Okay...here's the Final Four talk of the day...it's actually more of a rant.
If you've been following the news stories this week surrounding the Final Four, you would most likely deduce that the game is Roy Williams against the Kansas fans...or something like that. Now Coach Williams has spent the entire week trying to remind the media that the game is actually between the Kansas players and the Carolina players, but somehow it still manages to come back to Coach Williams versus his old school, Kansas. I read at least two articles today about that very thing. The media just doesn't get it. All they want to talk about is how bitter the Kansas fans are against Roy Williams for leaving five years ago. It's all North Carolina people saying "get over it..." It's Roy Williams trying to defend his decision by saying how he gave his heart and soul to Kansas for 15 years...it's all about what he gave to Kansas. I'm not disputing the fact that Roy Williams gave all of or at least most of himself to Kansas for 15 wonderful years. I'm not hating Roy...I loved Roy at Kansas. But you can't blame me for not exactly cheering for him at Carolina...because it really has absolutely nothing to do with Roy Williams.
I think that Roy Williams is one of, if not the greatest college basketball coach of my lifetime. Notice, I said my life...not ever. He inspires a great amount of loyalty from fans and players. He's one of the most passionate college coaches there is. He's a winner...plain and simple. If Roy Williams had left Kansas the first time I don't believe there would have been any "hard feelings" whatsoever. Everyone expected that to happen...I don't know for sure, but I'd venture to say that Roy Williams himself expected it too. Kansas fans wouldn't have blamed him a bit for choosing to leave. Who wouldn't want to coach at their alma mater? It would have been okay...
Here's what is not okay about the whole situation...
In 2003 Kansas was playing in the Final Four...their second in as many years. It was supposed to be their year...the year Roy Williams finally took Kansas all the way and brought a Championship back to Rock Chalk Land. Now here is what happened... North Carolina fired their coach three days before the Final Four began. Immediately all the talk switched from being about Kansas in the Final Four and about the Kansas seniors who represented themselves and the University with unbelievable poise and passion. It was no longer Kansas' Final Four... it was all about Carolina. It was all anyone would talk about... "Is Roy Williams leaving?" You know, he turned down Dean Smith and Carolina before, surely he won't do it again"...blah blah blah. I don't think I'll ever forget one of the interviews at half-time of the championship game...that Kansas was playing in. It was a former Carolina player talking about Roy Williams coming to Carolina. Now why anyone would interview a Carolina player during a Kansas ball game, I have no idea, but that player proceeded to make a comment that has been the epitome of why Kansas fans have such a problem with the whole Roy to Carolina thing. He said, referring to why Carolina deserves to have the best coach in the nation, that Roy Williams should leave Kansas because "this is North Carolina." Well bully for you. This is Kansas. The issue now is with Carolina turning Kansas' Final Four into "we deserve to have the best coach in the nation because we're Carolina" that makes Kansas blood boil. Have some class...Carolina could have waited a week to fire their coach. Then maybe Kansas fans wouldn't hate them so much and this Final Four would be about who and what it should be about.
My problem is not with Roy Williams going to North Carolina. Granted, I didn't like it at the time. I learned to love college basketball while Roy Williams was at Kansas. I was so excited when he announced that he was staying at Kansas in 2000. I loved Roy Williams coaching at Kansas. Yeah, I was upset that he left Kansas...even more upset that Jerod probably would have been sitting on the Kansas bench the next year as one of the assistants. However, I don't now or have I ever hated Roy Williams. He left...we moved on. And we have an awesome coach in Bill Self. I couldn't be happier with our Coach and staff now. I love Coach Self!
That being said...don't write articles telling the Kansas fans how they feel about Roy Williams and then criticizing them for it. And don't write articles telling me how I should feel about Roy Williams. You're putting words in our mouths. Really...for most, if not all of the Kansas fans I know, their "issue" if they have one has absolutely nothing to do with Coach Williams; it has everything to do with Carolina. I once cheered for North Carolina every time they played anyone other than Kansas. That stopped five years ago. Don't criticize me for that... The game on Saturday isn't Roy Williams versus the Kansas fans. It's Kansas versus North Carolina and I for one, hope we kick their Tar Heel tails.
Rock Chalk Jayhawk!
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