The day that I was approved to work as media at the University of Kentucky was one of the best day’s of my life and a dream that I never even realized I had, came true. I never planned on having my current job as a sportswriter following around the Cats but if you ask anyone that knows me, they will say, “he’s where he wants to be.”
I am so blessed to have the best job and one doing what I love to be around, which is UK Athletics. However, sometimes I miss having the opportunity to sit and watch the game with the person who introduced me to the Cats, my father. I would have never fallen in love with Kentucky if my dad hadn’t introduced me to them in 1996.
See, it was my dad that told me to stop crying after UMass, who was coached by John Calipari at the time, beat Kentucky in the second game of the 1996 season. After all, it was only my second game as a fan but what bothered him, had to bother me.
Every time I walk across the court at Rupp Arena or ask a UK coach a question, I still get that starstruck feeling of where I am. As a boy who pretended to be his favorite UK players in the backyard, it means something to have the opportunities I’ve been blessed with. It means, even more, when I know that my dad is watching or has read my latest column that I stay over two hours after each game to write.
Ever since being approved, I have met and gained lifelong friendships with some of the best people. Guys like Kyle Tucker and Larry Vaught, two writers that I looked to for UK news for years, are now guys that I look to for advice and they have gone above and beyond to make me feel welcome. Not just those two but everyone that I have encountered along this journey that has quickly transformed into my lifestyle, one that I will never complain about.
In a short amount of time, I have experienced sandstorm at South Carolina, suffered the heartbreak of watching the Cats fall short against Florida, again, felt the ringing in my ears from the cowbells at Mississippi State, and gotten chills as I stood on the field at Sanford Stadium in Georgia. Yet, nothing made feel the way Thompson-Boling Arena did last Saturday night.
As I stood on the court watching the UK players warm up prior to the game vs. Tennessee, I looked up to section 321. See, that is where I watched the Cats in person for the first time and I remember it like it was yesterday.
In January 1997, my father took me to Knoxville to watch the Wildcats, who were coached by Rick Pitino at the time. Growing up in southeastern Kentucky, I will forever consider Tennessee to be the bad guys. Dad surprised me with tickets to that game in ’97 and even though it was a 9 o’clock game on a Tuesday night, I still somehow made it to school on time the next morning.
Dad and I sat there and cheered as Rick Pitino coached his final game in Knoxville as coach of the Kentucky Wildcats. Kentucky emerged victorious on that cold Tuesday night and ever since that night, my life has been consumed with not only Kentucky basketball but all UK sports.
So, as I sit here gathering notes for the Wildcats upcoming matchup with Vanderbilt in Nashville, all I can think about is how lucky I am to not only love Kentucky basketball but to share that experience with my dad. As hundreds of people now read my daily articles and columns, I would still be thrilled if I received only one view, as long as that view came from dad.
I’m sure everyone remembers that day or the moment they knew they were hooked to Kentucky basketball or football for life and I’m sure some have similar stories. If you have time and can remember that exact moment you realized you would bleed blue for life, share it in the comments section below and as always, thank you for reading.
