupp for that game and it served as a great tonic for my distaste left from the Jack Givens show I attended in the St. Louis Checkerdome. The crowd was very quiet in the first half. At the half they were upset with us Dukies. A great win.

Underdog5

11-18-2011, 08:11 PM

Was at the Garden. Sat in the section where most of the former players sat. Was actually expecting the UK folks to be significantly more vocal during our game and was pleasantly surprised. Actually had some friendly trash talk with some UK folks while grabbing a beer. To be honest was almost disappointed as I was expecting more from them.

2008grad

11-18-2011, 10:10 PM

Here is something you don't here everyday.....got my undergraduate degree at Duke....currently at UK getting a PhD....they actually have a top ten program in my field, which is why I made the switch....

I wear Duke stuff non-stop on campus, because it is half of my wardrobe. I get a lot of odd looks, but nothing malicious. People joke around with me about it, and it is typically all in fun. That being said, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything Duke outside of Lexington or Louisville.....driving my car with Duke stickers in rural Kentucky definitely gets me some hostile looks and....how should I put this...more aggressive driving.

Go Duke

devildeac

11-18-2011, 10:29 PM

Besides DevilDeac's family, you would be the other nice thing I can think of about Kentucky.

2136

You are very kind. Thank you.

HaveFunExpectToWin

11-22-2011, 01:17 PM

I hate to drag this whole thread up again, but I wanted to comment on the post on the main page today. I do agree that most UK fans are not racist rednecks and that every team has a bad group of fans that ruin it for the others. However, to say that many if not most UK fans support the Duke program is bizarre.

In truth, UK fans have been largely supportive of Duke and its team

I have known a lot of UK fans in my life and none has ever been close to supporting Duke. Some have hatred, some dislike, and most are irritated by Duke. Maybe the younger generation is changing, but from what I've heard, seen, read, etc, that's not the case.

elvis14

11-22-2011, 01:54 PM

My best friend, a Duke fan, moved to Ky for a few years (he's since moved back down to SC). While he was there, he got to know the UK faithful. One day he calls me on the phone and tells me that he finally understands what it was like for me when I moved to RTP. Before I moved here, I loved Duke but didn't hate UNC. Then I got to know the UNC faithful. As he and I discussed the attitude and behavior of the UK fans he was encountering, we came to realize that for the most part UK fans == UNC fans. This is especially true for the common class of fan that loves UNC/UK, knows very little about hoops although they think they do, and give absolutely no credit to any other program. Any loss is a fluke or a series of mistakes made by their team, not the other team actually beating them. The similarities between the two fan bases is scary IMHO.

Indoor66

11-22-2011, 02:57 PM

It is not so much the arrogance with a Ky or unc fan, it is the sanctimony that is so disgusting.

A-Tex Devil

11-22-2011, 03:06 PM

It is not so much the arrogance with a Ky or unc fan, it is the sanctimony that is so disgusting.

Pot, kettle, etc. because they'd say the same about us.

I love these discussions of "fans" where one bad action by fans in a single game taint the whole fan base, as if similar actions haven't occurred among the accuser's fan base.

There are outliers like Maryland, Ohio St., Michigan St., and West Virginia where bad fan behavior is a little bit more epidemic and mob-like. But as many have said, generally, every fan base has people at every big game that embarrass their school. I see it among UT fans, and I've seen it among Duke fans in Cameron and elsewhere. Hell, in college, I shouted a few things at the refs, players and opposing fans that I certainly shouldn't have in retrospect. None of it necessarily over the line, but a lot of it inappropriate an unneeded. Most of us probably are guilty of this.

I guess the point is -- when some Kentucky fans yell racial insults at you, judge the person, not the school's fans in general. Cause if you don't think there are Duke fans out there, alums, students or otherwise, that are yelling something they shouldn't in a momentary lapse of judgment, you are kidding yourself.

devilsadvocate85

11-22-2011, 03:18 PM

Pot, kettle, etc. because they'd say the same about us.

I love these discussions of "fans" where one bad action by fans in a single game taint the whole fan base, as if similar actions haven't occurred among the accuser's fan base.

