JdH502 said:
IvanBear said:
EvilTroyAndAbed said:
LIB,MR BEARS said:
JdH502 said:
IvanBear said:
JdH502 said:
TeamPlayer said:
Most people outside of Lexington probably view UL fondly. It's always been an easy program to root for.
I've been to the YUM Center for the NCAA tournament. Cavernous and corporate is what I saw. It's not for everybody, but I'm sure some coaches love the feel of a huge arena.
UL has been a disaster for several years. I liked Chris Mack and thought he would do better there. There are other coaches out there that are better fits than Drew. I can't imagine UL alums and players being OK with constantly talking about Jesus.
Personally, I loved our old arena (Freedom Hall) because of the intimate feel when watching a game. The YUM is amazing when UofL is winning and the arena is pack, but lately it's been pretty depressing.
I hate the way people look at UofL nowadays and it's not the program I grew up watching. Basketball is everything to our city and it's been pretty rough lately. The past couple of years have absolutely crushed local downtown businesses because of the lack of attendance to UofL games. Basketball has a massive effect on the economy here, which people don't realize if you're not a local.
As for the UofL not being okay with the jesus talk, I'll disagree with you there. This is Kentucky and religion is a big deal here. I don't see anyone having an issue with it and I actually think we'd be pretty welcoming. All we want is to be relevant again and get back to winning.
The problem is never the fan base it's your administrators who I promise you will have a problem with Christianity being preached at a public university.
You say preaching. I don't consider what I've seen of Drew to be preachy, but maybe I'm wrong. He expresses his strong religious views, which is great and he has prayers on the court. Am I missing something more significant? By no means is this a big deal and would draw no negative attention from UofL or it's administrators. If there was any hint that this would be an issue, UofL wouldn't be willing to throw $8mil to hire Drew.
Drew made a comment once that would never fly in Louisville. It was something akin to "If we never win another game I'll be happy so long as we introduce the gospel to these young men."
Somehow, I don't think that fits well with the Louisville culture.
Look, he's not going, but I don't know why everyone here is trying to turn Louisville into some kind of atheistic paradise. It's in Kentucky. In the South. They have plenty of Southern Baptists in Kentucky. The notion that every state school is hostile to those with faith is antiquated and false.
But he's not going, so I'm not worried about it.
I don't think anyone's worried about him going, the entire Drew to Louisville thing makes zero sense and always had, its some fans and local media, no one with any ties to the Big 12, Baylor, or Drew has even given this an ounce of credibility.
At most this is an agent working to bump Drew's lifetime contract to an even higher number. I assume he'll be north of $6m next year.
That aside, you must have not been around many universities and the people running them if you don't think an openly Christian coach at a public university will eventually cause problems. He will be on their bad side from day one, and the instant he doesn't bend to someone's will in the exact way they want they'll have him ousted.
You keep talking like Kentucky is deep red Oklahoma or Alabama. Kentucky they has a fairly hostile to Christianity democrat Governor, and any governing body of a public university is going to be far to the left of him. This has nothing to do with the sentiment of people in the state or city.
Drew makes a ton of sense for us. He's rebuilt a program, has high character & has the ability to turn things around quickly.
There was a meeting between both parties yesterday. The offer on the table from Louisville was $8mil, not including incentives. Drews representatives did not say yes or no, just that they would talk things over with him. Again, I don't think he leaves Baylor, but they will probably have to offer him more than $6mil IMO.
What about Dabo Swinney at Clemson? There is no coach, including Drew, that is more open about his religious views than him and he coaches at a public school. Why is that different than Drew at Louisville?
Drew makes a ton of sense for just about any program. Really about what he wants at this point. None of us know what CSD wants, but most believe that he's a best fit at BU. His quality of life and work are maximized here for various reasons, one of those of course is freedom to bring faith into sports however he sees fit, without some spoken or unspoken pressure to keep a lid on it.
As for Dabo, I think many here may be overstating what Louisville would be willing to "put up" with. Frankly, if CSD is winning, they will overlook his Christian "peculiarities"... as long as he is winning.
Of course, Louisville needs to be prepared for "one team, one God, one goal" type of warm up team t-shirts and the like. Just gotta wonder if that would even be allowed or not. At BU, already done, at UL, might cause a stir.
We'll see what happens, but most here aren't losing sleep over CSD leaving. But 8-10 million is a lot of jack and would be hard for anyone to turn down. At the end of the day I just think BU gets CSD where he needs to be and stays,
Last, CSD will bring the gospel wherever he goes, and many of your fans will have to hold their noses.
