Congrats to Coach Calipari, Even If It's 16 Years Later than I Would Have Liked

Congrats John, just like I said last week, I'll go to my grave rooting for you. I will admit it was a tad bittersweet watching you win in Kentucky though. Moving on to bigger and better things has been great for your career, but a large part of me wishes you'd just stayed here and built a superpower out in Amherst.  You were ours, you were a difference maker, you could have been the king here as well...and I think that means a little more than some people think.

In Kentucky, whoever the current head coach of the Wildcats is (assuming its not Tubby Smith) is king. It's just a given, the crown comes with the position. In Mass? College Basketball is an afterthought, has been since the mid-90's. There were a couple of decent BC teams, but no one roots for BC who didn't go there or isn't Irish and over the age of 55.

But UMass? UMass could have been it, a team the whole state, hell even NH and Maine too, could have gotten behind. But you left, and I'm glad you've finally won, and I'm fortunate to have the memories of the guys above, and I'm especially glad for this little piece of history:

Giving the 1996 Umass, Coach Cal v. Rick Pitino and Kentucky Final Four It's Just Due

It did happen, stop pretending like it didnt.

Since ESPN is blatantly ignoring the fact that these two met each other in a Final Four once before (seriously, try to find a mention of it on ESPN. Even the article entirely devoted to tracking their career arcs, mentions that Calipari coached UMASS to the Final Four in 1996 and Kentucky won the Championship in 96, yet does not mention that they played eachother) I figured I'd make mention, I mean I know that it "didn't happen", and yet in a very real way, it totally happened. 

And it's basically the reason I'll Ride or Die with Coach Cal for life, it's the reason I never really trusted Pitino when he came to the Celtics (which was backed up shortly thereafter when he cost the franchise a decade of wallowing).  Coach Cal brought THE home team to prominence right during the stretch of time where my rooting allegiances were forming...My favorite players, teams, and coaches in any sport from that general stretch of time (91-96 when I was ages 7-12) are still by and large my favorite players, teams and coaches. It's that magical time for a sports fan, you're old enough to comprehend the game and the rooting alliances as a fan, and yet everything still seems so pure and magical to you. 

That's why a lot of people don't necessarily understand my allegiance to Coach Cal...through the Final Fours being vacated and the countless accusations and media vitriol against him, I stayed with him.  Those Refuse to Lose UMASS teams literally shaped my idea of what college basketball should look like. Dana Dingle, Padilla and Travieso, Camby, Lou Roe (yes he wasn't a part of the 96 team, but he was easily the most important player for UMASS during Calipari's time), Donta Bright...these guys were it for me, it was and still is by far the coolest basketball team ever to me, the Fab Five can suck on that.  Hell, one of the most devastating moments as a youth sports fan came for me when the 96 team lost their undefeated season to George Washington, I was inconsolable, that's how much this team meant to me.  And the man behind it all was Calipari. Sure the program was ruined with the finding that Camby had accepted money NBA agents while still in college, but it doesn't kill the memory for me. If it weren't for Coach Cal and his ability to recruit and coach those teams who knows who I would have grown up rooting for BC? HURHGHH, I just dry heaved. Can you imagine your youth basketball perception being shaped by a flex-offense driven team, content to score 60 points a game. Gross. 

So yes, I'll be rooting for Calipari this weekend, and in a strange, maybe delusional way, I'll see a Kentucky victory as a victory for UMASS, a coming full circle type event. Calipari is the one with the team loaded with NBA talent this time around, Pitino the one who did a phenomenal coaching job just to get his team to this point. Lets hope history repeats itself. 

And for anyone feeling a bit nostalgic, here's a where are they now piece about the 96 team. Yea it's from 2006, but its still a treasure trove of memories...And yes, Padilla and Travieso are still best friends, thank god.