Where art thou, Jaybate?



  • Anytime someone brings up HEM, I love to take a trip down memory lane. You can do it with me. Just type in “leftist” on the search feature. You will find 9 (NINE!) pages of HEM diatribes. Most of which work in some way to talk down to people. How simple-minded they are. How his logic is so good that it literally overwhelms other people’s ability to think.

    The number of times someone could mention how “offended” leftists get and then themselves get so offended his last words here were “Fuck off all of you” is comedy gold.

    He also posted this wonderful quote in that same final thread:

    I hear folks all over saying there needs to be an “honest” conversation. I’ve tried that. I tried it here. But whenever the conversation gets uncomfortable, or it strays into territories that leftists see as off limits, the conversation ends."

    Other gems over the years:

    1/27/20:

    It doesn’t matter to you and leftists. You cry racism and that’s the end of the discussion.

    3/31/19:

    Your last comment tells me all I need to know. Please take notice, as leftists forget, that this world would be deep in the darkness of authoritarianism without our great nation. The pathetic defamation of our country by the left is why you are the enemy. It makes me sick that you teach our kids. But this stuff is easy to diagnose. It’s just sickening that our country is viewed with contempt by folks like you.

    5/11/18:

    Ah, now you can put your head on your pillow and sleep soundly, knowing that you have scolded the insensitive. It makes you feel better about yourself, I know. Thanks for your definition of “decent people.” It makes me so thankful, every day, that I’m not one “you.” Sometimes you can chuckle a little about something without getting your little panties in a knot. What a laughable, misdirected, and typically misleading response. Your normal nonsense.

    5/14/18 - after being asked (very nicely) to be slightly more sensitive to a Cheerleader hazing post:

    I am and will continue to resist oversensitivity. Laughing at things is many times the best medicine.

    Oversensitivity – It is one of the biggest threats to our society today, as we see free speech trampled on in favor of not offending. Free speech is offending. The difference is, one side of the aisle would rather eliminate the speech, while another side would rather foster it.

    "Being in a field of academia where women are not empowered … " Huh? Good grief. Ask our former chancellor.

    America, now, in 2018 is all about merit. There is no glass ceiling to anyone.

    If folks ask that no one be treated unfairly, that will never happen. Life ain’t fair.

    Real “power” is not worrying about what others think and say. Real “power” is doing, and taking control of one’s own destiny. Real power is taking advantage of the unlimited opportunities that this country offers, and to stop whining about every perceived slight. Start there first and then work backward.

    Look at this picture. She is empowered, isn’t she? She’s a PHD, right? – now, some of you, just try to laugh. It really helps.

    alt text

    can move on to a new outrage today. Search hard, you’ll find one.

    8/8/18:

    Look at the attacks on Dak Prescott from the cowardly left after his statement. Standard issue for the leftists. No way that he can actually think for himself. Name calling, insults, the norm for the left.

    4/28/19:

    I know, of course, if I would have referred to a kid from Norway, you wouldn’t have said a word. My laughs come at leftist whiners like you. It’s not a slur. It’s a joke. Try laughing. It works. And don’t change the discussion by injecting “respectful” into the equation. What whiners (like you on this stuff) want is a conversation that meets your criteria of acceptability. The better path, I’d suggest, is for everyone to be a bit less thin skinned, a bit less easily offended – and for folks like you to be a bit less prone to whine about it.

    10/5/19:

    Every time I debate one of “you”, I’m continually shocked by the shallowness of thought on these topics. You say things that I’m sure you and your little leftist buddies chuckle about, and wring your hands, but it’s no different than the folks we see presented in the media today – if you are actually confronted with reality, you have nothing. Ah, nothing but “you’re a racist.”

    1/21/20:

    Hate? Is that what you think I feel? No, I don’t think like leftist. It’s disgust.

    6/11/20:

    Yet small, shallow minds like yours – ones that have an agenda to align with one monolithic thought process – purposefully, dishonestly, and viciously distort to fit your narrative. I don’t know how much more clear I can be. Try being honest. Try having some character. But, that’s not the left, is it?

    He gave us this gem 6/18/20:

    “Bill Self, the liar, needs to resign. Now. Please. It’s time. He is causing further damage to the program and university. A complete embarrassment.”

    The guy is a fucking asshole and the world is better without HEMs. I just wish the block feature existed on this web platform 5 years ago. Would have helped.



