How do you thank a man who pours his blood, sweat, and tears into his job for nine years, how do you repay a man who takes a irrelevant basketball program, at a irrelevant school, in a irrelevant conference, from the bottom of the valley, to the very top of the mountain, from a mid-major, to a major contender, from an also ran, to an almost ran the table, from barely being mentioned, to being mentioned with the elite. How do you possibly thank a man for this kind of miraculous rise to power, well if your a Memphis fan, you don’t, you blast him, you criticize him, you belittle him, and you tarnish everything he built for you with bitterness.

In John Calipari’s nine seasons as head coach of the Memphis Tigers, he won 253 games, posted nine consecutive 20 win seasons, including four consecutive 30 win seasons, he earned nine consecutive post season bids, and he transformed an average program into a powerhouse. His teams 38 victory’s in the 07-08 season broke the D1 record for most victory’s in a single season, in that same year he was voted Naismith National Coach of the year, and he led his team to the NCAA Championship Finals. John Calipari shattered all coaching records at Memphis, and became the first Coach in D1 Mens Basketball history to win 30 or more games four years in a row, between 2005-08 Cal’s Tigers won 104 games combined , tying the 96 – 98 Kentucky Wildcats for the all time D1 record for most wins in a 3 year span, and Memphis has been the winningest program over the last four years in college basketball.

What John Calipari did in Memphis is nothing short of phenomenal, he made them the hot spot for some of the best young recruits in the game, he gave the school the image of being the place to be for guys wanting the fast track to the NBA, and most of all he made them relavent, but how do they thank him ? By biting the hand that fed them, by hating on the man that made them, by stabbing their greatest hero in the back. Calipari put in nine years of tireless effort, gave his heart and soul to insure their success, and he is repaid with spite and bitterness.

For the last 3 months on every message board, in the comment section of every article written about Memphis or Kentucky, on every sports talk show on the radio in or around Memphis, they spew their hate, and it hasn’t relented at all, they call him a liar, they call him a cheater, they have even stooped so low as to bad mouth his children, and for what ? For chasing his dreams ? The final straw that made me want to write this article, was an interview with Josh Pastner where he talked of how thankful he was to Cal for helping him to achieve his goals of being a head coach, in the comment section they blasted Pastner for being grateful to Cal, you should take a lesson from your new coach, Memphis, when someone helps you, show gratitude, not attitude.

Kentucky fans got a bad wrap for our feelings toward Tubby Smith, but the difference is he took us from the penthouse to the outhouse, not the other way around. When Rick Pitino left he was loved by all, Cat fans were sad to see him leave, but we wished him the best, and respected all he did for our program, only when he went to our biggest rival did our feeling change about Rick.

Calipari did not betray you Memphis, he left for the most prestigious job in all of college sports, how do you hate a man for improving himself, for achieving his dreams, without Calipari the Tiger program would be nothing, zero, zip, nada, you have a hot young coach who is a great recruiter, and with the legacy of success that Calipari established, you will be among the top programs for years to come. Calipari should be having banners raised in your stadium, instead of hell raised by your fan base, when your bitterness subsides Memphis, maybe you will remember who brought you to the dance in the first place.