A Blank Check

I am what you might call a Calipari critic. I'm not in proverbial bliss like a lot of other Memphians are. I support the team for the sake of the players themselves. The teams dirty laundry is not their fault. They were only babies when the original offense was committed. It's a horse of another color though,when it comes to the coach and the school itself. My support goes all the way back to the Gene Bartow days. So I'm no new kid on the block. I've been going to the games for almost forty years.

I have been accused of having a myopic view of things. Because I don't think Calipari is all he is cracked up to be as a coach. Neither do I get all excited about his predictions for the teams future. Just because he is beating up on division II teams. His supporters think you should just let it go and move along. Not question anything this smooth talker says.


As history has proven repeatedly. Calipari always prepares his fans for coming in second place. Since that seems to be the one thing he does consistently. It amazes me how the fans have adjusted their views of what winning entails. Requiring only those things John Calipari has accomplished in his stint as head coach. Now success is measured by how many dollars you generate and how much merchandise the team sells. The only thing that used to matter is the numbers in the win/loss column. I just think the Memphis fans are giving this guy a free pass.

When we didn't make it to the NCAA, he convinced the fans to be excited about winning the NIT. I remember when Memphis State refused an invitation to the NIT, and didn't go anywhere that year. Now that we have went to the NCAA championship game again and lost. True to form he's giving a speech. About we should keep our heads up and be proud of our teams performance. Though I think we lost due to his poor last seconds coaching skills. This isn't the first time this has happened.

He has yet to win as many games as a coach the university fired. One who they also didn't want to pay $100,000 annually. I'm not trying to undermine the teams success, just calling a spade a spade. With the signing of his proposed new contract . John Calipari will be one of the highest paid college coaches in the land. In a city that seems so money conscious about everything else. Why have we given this guy a blank check?