There are outliers like Maryland, Ohio St., Michigan St., and West Virginia where bad fan behavior is a little bit more epidemic and mob-like. But as many have said, generally, every fan base has people at every big game that embarrass their school. I see it among UT fans, and I've seen it among Duke fans in Cameron and elsewhere. Hell, in college, I shouted a few things at the refs, players and opposing fans that I certainly shouldn't have in retrospect. None of it necessarily over the line, but a lot of it inappropriate an unneeded. Most of us probably are guilty of this.

I guess the point is -- when some Kentucky fans yell racial insults at you, judge the person, not the school's fans in general. Cause if you don't think there are Duke fans out there, alums, students or otherwise, that are yelling something they shouldn't in a momentary lapse of judgment, you are kidding yourself.

One of the funniest fan incidents I have ever experienced occurred in St. Petersburg, during the Final 4 in 1999. (I know, not the most pleasant memories for any of us) While using the men's room during a timeout/halftime, I was treated to a Michigan State fan, dressed in full Spartan regalia, berating a Duke fan for not flushing the urinal. Said Michigan State fan then proceeded to use the urinal and leave the men's room without washing his hands. Always makes me chuckle.

Jderf

11-22-2011, 03:20 PM

Pot, kettle, etc. because they'd say the same about us.

I love these discussions of "fans" where one bad action by fans in a single game taint the whole fan base, as if similar actions haven't occurred among the accuser's fan base.

There are outliers like Maryland, Ohio St., Michigan St., and West Virginia where bad fan behavior is a little bit more epidemic and mob-like. But as many have said, generally, every fan base has people at every big game that embarrass their school. I see it among UT fans, and I've seen it among Duke fans in Cameron and elsewhere. Hell, in college, I shouted a few things at the refs, players and opposing fans that I certainly shouldn't have in retrospect. None of it necessarily over the line, but a lot of it inappropriate an unneeded. Most of us probably are guilty of this.

I guess the point is -- when some Kentucky fans yell racial insults at you, judge the person, not the school's fans in general. Cause if you don't think there are Duke fans out there, alums, students or otherwise, that are yelling something they shouldn't in a momentary lapse of judgment, you are kidding yourself.

Dead on. I don't understand the general tendency to demonize entire fan bases (with the exception of Maryland; they're awful;)). It seems to me that the biggest criticism that can be made about fan bases in general is simply that they are composed of people. And people can be nasty from time to time.

Dr. Rosenrosen

11-22-2011, 03:53 PM

Dead on. I don't understand the general tendency to demonize entire fan bases (with the exception of Maryland; they're awful;)). It seems to me that the biggest criticism that can be made about fan bases in general is simply that they are composed of people. And people can be nasty from time to time.

More like delusional in the case of ky... how they can support, let alone lift up and idolize, someone like calipari is just mind boggling.

hurleyfor3

11-22-2011, 04:03 PM

One of the funniest fan incidents I have ever experienced occurred in St. Petersburg, during the Final 4 in 1999. (I know, not the most pleasant memories for any of us) While using the men's room during a timeout/halftime, I was treated to a Michigan State fan, dressed in full Spartan regalia, berating a Duke fan for not flushing the urinal. Said Michigan State fan then proceeded to use the urinal and leave the men's room without washing his hands. Always makes me chuckle.

Funniest thing I've ever heard in a restroom took place at an ACC Tournament: "You can tell Clempsun's not playin' anymore 'cuz no one's peeing in the sink".

It was the delivery and the accent as much as the content; maybe you had to be there. If another mod wants to point me for this, go ahead.

Rich

11-22-2011, 04:15 PM

I love these discussions of "fans" where one bad action by fans in a single game taint the whole fan base, as if similar actions haven't occurred among the accuser's fan base.

Reminds me of an old Paul Reiser standup routine where a group of neanderthals are in heaven discussing the fact that archaologists dug up neanderthal bones and have identified that one neanderthal as representative of the entire era. Says one to another, "They dug up Harold, short Harold with the hunched back, sloped forehead, and hair all over his body? I can't believe of all of us they dug up Harold!"