  • @Kcmatt7 Wonder how many of those were about me? I know 3/31/19 for sure without even looking back but I suspect others as well. I know I’m not special. His condescension was truly without bounds!



  • To @drgnslayr 's point, that all does make me miss Jaybate all the more. For all the knowledge, snark and wit, for the most part he never worked to tear others down unless they were truly trolls asking for it.



  • @benshawks08 said in Where art thou, Jaybate?:

    @Kcmatt7 Wonder how many of those were about me? I know 3/31/19 for sure without even looking back but I suspect others as well. I know I’m not special. His condescension was truly without bounds!

    Quite a few… I left out the Skinny Jeans quote though and I really shouldn’t have.



  • @Kcmatt7

    Yes… HEM was an asshole… I’m an asshole, too. It takes assholes in the world to let out the sh*t! lol

    It’s funny how he considered people on the left to be snowflakes and overly-sensitive yet he was the one who always worked up into a huge tirade.

    Still… HEM offered his own view of basketball and I miss him. He so reminded me of one of my old high school coaches.

    I know I’m weird. I really enjoy difficult people. And they enjoy me because I’m usually about the only one who can tolerate their sourpuss.

    Thanks for the summary on HEM.

    Maybe we should go back in times and create “Greatest of…” posts on some of our eclectic crew!



  • @drgnslayr You might be an asshole. But there is an adjective in front of that word that really expresses how I feel about someone who is so… enlightened.

    Sure I miss a good debate about whether or not Diallo or LL should be starting. Or if Bill Self is ever going to win another Natty (newsflash he did). I don’t know that it makes up for having to interact with someone who is so outspoken about things that would seem extreme on a 4chan chat room.

    So. Yep.



  • @benshawks08 said in Where art thou, Jaybate?:

    To @drgnslayr 's point, that all does make me miss Jaybate all the more. For all the knowledge, snark and wit, for the most part he never worked to tear others down unless they were truly trolls asking for it.

    Jaybate was gifted. His imagination was off the charts and his ability to encapsulate his vision into words… wow!

    At this point… I wonder if he’s gone over the hill and he’s picking through the souls of the AFH basketball Gods.

    “Bring us the head of the Kentucky Wildcat mascot pithed on a spike, afterwards, so that @drgnslayr can at least get a hint of what Meso-American Ball once was like!!!” ~Classic Jaybate

    Funny… I spent an entire afternoon walking through and absorbing the vibes of an original Meso court in Chichén Itzá… This one:

    https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-ballcourts-of-chichén-itzá-the-british-museum/ugUB3Od_Jhnpnw?hl=en



  • @Kcmatt7

    I’ve learned there are many people on this planet that don’t respect others unless they take a swipe at them now and then. I’m sure I’ve poked you now and then… for a reason… I appreciate your wisdom in here!



  • @Kcmatt7 said in Where art thou, Jaybate?:

    @drgnslayr You might be an asshole. But there is an adjective in front of that word that really expresses how I feel about someone who is so… enlightened.

    Sure I miss a good debate about whether or not Diallo or LL should be starting. Or if Bill Self is ever going to win another Natty (newsflash he did). I don’t know that it makes up for having to interact with someone who is so outspoken about things that would seem extreme on a 4chan chat room.

    So. Yep.

    He definitely had some useful basketball insights, which does make it a bit of a shame he completely descended into madness.

    Funny he got brought up though, because I was reminded of him the other day when I mistakenly got engaged in some abortion discourse. The other guy used the term “uterus owner”. If I hadn’t already known they were a major asshole, that would have been a major mask off moment. I could see HEM using that term as well.

    Thoroughly enjoyed the trip down Hemory lane. He really went out lashing out.



  • Consider this a HEM alertness test, to see if he is lurking



  • @Kcmatt7 I recognize all of that and while I’m in the middle, the part I missed was the basketball discussion. For that I appreciated him.



  • So who is left in here to kick down the stairs? lol



  • Most KU fans on here now respect each other. These young guys, I think they’re young, also have a lot of info we didn’t have back then. Makes it more fun. @wissox it was brooksmd. And globaljayhawk. I keep in touch with them by email, not as much as we use to.



  • @drgnslayr I didn’t think it was very funny to be kicked or see my friends kicked. And to see Self kicked.



  • @Crimsonorblue22

    I try to avoid kicking people. Notice… I stayed out of the HEM fray.

    BTW: My style is to trip people! lol





  • @approxinfinity the gal that was nice, @bcjayhawk ?



