Passion, Pride, and Kentucky Basketball

[Joneslab]

Pretty much a must-read from Forde.

"The boys partied too much."

[Joneslab]

I've said this before, but I work with the Kentucky Legislature. Most of my job has to do with reading obituaries and writing about people who have passed.

It's incredible how many times I come upon an obituary that mentions the person's love for Kentucky basketball. I've read thousands of such obituaries at this point.

The love is deep and unexplainable.

[BJD]

That's an awesome story. Even if written by Forty cents.

No way a UK fan can keep a dry eye reading that. Hits close to home here.

I also read obits being in the life insurance business. An obit saying that the person was a devoted UK fan is a regular occurrence.

[KCKUKFan]

Great article from Pat Forde. Touching.

I need to go take a shower now.

[BobS]

I never click on a Forde story but glad to hear it wasn't all bad.

[Chaz]

For 27 years, I worked with a man form Owensboro who recorded every Uk game on cassette tape.
At work, he was known as Mr Wildcat for his passion all things UK. Nothing made John happier than listening to
a UK game and relishing in the win. These were the years (60s 70s 80s etc) where very few games were on TV
and more often than not were tape delayed if at all.

[Jeff ROCKober]

I like Forde for a day because of that article. I have run into him plenty of times at the bar or at swim meets. He is actually not a bad guy but I hate reading most of his stuff. His kids are incredible swimmers and his daughter has a full ride to swim at Stanford.

[KevinHall]

I'm glad you posted this Will. I saw it earlier today but just didn't have time to read it then. There are and have been many like her all over Kentucky. It's amazing the passion people have for Kentucky basketball.

I used to keep score a lot back in the 70's and 80's. I guess all of those notebooks of score keeping got thrown after I left home. None showed u p when we cleaned out the homeplace a few years back. I would like to look at those now. I know I had them back to at least the 75 NCAA tournament. Now I record every game on DVD and keep it. Last summer while staying home to help with my wife's recovery from a heart attack I was able to finish dubbing all my VHS tapes of UK games to DVD. I have over 900 games now on DVD and still a few on VHS that I wasn't able to convert. I guess that will be my UK legacy when I die. I hope someone will want them then.

[Uncle Dave]

Amazing article. I have goose bumps. My dear mama used to keep one of those yellow legal pads next to "her" chair in the TV room. EVERY game for as long as I can remember(40-50 years), she'd keep accurate stats. She knew as much about UK's games than just about anyone lol. Being a UK fan is a type of faith and lifestyle. I couldn't begin to imagine not having that in my life. Now, my grandkids in Seattle have all their UK gear and they wear it faithfully for the games, going to school, etc.

[TrueblueCATfan]

this is awesome...highly recommend everyone to read this

[CATHYnKY]

My Mom was the biggest UK fan I know. I was born Blue. I thank her every time I pass the cemetery (which is often). I once witnessed her throwing a TV dinner on the wall of her den while watching a game on a Sunday afternoon. Told her I would come back after the game The BBN is strong and faithful. Has been for generations. Love reading about folks like this. My Mom died in '91 a week after seniors day in Lexington.

[Lighthouse]

Cathy, thinking about how nervous you get watching games. Maybe you should try keeping score and other stats during games like Ms Swindler did. She said it helped calm her, and it might work for you too.

[Joneslab]

Regarding "pride..."

We had a member here once who posted about how crazy it is to be proud of Kentucky basketball.

And it is crazy. But look, all of it is crazy if you think about it. It's crazy to get so emotionally invested in college kids throwing a ball at a hoop. It's crazy to let the outcome of a game played by people you have never met and will likely never meet make your day brighter--or darker. It's crazy to cancel family events so you can watch sports on television.

And yet here we all are.

I think I do become proud of these players. But it's more about my own family, about the time we've invested. When Kentucky wins there's this incredible sense of accomplishment, not because we had any hand in it but because we spent so much time being invested in it.

But if you want to open the Pandora's box and label pride of one's team silly, then that's a box that can lead you right to the point where you dismiss sports completely. This isn't about that, though. Why we watch and the way we watch is so much deeper and so much more important.

[KCKUKFan]

I sit two inches from the television on a stool and scream and curse and pace back and forth during meaningless Tuesday night home games. My dog gets terrified and goes and hides in the closet. My wife either smirks at me, rolls her eyes, or gets angry. During tournament time, this behavior is amplified tenfold.

The rational part of me knows it's silly, meaningless, and ultimately foolish. But that passion for Kentucky sports that runs in my veins makes it so that I'll never be able to not get emotionally attached ever again. Double-negative? Who cares.

And, you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. There's not a single thing in my life that I get so vehemently passionate about, aside from my wife and my soon-to-be-born daughter.

If being a die-hard Kentucky fan makes me crazy, I don't want to be sane.

[GOCAT15]

I sit two inches from the television on a stool and scream and curse and pace back and forth during meaningless Tuesday night home games. My dog gets terrified and goes and hides in the closet. My wife either smirks at me, rolls her eyes, or gets angry. During tournament time, this behavior is amplified tenfold.

The rational part of me knows it's silly, meaningless, and ultimately foolish. But that passion for Kentucky sports that runs in my veins makes it so that I'll never be able to not get emotionally attached ever again. Double-negative? Who cares.

And, you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way. There's not a single thing in my life that I get so vehemently passionate about, aside from my wife and my soon-to-be-born daughter.

If being a die-hard Kentucky fan makes me crazy, I don't want to be sane.

This post is a little scary because I literally felt like I wrote it!

My wife always says "it's just a game, why do you get so worked up?" And she is probably right but I literally get so anxious during games it can't be healthy.