Randall Cobb, the face of Kentucky football, tweeted some disheartening words on Tuesday when he called out UK fans via Twitter. Today, Randall did what many of us expected him to do, he stood up like the man he is and asked for forgiveness.
Mr. Everything plays and lives with a passion most of us dream about. It’s obvious by previous interviews and statements that his expectations are high, both for the current team and for the Big Blue Nation fan base.
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But years of disappointment has left scars on the hearts of the Big Blue faithful. “What if’s” and “almost” seem to be the norm for UK football. Unfulfilled promises, catchy phrases, all a part of what weighs on a fan base that until recent, has been used to staying home during bowl season.
Randall Cobb wants to change that and as a fan, he has his expectations of us. A teams success is as much the fan base as it is the team. Nebraska has sold out every home game since 1962, win or lose.
No, UK is not Nebraska. We don’t have the winning tradition or the National Championship’s and no I’m not putting Kentucky in the same league.
The point is a simple one, when UK was up big on Akron, the crowd was gone by the end of the third quarter. Would that happen in a basketball game? Would the Big Blue Nation leave Rupp if we were up by 50 on Akron?
The answer is simple. NO!!! That crowd would be roaring, waiting for the next amazing play or to see Mark Krebs come in off the bench. Hoping the Cats would crack the 100 point mark. The passion is easy when we win, but difficult when the tradition isn’t a winning one.
We sit in line for days to get Big Blue Madness tickets, but can’t sell out a game at Commonwealth against the No. 10 team in the nation. I think we all understand where Randall is coming from when he stated what he stated.
That still didn’t make his actions right, and today he asked the Big Blue Nation to forgive him in a manner that only Cobb could do. Here are some excerpts from his interview:
[QUOTE]“I made a mistake,” Cobb said. “I messed up. I take the blame for everything I said and I know I was wrong. I was wrong for the fact that I took a small percentage of our fan base and lumped them all as one and made them all whole. That’s not how our fans are. That’s not how the majority – 99.9 percent – of our fans are great fans and they know that. They’ve been there through all the years.
“I took a small chunk and made it something big. I can’t do that. I made a mistake and I’m a man and admit that I made that mistake. I’m sorry and I hope they can forgive me.”
“I wanted to let others realize how we can tell what’s going on,” Cobb said. “We know what’s going on (in the stands). We can hear you. Regardless of whether we respond or not we can hear you and we know what’s being said. It hurts sometimes. It really does.”[/QUOTE]
When asked, when did you know you made a mistake by tweeting what you did, Cobb had the following to say:
[QUOTE]“Right after I said it I wanted to take it back,” Cobb said. “It was out of character. I can’t take back my words and what I said, all I can ask for is forgiveness. It’s a great example of how powerful words are. “I understand that I have an inspiration for other people and my words can mean a lot but I didn’t realize they mean so much. I realize that now and it’s a lesson learned and I hope we can all move on.”[/QUOTE]
Coach Phillips acknowledged that Cobb made a mistake and learned his lesson but also stated that Cobb is a passionate player that sometimes manifests itself in ways that could be channeled more productively.
[QUOTE]“This thing with Randall…I tell our kids, ‘Hey, don’t quit, don’t quit, don’t quit.’ Randall is the guy I go to tell him, ‘Do not let this team quit. Don’t let them quit,’” Phillips said. “Has Randall Cobb ever quit? He gets upset when he feels like someone else may quit on him. That was the gist of it. We just have to be smarter about it.”[/QUOTE]
Agree or disagree with Cobb’s statements or the manner in which he made them, you must admit that Randall Cobb is exactly what Kentucky Football needs. Young men who are passionate to be the very best they can be and expecting the very best from those around them.
In return, they expect and deserve a fan base that will continue to support them through thick or thin. That fan base IS The Big Blue Nation of which I am a proud member.
Go Cats!!!
[URL=”http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=rivals-1141379&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter”]Full story at Rivals.com[/URL]
Contact Chip Miller with your Kentucky questions or comments at [EMAIL=”[email protected]”][email protected][/EMAIL] or via twitter at [URL=”http://twitter.com/ukbigbluenation”]@ukbigbluenation[/URL].
