RELIEVED: because I think the program was teetering on the brink of the late Billy Tubbs years, when we were just o.k. every year and the fans voted against BillyBall's results with their feet. Although Kelvin sold far more season tickets than Billy Tubbs ever did, and in fact more tickets period, no one can deny that people have stopped coming to Kelvin's games in the last couple of years. This is exactly what happened to Billy, despite the urban legend that Billy never had trouble selling tickets:
Attendance 1991-92: 7,500
Attendance 1992-93: 7,724
Attendnace 1993-94: 7,680
I would guess these figures are probably a pretty accurate reflection of Kelvin's actual attendance the last two years, rather than tickets sold, which is 10,000+. Sadly, Billy's figures are tickets sold.
The point is that it hurts when the fans stop supporting the team, and it's hard to get it back. People voted with their feet against Gary Gibbs as well, although he was light years more successful than the Fat Abusive Drunk and the Fat Clueless Idiot, both of whom drew far better than Gibbs.
I felt Kelvin was losing the real fan base. Not the morons who whine on the radio and on message boards about how great BillyBall was and how it was a sellout every night. Those people never knew what they were talking about, or quite obviously the slightest thing about basketball. They never mattered to start with. But starting to lose the every-night support of the loyalists is tough to overcome for any coach, and KS was standing on the brink.
SAD: because I think Kelvin did a hell of a job for Oklahoma basketball. With the exception of this year, the classic KS team played with grit and determination, and was always mentally and physically tougher than the opponent. Even the haters had to be secretly pleased when a KS team would impose their will on a more talented opponent by being tougher and wanting it more. It could be very ugly, but it was undeniably successful. Whether the "permanent underdog" mentality will work at the ultimate overdog, Indiana, remains to be seen. But it worked here for a very long time, and I appreciate what Kelvin did for our team.
HOPEFUL: because Kelvin left the program better off than he found it, in spite of whatever probation we receive. OU has a much larger and more lucrative season ticket base now, and practice and ancillary basketball facilities that are among the very best in the country. Over all, OU is a much more attractive job now than it was when Kelvin took it. The recent hirings in the Big 12 should serve notice to Joe C. that there is no fooling around on this one, and so far, Joe C. seems to have responded to challenges pretty well, with the exception of the mulleted ponies fiasco.
Thanks and Good Luck to Kelvin Sampson. I appreciate everything you have done not only for the University of Oklahoma, but the community of Norman as well.
Now, let's get excited about the future.
"The word 'felony' doesn't scare me." - Eddie Sutton, The Sunday Oklahoman, May 9, 2004.
Originally Posted by oumartin