  • @Crimsonorblue22 yeah i miss her too.



  • I certainly don’t have time to check out other “fan sites” ( what is a site like this officially called anyway? ), but I doubt nowhere else had a poster like Jaybate. The guy was almost from another planet… maybe part Vulcan? His intelligence, extensive and eclectic knowledge, imagination, inquisitiveness, passion, and the way he combined all these things was ming-boggling at times… so many examples, like writing an novella-length essay/post on subjects like comparing Self and the team to the legendary Merrill’s Marauder from WW2 for example… I used to think “what does this guy do every day? Is he a wealthy recluse with a lot of time on his hands? A frequent LSD user? A patient in a psych hospital? Dr. Emmett Brown from back to the future?” I tried to keep up with his more involved posts, but one had to be in the right frame of mind to tackle them, like studying for an exam. He was truly Unique, an odd duck but a highly likable one at least to me, and he clearly loved the program… and when the Adidas scandal broke, I remember he posted something about how let-down and saddened he was, and then he was gone.

    I can credit HEM for one thing- my expanded knowledge of team basketball. there were KU players that apparently on his shit-list, and he would use a lot of stats and basketball data to doggedly bolster his lengthy analyses for why they shouldn’t be playing or even be on the team. He was persistent and never seemed to back down. Another very bright guy, albeit overly leftbrained perhaps.

    Well, like many KU fans, I find that I would come to like certain players over other players throughout the years, no rational reason really, I just would begin to become a fan. I always was drawn to the role-player types, and Jamari Traylor was a prime example of a guy I really took a shine to. HEM REALLY disliked JT, and went after him a lot as I remember. So I re-watched a lot of games, but kept my eyes glued to JT every time he was in the game. That’s when I started to see the little things that he did… hustling to be in position, setting picks, working hard to run whatever offensive set that was called, keeping the ball moving with passes, working hard to hustle back on D, fighting thru screens, boxing out, rebounding…It was obvious to me why Self played him and liked him despite that fact that was was never going be a scorer or anything other than a role-player. I learned to watch games more carefully and better understand good team basketball.



  • What about Steve (Jethro pic in his avatar)? Where’d he go? I used to “sigh” when a LONG screed would show up from @jaybate-1-0 but then I always read them. Now I miss those LONG screeds. He was especially caring when I lost my husband and was battling cancer all at the same time. He gave me hope and urged me to stay positive in chats. Over the years I have posted to our chat page asking for a reply but never got one. Pray for him and worry about him still to this day.



  • @RockChalkinTexas it’s jethro



  • @Crimsonorblue22

    @KUSTEVE …Yeah, that is the one I was thinking of



  • @Bosthawk

    Enjoyed your read on Jaybate. I add in there international intelligence agent. Those people have to land somewhere. Maybe he has a new assignment placing him in a mudhole in Somalia.

    I continually bait Jaybate to return, if still possible, with shoe posts. His insight on “Shoecos” was ahead of the news often.

    HEM was important in here. He represented the views of old-style coaching. Guys like myself recognized his bark. Back then, it wasn’t important to like your coach, it was important to respect him, usually through fear. So when developing a fan site like this, it is great to have different views, including ideas from so far back they can be interpreted as arcane.



  • @Bosthawk PHOF

    Seriously, this whole thread is like watching a great old movie and enjoying it thoroughly, after all this time.



  • @RockChalkinTexas he’s here as jethro



  • @drgnslayr said in Where art thou, Jaybate?:

    Funny… I spent an entire afternoon walking through and absorbing the vibes of an original Meso court in Chichén Itzá… This one: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/the-ballcourts-of-chichén-itzá-the-british-museum/ugUB3Od_Jhnpnw?hl=en

    Been there. Absolutely amazing. How they got the ball through the hoop using their hips is beyond me. Probably why the games lasted for days. Makes soccer look high scoring, I would think.



  • It’s fun reading through the lore of this place!



  • @Kcmatt7 said in Where art thou, Jaybate?:

    @benshawks08 said in Where art thou, Jaybate?:

    @Kcmatt7 Wonder how many of those were about me? I know 3/31/19 for sure without even looking back but I suspect others as well. I know I’m not special. His condescension was truly without bounds!

    Quite a few… I left out the Skinny Jeans quote though and I really shouldn’t have.

    Was that in the same one with the sentiment that he was smarter than me because his salary was at least 4 times mine?

