Should Kentucky fans boo or cheer for John Calipari in his return to Rupp Arena? Why not both!
Kentucky men's basketball fans have a difficult decision ahead of them on Saturday evening when former coach John Calipari makes his grand return to Rupp Arena with Arkansas.
To boo or not to boo, that is the question.
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to cheer the Wildcat years of Cal's outrageous fortune or to take arms against the sea of troubles of his departure and by opposing jeer him. To boo—to root, no more.
Calipari's anticipated return to Lexington should bring plenty of mixed emotions for Kentucky fans, and the question of whether to ceremoniously boo Calipari or give him his flowers has been making the rounds in Big Blue Nation.
Calipari said he expects to get booed during his first game back as the coach of another team and doesn't seem too bothered by it.
'You get booed,' Calipari said, via Hogs Plus. 'I've done this so long… I tell you, I got bazooka holes in my body. So when you shoot arrows, it doesn't even hit skin. It just goes through one of those bazooka holes.'
John Calipari doesn't care if he gets booed by #BBN, but he's still not sure how he will feel when he returns to Rupp Arena.
(🎥 @HogsPlus) MORE: https://t.co/3XQCp62x99 pic.twitter.com/aUQKkCrFI6
— KSR (@KSRonX) January 29, 2025
New Kentucky coach Mark Pope gave Calipari plenty of love on his radio show but also left the door open for all kinds of Kentucky feelings at Calipari's return.
'It's a little bit of a complicated relationship right now because he's coaching the other team,' Pope said, adding that he knows Rupp Arena will be an emotional place to be on Saturday.
'It's also a competition, right? So it's just going to be what it is. But I have a ton of love for Cal, and I'm grateful for what he did here at Kentucky.'
Tonight Mark Pope was asked about John Calipari's return to Lexington and his opinion on the reaction he will receive from the BBN this Saturday evening.
Mark Pope gives the most gracious answer, then acknowledges this is competition.
Full answer ⬇️
🎥:@UKSportsNetwork pic.twitter.com/qxhlYsmcRD
— Dylan Ballard (@DylanBallard_UK) January 30, 2025
There seems to be a very clear answer to this question. Like that kid in the Ovaltine commercial said, why can't it be both?
Calipari is probably going to have a moment during the game where attention is brought to him on the jumbotron, and Kentucky fans will give him a standing ovation. That's just common practice when a former player or coach returns to the arena they once occupied. Calipari will most likely get that.
On the other end, Calipari seems very prepared for the boos that he'll get when he arrives. And he should be! Booing your old coach is just part of the territory, particularly when you're such a big personality as Calipari is. He's going to take those boos in stride; Wildcat fans should go wild with them.
At the end of the day, both Kentucky and Arkansas will want to leave the arena that night with a win. That's the main concern for both of these programs. Whether or not Calipari gets booed shouldn't really matter, but … c'mon now, he absolutely should… but he should also get cheers!
Pope is right; it's just complicated right now. However, Kentucky fans shouldn't have to necessarily choose what emotion they show. Booing and cheering will rightfully mix in the air at Rupp on Saturday, but getting one over on the old coach on the basketball court should be the main priority.
As long as somebody buys Coach Cal one of those famous ice cream cones for old time's sake, all will be well.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Rising Star Jayla Hang Wins 2025 Pan American Gymnastics Championship
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - FEBRUARY 24: Jayla Hang competes in the Beam during the Senior Women ... More competition of the 2024 USA Gymnastics Winter Cup at Kentucky International Convention Center on February 24, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by) U.S. gymnast Jayla Hang won all-around gold at Friday's Pan American Gymnastics Championships in Panama City, Panama. Canadian challenger Lia Fontaine won silver, and U.S. Olympic gold medalist Hezly Rivera claimed bronze. A second-year senior on the U.S. National Team, Hang's win prolongs a stellar start to the 2025 season. In addition to winning silver at the U.S. Winter Cup in February, the 17-year-old claimed gold on floor exercise, silver on beam, and bronze on vault at the 2025 Osijek World Cup. Hang put together an impressive effort during Friday's joint-team qualification and all-around final. The future Florida Gator delivered the top scores on uneven bars and floor exercise, helping Team USA qualify in first for Saturday's team final and qualifying for all four individual event finals. Her total score marks the highest score at a continental championships in 2025. With her result at today's meet, Hang is in contention for a spot on the team headed to the 2025 World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia. While the Washington native ran away with the all-around title, many expected 2024 Olympic team gold medalist Hezly Rivera to challenge for the win. Though Rivera was strong on balance beam and floor, posting the highest mark on beam and the third-best on floor, a disastrous bar routine took the Olympian out of the gold medal race. Rivera incurred two falls on her routine, resulting in an automatic two-point deduction. Despite the disappointing bar routine, Rivera claimed bronze in the all-around and will compete for gold in the balance beam final. U.S. teammate Dulcy Caylor was just behind Rivera in the all-around, finishing fourth before the two-per-country rule. Caylor, a finalist at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, posted the highest U.S. score on vault, but will not participate in the apparatus final due to not competing a second vault. First-year senior Gabrielle Hardie delivered a nearly error-free effort across her three events on Friday. The 2024 U.S. junior silver medalist impressed with superior execution, qualifying for the event finals on balance beam and floor. After tweaking her ankle in training, 2024 Olympic alternate Tiana Sumanasekera was limited only to beam in Panama City. Though she missed the event final due to the two-per-country rule, Sumanasekera delivered a strong performance to finish third on the event in qualifying. The U.S. men and women enter Saturday's team finals as the top qualifiers. On Thursday, former Penn State gymnast Joshua Karnes clinched silver in the men's all-around behind Canadian Olympian Félix Dolci. The men will take to the floor at 9:30 a.m. ET, and the women later at 2:30 p.m. The Panam Sports Channel will live-stream all events.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Two Arizona softball signees named to PGF All-American roster
