Are you ever consistently happy as a UK fan?

[GOCAT15]

I am obviously different than most people on this forum...I have lived about an hour south of St. Louis in Missouri my whole life, and when I was 12 years old I became a ridiculous Kentucky basketball fan, obviously those were some good years to become a fan. So needless to say I have not lived through the bad and shameful times that the program went through. I only missed one game last year, and that was because it was not on a channel I got, so luckily I read along on here and made it through. I have grown up a St. Louis Cardinals fan as well but when they lose I don't even come close to being as upset as even when Kentucky loses a regular season game. I've been to Lexington twice for a game, once during the Gillespie era when we blew out Tennessee and then last year I went to the Arkansas game. I get a lot of crap from my buddies, but being a fan of a team in a state that you don't live in, you better be able to take it. I have never taken a loss as bad as the Wisconsin game, before that it was the OT loss to Arizona in 97. I try to tell myself it's just a game and to not get so worked up but I just can't do it.

[justafan]

Seriously, that would be the only reason I would have cable here. I watch literally nothing else on television, and when I go visit family I end up watching TV with them. Every. Single. Time. I leave and think to myself, "I wouldn't pay $20 a month to have cable now".

There must be a better way.

Here's a piece of information to better illustrate my situation: I moved to this apartment back in October of 2014. My television ( I do own one, and some speakers lol) sits in the garage. Still in the box.

Sling TV started in February. It is a streaming option. They have ESPN/ESPN2 and 8-10 other channels for $20/month. Stream to your iOS device, or get an Amazon Fire Stick? or a Roku. For $5/month (I think) you can add SECNetwork. ESPNU is missing for that 1 or 2 bball games.

Great part about it? You can discontinue online. So I dropped it immediately after the SEC tourney. I'll add it back in the Fall.

[DA#23]

^ You have just changed my life! A friend told me I need a Roku, so this completes that little package. Sounds perfect!

[KevinHall]

I use my Kindle Fire HD a lot. And we watch some movies. My wife watches reruns and HGTV. But generally our television isn't used unless the Cats are on.

I heard that Verizon is coming out with something where you can pay for what channels you want. That will be a glorious day...but of course the channels the Cats are on will probably be like $25 a piece, so it will probably come out about the same.

Verizon's pay for what you want isn't as good as it sounds IMO. They have specific packages bundled together. Like a sports package with most of the sports channels,an entertainemnt package etc..... It's still not to a point of picking and choosing what you want. I'm not sure it will ever be. ESPN is sueing them too because they are not included in all of these sub-packages. It will be interesting to see how that unfolds.
A DVR is a sports fan best friend. I couldn't survive without one now. I watch a good portion of most events from the DVR. Its amazing how fast a basketball game goes when scroll through all of those timeouts. IMO the NFL is unwatchable without a DVR.

[JFCats22]

Honestly this thread is empty until Crazzed weighs in. Not JFCats22, I mean the real deal, CrazzedCats.

Haha...not sure what to say. I think I am as crazy and passionate as I ever was about UK. The past two months have been difficult and have taken a toll on my fandom.

Maybe because we have been so spoiled, I don't think I enjoy it as much as I used to. Before Cal and then his first couple of years there was so much excitement about getting back to the top of college basketball and reaching a Final Four. Once we did that, I sort of expected to do it each year and win another title or two.

Don't get me wrong, it's been a crazy and fun ride the past 6 years. But, I tend to think more about the letdowns and missed opportunities than I do the successes. I really can't help but feel that we left at least 2 and maybe 3-4 titles on the table. And Duke and UConn (two teams I DESPISE) won 4 titles during that time.

[Wonderstruck]

Sling TV started in February. It is a streaming option. They have ESPN/ESPN2 and 8-10 other channels for $20/month. Stream to your iOS device, or get an Amazon Fire Stick? or a Roku. For $5/month (I think) you can add SECNetwork. ESPNU is missing for that 1 or 2 bball games.

Great part about it? You can discontinue online. So I dropped it immediately after the SEC tourney. I'll add it back in the Fall.

Sling TV is perfect for those who want to watch costs. I was able to help some friends get off satellite and onto Sling. They bought a couple of Roku's and they are set.

[Wonderstruck]

^ You have just changed my life! A friend told me I need a Roku, so this completes that little package. Sounds perfect!