    I’ve never been one of the “stick to basketball” types because I think everything is so connected. But I really wish HEM would have. I generally enjoyed arguing basketball with someone with a different view from myself. And generally enjoy challenging conversations with folks who think differently than me. But there was definitely a turning point where all that became not so fun anymore. The radicalization of some groups of people have been intense to process in the last 6-7 years.



  • @benshawks08 said in Where art thou, Jaybate?:

    @Kcmatt7 said in Where art thou, Jaybate?:

    @benshawks08 said in Where art thou, Jaybate?:

    @Kcmatt7 Wonder how many of those were about me? I know 3/31/19 for sure without even looking back but I suspect others as well. I know I’m not special. His condescension was truly without bounds!

    Quite a few… I left out the Skinny Jeans quote though and I really shouldn’t have.

    Was that in the same one with the sentiment that he was smarter than me because his salary was at least 4 times mine?

    I’ve never been one of the “stick to basketball” types because I think everything is so connected. But I really wish HEM would have. I generally enjoyed arguing basketball with someone with a different view from myself. And generally enjoy challenging conversations with folks who think differently than me. But there was definitely a turning point where all that became not so fun anymore. The radicalization of some groups of people have been intense to process in the last 6-7 years.

    I’ll go ahead and pull the full quote:

    Resident skinny jeans leftist @benshawks08 was caught off guard. He really didn’t even know what I was talking about. He further was attacking and dismissive of the role of faith in being part of the solution But of course, @benshawks08 - being an atheist homosexual - has a clear bias against those items having relevance. Why? Because it personally offends his existence. But we can certain exist together. He can be a gay atheist in America. Fine. But he lets that personal bias interfere with discussing realities.

    I don’t remember seeing the post about how he makes more money than you, but honestly that might be one of the least offensive things he’s said lol.



  • @Kcmatt7 Lol, good times.



  • I really miss @JayHawkFanToo a lot. Always a good debate.

    @kjayhawks was someone I definitely miss.

    @Red_Rooster I REALLY miss. Seemed like such a good human. Hope he’s doing as well as he can be. The automatic upvote just made your day. I don’t know why…

    What happened to @Statmachine? Was the @BShark before @BShark

    @ParisHawk used to be a regular. Always a good post whenever they did.

    @Lulufulu Used to be a regular.

    @MoonwalkMafia had some really really good posts. Great contributor.

    @REHawk used to be a regular. Seemed like a kind person.



  • @Kcmatt7 Are we sure @JayHawkFanToo isn’t here? It looks like he “liked” the post from @drgnslayr within the last day in this thread. Its odd because his profile says he hasn’t been logged on in a few years.

    @Statmachine was definitely the BShark before BShark was here, lol.



  • @RockkChalkk said in Where art thou, Jaybate?:

    @Kcmatt7 Are we sure @JayHawkFanToo isn’t here? It looks like he “liked” the post from @drgnslayr within the last day in this thread. Its odd because his profile says he hasn’t been logged on in a few years.

    @Statmachine was definitely the BShark before BShark was here, lol.

    I do think I still see the random like from @JayHawkFanToo but would love to see them come back and post a bit…



  • I thought @Statmachine was the guy that moved to Texas and bought a ranch. He sent pics of it and all the improvements he was making. He use to be from Maize, we went to the same butcher. Pretty sure it was him, but not positive. @kjayhawks lost his cool, went off on here!



  • @Crimsonorblue22 said in Where art thou, Jaybate?:

    I thought @Statmachine was the guy that moved to Texas and bought a ranch. He sent pics of it and all the improvements he was making. He use to be from Maize, we went to the same butcher. Pretty sure it was him, but not positive. @kjayhawks lost his cool, went off on here!

    Ah. I see he minded his Ps but not his Qs. Didn’t see that last thread before he left until now…



  • @Kcmatt7 So many seemingly reasonable people have gone down such significant rabbit holes. The Ps and Qs comment is VERY well done, btw.



  • I have publishing experience in print.

    It would be a fascinating project to go through the years and pull together some posts from the past. Match it up with the year and team, too. Not sure exactly how to accomplish this… just thinking aloud.

    Since it would entail permissions… I’m guessing it would be necessary to expose the crowd. Of course, that would be half the fun.

    Not sure it would be of interest to anyone outside of our basketball nerdy group. If we could obtain permission to print team photos spliced between our juicy commentary… maybe it would pull in a bigger crowd.

