A Rivalry Reignited.... Kind Of

Saturday began early for this Cats fan. My brother and I arose at 3 a.m to make the trek to Bloomington, Indiana. I have to admit, I wasn't sure what to expect going into the game. I knew I had to be on top of my game heading into this confrontation. My interaction with Indiana fans had been limited, but I did know they were indignant about running a clean program and saw UK as a bunch of lawless cheaters.

Knowing this, I rehearsed the defense for Calipari, although it needed no rehearsal on the way to the game. I told my brother of how Cal had never been implicated in any major recruiting violations. He was the one that turned UMass in to the NCAA when he learned about Marcus Camby's dealings with an agent. Derrick Rose was cleared by the NCAA clearinghouse before the season... Any coach in America would have taken him on their team. What is the point of having a clearinghouse if their assessment means nothing? I pretty much had it down. I ended up rehashing that argument several times as the day wore on. Each time I made my case I could see their eyes gloss over and say to themselves, "Man I love Larry Bird. I wish he hadn't transferred to State."

Unfortunately, my request to address Assembly Hall with my message was denied and nobody paid attention to the pamphlets I passed around before the game. The crowd rode Calipari hard throughout the game. It is something he is probably used to by now, but it was eating me apart inside. The fans of Indiana are somewhat different from UK's, but I have to say that I sort of felt at home. No, I am not a closet Hoosier fan... I felt at home because Assembly Hall reminded me of the Snake Pit.

For those that are unfamiliar with this term, I am talking about tiny Carlisle County's basketball gym tucked deep within Western Kentucky. This is home for several here at BBNR, and it felt just like being in the Snake Pit yesterday. Of course, I had never been to the Pit as a visitor. If you are visiting Carlisle, you can expect refs to be skewered for every call going against the Comets. Saturday, any close call that went our way resulted in minutes of groans, boos, and vulgarities from the Hoosier faithful. When a call 'finally' went their way, the place erupted in a sarcastic cheer that I had heard countless times at the Snake Pit.

Any misstep by an opposing player on the court is going to be magnified 100 times. If you do anything to get the attention of the masses (things that Cousins will do just about every game) you are going to hear about it. Throw an elbow? They will remember that for years to come, and let you know about it if you come back in town. Any weakness is going to be smelled out and ridden into the ground. All of it was so much like the Pit.

Before the game, Crean had a recorded video message that talked about how important this game was for Indiana. They needed the fans to be the difference in this game he said. I found it funny that at the end of his message, he asked the crowd to please stay classy and respectful. Fans told me that when Bobby Knight was coach, he would get on the P.A microphone during the game and squash out any Bull$^&* chant that might break out over a missed call. Although Indiana seems to like Crean, It doesn't look like he has quite built up that kind of clout.

The scorn wasn't directed only at UK or the refs. When things inevitably fell apart in the second half, they began to turn on their own. It is something you saw at UK during our very recent history. The crowd cheered every time Maurice Creek came into the game. You could tell this wasn't directed so much at the player, so much as the coach that 'finally' put him back in the game. Each Bobby Cappuccino (that isn't his real name, but I like it better than his real one) missed free throw late in the game resulted in a louder groan than the one before it.

The biggest similarity was that Assembly Hall felt like a gigantic, ancient, vertically erected High School Gym. It was a little hard to take Indiana seriously as a top notch Basketball program in this setting. I am not sure how loud the place can get when they are good, but it was nowhere close to as loud as the UK vs Miami Ohio game I attended earlier this year. I was sitting in the nose bleed sections, but it felt like I could run and jump from the top onto the court. That is how on top of things you are. It is pretty bizarre. It is something you have to see for yourself. Trust me, it is quirky in a way that isn't really lovable like other antiquated sports venues.

After the game, nobody was really that upset about the result. It was expected. Inevitable even. Most were just happy that they kept it close in the first half. From what I gathered, it was by far their best half of the season, and probably the best half of Crean's tenure there. For that half they looked like a big time program again. A team that was relevant. You could tell they hadn't felt that in a while, and they were a little bit let down when reality shook them back down to Earth in the second half... But still happy that they got that one half. I thought that was telling that they were happy to get just one good half.

It seemed like everyone is realistic with this team. They know they aren't very good. As far as it seemed UK had fallen recently, it is nothing compared to these Hoosiers. If they get to the NIT this year that will be a big deal. Sampson gutted them. There was no short cut to rebuilding, and no coach was turning that thing around like Calipari has done here. They had to start from scratch, and everybody there understands that. There were no Patterson's or Darius Miller's, or even a Mark Krebs to build around. Every single player on our team would get serious minutes for their team this year, even Krebs. If Indiana had somehow pulled off the upset, you could see that the students were rushing the court. As far as UK fell, we were never close to storming the court. As far down as we slipped, we never really became David. We were more like Goliath with swine flu. We have always been Goliath, and probably always will be. It was odd to see a program that used to matter reduced to hoping their rock in their slingshot would find its home on the side of Goliath's head.

You could see they were falling for their new star, Maurice Creek. He is going to be a like a poor mans Meeks was for UK last year. He will give them a reason to tune in and stay enthused. He is the only player that has earned any trust whatsoever. Despite how much Indiana hates us (and possibly because they hate us) I am hoping that Creek and Crean can get them back on track. Rivalries are a big part of what make sports fun, and it is sad seeing once proud programs like Indiana becoming the nail in a battle with hammerhead Kentucky.

It is a shame to not be able to reciprocate their hatred. I am 24 years old, and I can't remember a time when Indiana basketball really mattered. I vaguely remember Bobby Knight having some good teams, but I wasn't old enough to really understand things. Sure, they made a surprise run to the Championship game early in Mike Davis' tenure, but things have been straight downhill since.

They are one of the top ten programs in college basketball traditionally, and they really do hate us. That should be enough for a burgeoning rivalry. I would like to be able to return their hatred, but I haven't been able to find anything to sink my teeth into. Saturday, with how they treated our coach, I got my first taste of hatred for Indiana. For that hatred to blossom, they are going to have to become relevant again. As fun as it is to beat a bunch of obnoxious jerks when they are down, it will be even more fun to beat a bunch of obnoxious jerks when they are actually good. So here is to hoping for Indiana to return to it's rightful place.... A team that is good, but still not as good as UK... GO BIG BLUE!!