If they are still doing the promo, the Sling TV site had an option to get a free device if you signed up for 3 months. After seeing the streaming in action, it's well worth it. Though I'm just not sure if that's still an active promo.

[Joneslab]

But, I tend to think more about the letdowns and missed opportunities than I do the successes.

You appear to have the letdowns and missed opportunities wired directly into your DNA.

[JFCats22]

You appear to have the letdowns and missed opportunities wired directly into your DNA.

Maybe, guess it's just the way I am wired. Although it really only applies to UK basketball. I am as big a (maybe bigger) STL Cardinals fan and I don't have the same mentality with them.

[Joneslab]

Maybe, guess it's just the way I am wired. Although it really only applies to UK basketball. I am as big a (maybe bigger) STL Cardinals fan and I don't have the same mentality with them.

Could be because those guys are pros making millions of dollars.

We follow college kids. In the Cal era many of these guys have been 18 or 19. They're sometimes great but they can't uphold a standard that pro athletes can.

[justafan]

If they are still doing the promo, the Sling TV site had an option to get a free device if you signed up for 3 months. After seeing the streaming in action, it's well worth it. Though I'm just not sure if that's still an active promo.

Yes, I was content with Sling TV during the end of the season. It wasn't perfect - they had some "growing pains". It looks like they know they have to jump on those things otherwise people won't give them a second chance. It was good for me since I cut satellite 2 years ago (after 18? years).

I don't have a roku, but a friend does and it appears to be solid. At the very beginning, my iPad app was a bit buggy, while my MacOS app was much better.

The beauty is that more and more devices will support the stream and you can pick and choose (choice is great!). Plus, no contract!

[GOCAT15]

Haha...not sure what to say. I think I am as crazy and passionate as I ever was about UK. The past two months have been difficult and have taken a toll on my fandom.

Maybe because we have been so spoiled, I don't think I enjoy it as much as I used to. Before Cal and then his first couple of years there was so much excitement about getting back to the top of college basketball and reaching a Final Four. Once we did that, I sort of expected to do it each year and win another title or two.

Don't get me wrong, it's been a crazy and fun ride the past 6 years. But, I tend to think more about the letdowns and missed opportunities than I do the successes. I really can't help but feel that we left at least 2 and maybe 3-4 titles on the table. And Duke and UConn (two teams I DESPISE) won 4 titles during that time.

This is what bothers me the most....it is just so hard to have the best team in college and when you do and you come up short from winning a title it is hard to get over. I truly feel that the 2009 team and of course last years team was no doubt the best teams those years. 2014's team had a lot of talent, they just didn't play well enough consistently to be considered the best team that year, although there is no reason they lost to UCONN either. It's just so hard to get to the final four, you just hate to miss those opportunities.

[J.Jennings]

I am completely miserable because we do not win the Championship each and every year. Besides that, I am good..........

Honestly, I think Will summed it up best on page one. A place like this is a place to vent and rant more than anything. Of course we hold hands and celebrate during the good times but there's more doom and gloom than good times on a message board. It's probably safe to say that even the good time are not celebrated as much as they should be.


At the end of the day through all the ups and downs of Kentucky basketball, what does about bunch of young kids have to do with me in the real world??? These are a bunch of young kids that really don't have a clue about the real world. Until UK starts putting money in my pocket, it's just a game, nothing more nothing less. Life goes on............

[J.Jennings]

You appear to have the letdowns and missed opportunities wired directly into your DNA.

I am probably guilty of this myself. Hate to blow wasted opportunities especially when it's so hard to get everything in place and have all the pieces to win it all.

[J.Jennings]

Haha...not sure what to say. I think I am as crazy and passionate as I ever was about UK. The past two months have been difficult and have taken a toll on my fandom.

Maybe because we have been so spoiled, I don't think I enjoy it as much as I used to. Before Cal and then his first couple of years there was so much excitement about getting back to the top of college basketball and reaching a Final Four. Once we did that, I sort of expected to do it each year and win another title or two.

Don't get me wrong, it's been a crazy and fun ride the past 6 years. But, I tend to think more about the letdowns and missed opportunities than I do the successes. I really can't help but feel that we left at least 2 and maybe 3-4 titles on the table. And Duke and UConn (two teams I DESPISE) won 4 titles during that time.

Kind of feel the same way as you in a sense. As bad as I hate to say it, I think I enjoyed the seasons more each and every year prior to message board era of ranting and discussions.......