    We could use the proceeds to build a monument on the AFH grounds marking the date we passed Kentucky in all-time wins! hahahahahehehehe

    Heck… I’d like to do this project just to send a few copies to Duke and UK fans I know out east who read their fan sites. I bet they think of us all as farm hicks. So let’s compare our discourse… diatribes and all!



  • @RockkChalkk said in Where art thou, Jaybate?:

    @Kcmatt7 Are we sure @JayHawkFanToo isn’t here? It looks like he “liked” the post from @drgnslayr within the last day in this thread. Its odd because his profile says he hasn’t been logged on in a few years.

    @Statmachine was definitely the BShark before BShark was here, lol.

    He’s here. We talk from time to time.



  • @RockChalkinTexas said in Where art thou, Jaybate?:

    @Crimsonorblue22

    @KUSTEVE …Yeah, that is the one I was thinking of

    I tried to get the same name back, but it wouldn’t let me, so I Jethroed it. Crimson gave me the nickname years ago, so I figured folks would know who I was if I used it.



  • there is definitely something insightful to be gleaned from watching the radicalization of people through their writings over this past decade. In this period of time there have been two major forces consistent for all posters, basketball that generally makes us feel whole and world affairs that make us feel broken. This place has helped us make sense of both and how they reconcile. Which is why jaybate remains so critical. He is the bridge, the embodiment of this place.



  • @approxinfinity

    I agree. Jaybate could take us to a different place. Then he would triangulate the conversation through his lens. We were all fortunate to take that ride with him.



  • Politics ruined this place for many. Period. I enjoy the basketball talk and if we had kept to it I would enjoy the company of all. Even those who love contentious takes are fine, it’s just basketball - doesn’t make a lick of difference beyond entertainment. You can think KU sucks and it doesn’t matter. Politics are different - if you think my way of life sucks you can actually do things to take that away. That’s a real threat and thus has ranging implications.

    The block button is glorious, it has allowed me to return in a limited capacity. Thanks for adding it aprox. Anyone that strays from basketball, particularly those that like to force their covid views on you - Silenced permanently, wahahahaha. I can’t remember who all I blocked, but I do know the reading is much improved.

    Jaybate is dead. The government killed him when the FBI opened an investigation on KU.



  • @dylans said in Where art thou, Jaybate?:

    Politics ruined this place for many. Period. I enjoy the basketball talk and if we had kept to it I would enjoy the company of all. Even those who love contentious takes are fine, it’s just basketball - doesn’t make a lick of difference beyond entertainment. You can think KU sucks and it doesn’t matter. Politics are different - if you think my way of life sucks you can actually do things to take that away. That’s a real threat and thus has ranging implications.

    The block button is glorious, it has allowed me to return in a limited capacity. Thanks for adding it aprox. Anyone that strays from basketball, particularly those that like to force their covid views on you - Silenced permanently, wahahahaha. I can’t remember who all I blocked, but I do know the reading is much improved.

    Jaybate is dead. The government killed him when the FBI opened an investigation on KU.

    You were doing so good up until the last 2 lines.



  • @Jethro broke his spirit if nothing else.



  • @dylans said in Where art thou, Jaybate?:

    @Jethro broke his spirit if nothing else.

    Yeah he was adamant we weren’t “cheating” or playing the shoe game which is uh, interesting given the talent we have had over the years. Didn’t get it due to the good looks of our coaches. 😂



  • Several things I appreciated about Jaybate: First, his snarky and sometimes laugh-out-loud-hilarious takes. As a history buff, I loved his arcane historical references.

    Then there was the whole ShoeCo conspiracy thing. At first I thought it was way overblown. Turns out he was spot on, and maybe understating his case.

    Finally, his most famous quote. “No malice.” Kinda kept us from taking things too seriously.



  • @dylans said in Where art thou, Jaybate?:

    @Jethro broke his spirit if nothing else.

    He was brilliant. But he was more of a novelist than some liked in here, and several folks took exception. Haven’t seen or heard from him since.



  • Jaybate kept me hooked to this group (my 3rd user name now). I drifted away when he left but continued to read off and on. Think we are all looking for more laughter and good times. Two minutes before the NC tip my 5 year old granddaughter had the runs, my 17 year old pug threw up, 7 year old granddaughter kicked over a giant glass of red Gatorade, and then there was the first half….at the buzzer my 11 year old granddaughter and I danced around the room while the younger ones slept. Sports bring people together-best spring break I ever had at 66!


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