Bittersweet

I lived in the L.V. for thirteen years. During those thirteen years I became a fan of the University of Kentucky Wildcats. It's just something that you can't help but avoid. You bleed blue during basketball season, you watch every game at home or at a local sports bar. You cheer for the players, you curse the coach for not living up to the expectation of the fans...you wear your blue & white to show your support, and you take each win and loss personally. But in the thirteen years of my residence, I never believed that the fledgeling football team could pull out a true and monumental win, like the win NB-C would pray for every year against Tennessee. I never thought they'd beat those thugs from UofL...And until Saturday, they hadn't...in a very, very long time.

Oh sure, being a Lexingtonian means you do fun things like tailgaiting the UK football games. There was nothing I used to like better than spending a Saturday during football season with my closest pals, drinking beer, cooking hot dogs, and setting up shop out of the back of a RAV-4, pick-up truck, or Suburban in the middle of the Blue Lot on game day. It was fun. Sometimes we even went into the game, you know to watch instead of relying on 98.1 The Bull to tell us the play by plays, or hearing that famed "FIRST DOWN KENTUCKY!" over the stadium PA system. We relished the fireworks that would come with the occasional touchdown, and most of the time we savored the success of the day as being ours - even if a "W" didn't come at the end.

I loved this ritual. I cherished those days. That was the good stuff.

We went to Nashville in January for The Music City bowl and that was like the creme de la creme of all supreme UK tailgaiting/fanfare. It was Blue & White heaven. A warm and perfect January day. One of the best and most memorable days of my life, one that was not only savored for the kinship and enjoyment of the day, but one where we got our "W" - and we cheered for our Victory!

And now, the other Wildcats are becoming THE WILDCATS. They are ranked 21 (THEY ARE RANKED!!!!!) for the first time since 1985! NINETEEN EIGHTY FIVE. That was the year my sister was born. That's 22 years. That's before cell phones and quite possibly microwaves. That's when shoulder pads were big and so were flourescent colors. I was eight. Madonna was just making her mark and Michael Jackson wasn't a freak. Needless to say, it was a long time ago...

There hasn't been a time in the last four months that I have wanted to be in LEX more. I miss this. I miss being a part of this and the excitement and buzz that is sure to be prevelant throughout my favorite little city. I miss football and the pomp and circumstance. I miss hearing the cheers from the stadium from the parking lot below, or the Hobbit House not far from it. This is one of those things that makes LEX great. What makes you miss it. What made (makes) it special. Maybe Rich Brooks isn't such an asshat afterall. Maybe he just might know what he's doing. Maybe we will finally get a win against Tennessee this year. Or even have a comeback victory against LSU. Suddenly, it seems anything is possible this season. I only wish I were there to experience it.

Good for you, UK. Good for you.