Hey, did you guys know that Terrence Jones [URL=”http://www.nationofblue.com/how-did-happen-10114/”]played very poorly[/URL] last weekend? And did you know that if you said anything about it, you were being an unsupportive fair-weather fan? And did you know that, according to several members of Big Blue Nation, you aren’t allowed to say anything negative at all? Which is why I’d like to once again use this space to say this to the "True Blue" Stepford wives in BBN:
[I]Shut up.[/I]
We get it, ok? We get that you guys are more passionate about this team than you are about how your kids do in school. We get that you look down your noses at us riff-raff who speak our minds, be it good or bad. We get that, in your world, everyone gets a participation trophy and no one loses, and the coach takes everyone to get ice cream after the game. Fine, whatever. As for me and mine, we are going to let it be known that a lack of effort is unacceptable.
"But Chris," you say, in between bites of cotton candy and gumdrops, "he’s just a kid! He doesn’t need to hear such negativity!"
Yes he does. Does he need to hear negativity if he plays hard, but misses a jumper at the buzzer to lose the game? No, never. Those situations don’t matter in the long run. But does he need to hear negativity if he mails it in and lets his team down?
Absolutely. And don’t give me the "he’s just a kid" routine. He’s a "kid" who is getting a free education and national exposure to do what he loves doing, and he usually does it very well. He also gets the other college experiences, such as alcohol, swearing, and *GASP* [I]sex![/I] Don’t be naive enough to assume that all the players are perfect little angels.
[B](NOTE: I am in no way implying that Terrence Jones, or anyone else on the team, drinks or curses or has sex. I’m just saying they are popular college students, so the opportunity is there.)[/B]
I’ve always said I can take losing and bad games. I can’t take poor effort. Now, this is not another bash-Terrence-Jones article. He’s a great player who almost always shows up, and last weekend’s game does nothing to change how much he means to his team. If anything, it reinforces it. Rather, this is an article to tell the "True Blue" fans that, even in Big Blue Nation, feelings still get hurt and the sun doesn’t always shine.
[I][SIZE=1]How many Kentucky fans view the world.[/SIZE][/I]
Re-read [URL=”http://www.nationofblue.com/could-love-key-kentucky-10128/#new_comment”]what Scott wrote[/URL] on here a few days ago. Hold that up next to Terrence’s failure to comply last weekend. Now take a deep breath, put down the cotton candy and the gumdrops (you can lay them on the shelf beneath the unicorn poster), and realize that things happen. You may not want to say or hear anything negative, or you may want to turn a blind eye to things you don’t want to accept. But keep this in mind: [I]a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.[/I]
Wait, that’s not it.
[I]You can get a good look at a T-bone by sticking your head in a butcher’s ass…no wait, it’s gotta be your bull.[/I]
No, that’s not it either.
What I’m trying to say is, people are gonna be negative. And if you want to think of yourself as a better person for not joining in on the negativity, then more power to you.
But don’t you dare think it makes you a better fan.