The current transfer exodus from Arizona softball has many fans acting like there's no tomorrow. Kezia Lucas and Sinalei Talataina would beg to differ. The pair of incoming freshmen were among the 40 athletes named to the PGF All-American Game rosters on Tuesday. The game will be played on July 26, 2025 with rosters of 20 from the West and 20 from the East. Both of Arizona's freshmen will be on the West team. Advertisement The pair is part of a class that Arizona head coach Caitlin Lowe described as heavy on infield 'righty power' when they signed last November. They both fit the description. Talataina is a corner infielder from the San Diego area. The various ranking services believe that she is the top player in Arizona's class of four players. Both Prep Softball and Perfect Game limit their rankings to the top 50. Softball America has changed its system from one year to the next. For the 2025 class, it ranked 15 pitchers and 50 position players; that was changed to 100 players regardless of position in 2026. Prep Softball has her at No. 23 in the country. Softball America ranks her as the country's No. 28 overall player, the 10th-best infielder, and the No. 4 prospect out of California. That outlet rates her as a four-star recruit with a score of 96, putting her in the high four-star range. Perfect Game places her at No. 35 in its national rankings. Lucas is a middle infielder from Hawai'i. She is not ranked in the limited databases of the three services. Unlike many of the previous players who have come from Hawai'i to play college softball on the mainland, she has played her travel ball for a team on the islands. Current Wildcat and fellow Hawaiian Jenna Sniffen played travel ball for teams in Southern California. Advertisement A third Arizona signee, pitcher Rylie Holder, was named to the Alliance Fastpitch all-star game last month. Lead photo by Ryan Kelapire More from
Entrepreneur
14 hours ago
- Entrepreneur
Remote, Not Removed
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur United Kingdom, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Londoner Rob Edwards is the founder of Morley Sports Management (MSM), a multi-sport ownership and consultancy group with an unconventional playbook. A former finance professional turned entrepreneur, Edwards first made headlines during lockdown when he bought a struggling Welsh football club off the back of a speculative email. Five years later, Haverfordwest County AFC has qualified for Europe twice and built one of the strongest youth programmes in the country. Now, Edward's next project is even more newsworthy: revitalising Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) - the cult US wrestling promotion that launched the careers of John Cena, Batista, and Brock Lesnar. Under his leadership, OVW is undergoing a grassroots revival built on a fan-first strategy, community value, and global ambition. From Pembrokeshire to Kentucky, Rob is quietly rewriting the rules of modern sports ownership. But this is just the beginning. What was your biggest challenge and how did you overcome it? Taking over a football club during a global pandemic. I live six hours away. I couldn't get there, and I'd never had any experience of running a football club. It was going in blind, but I knew instinctively it had potential. I knew I was never going to relocate, so from day one I had to invest in people. If people don't buy into the values, they don't stick around very long. But if they do, you can build something with a clear vision. We've built the best off-field team I could have hoped for – people who are passionate and dedicated and who've completely bought into our dream. It's the same now with OVW in Kentucky. It's a long way away again, a lot of passionate people, but it lacked clear direction. The job is to empower people, put them in the right places, and give them credit for what they achieve. How did you secure your initial funding? There's been minimal outside investment. Most came off the back of my previous business and my career in finance. The barrier to entry for Welsh football isn't huge, it's very accessible – financially and structurally. It gave us the opportunity to step in and try to build something different from the ground up. Because of our experience with Haverfordwest County AFC in Wales, we saw a similar opportunity with OVW in Kentucky. It's an under-appreciated asset in the industry in modern times, but there's massive potential. Related: Why brands need to stop talking about community — and start building one | Entrepreneur How do you handle failure or setbacks? You need to stay calm and logical. Not everything goes your way – and when it doesn't, the worst thing you can do is get flustered. I tend not to get too up or too down. I've always kept that middle ground. If you walked past me after a major success or a big loss, you probably wouldn't notice a difference. That's always been my demeanour. It's about focusing on the bigger picture. If something's going wrong, stay objective and work out how far you've gone off path. Then you need to be measured and methodical about how you fix it. What advice would you give to someone starting their own business? Have self-confidence and be open-minded. When I took over the football club, I had no background in it, but I trusted my instincts. I used experience, common sense, and values that mattered to me. That's been the foundation. We're trying to build businesses founded on community and social impact. With those fundamentals in place, commercial success will come. You've got to believe in what you stand for. If you stay true to your values inside and outside of business, you can build something meaningful. How do you stay motivated during tough times? I need stimulation. I've never been able to sit still. I wake up when the sun comes up and my brain kicks in – I'm raring to go. I'm impulsive. If I get an idea in my head, I'm all in. What keeps me going is being disruptive, pushing things forward, coming up with new ideas and concepts. With both the football club and OVW, we're constantly evolving – and on top of that we've got consultancy work and partnerships with sporting brands. That forward momentum is what wakes me up in the morning. There's always a new problem to solve. What are your top tips for success? Be confident in your ability – if you're leading a business and people don't buy into you, it won't work. People buy in to people. Investment in people is 100% at the heart of our model. We're not always on the ground, so we need to trust the teams to run with the vision. But we also lead from the front – if you want people to dive into the trenches, you need to be the one starting the charge. I'm quite demanding, but only because I hold myself to that same standard.
