I can't believe it's been 25 years. I remember crying that night knowing that UK had lost but also the last time I would listen to Cawood.
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Hard to believe its been 25 years since that game. Still one of the best I have ever seen. This is a good article even by Forde's standards. Anyone around at that time should read it.Kentucky fan since 1971. -
If that game had one profound effect on my life, it forever cemented my fate of being a Kentucky fan for the rest of my life.
I've followed UK for as far back as I remember. I was born in 1979, and I was named after Kyle Macy. The first UK game I vividly remember was the beatdown of UofL in 1986 in Freedom Hall 85-51. I remember the Cedric Jenkins tip-in, but then there is a lot of blank space....UK went on probation, and then I remember the 22-6 season...I remember listening to the Reggie Hanson Senior Night game when we killed Auburn by about 30 and celebrated winning the SEC. I listened to all of that on the radio. Then came the 1991-92 season. That is when I really remember following KY religiously. Never have missed a game since...
Then came the Duke game. So much build-up...UK was a huge underdog. But we had 4 Seniors who refused to play their last game. We had a freak in the Monster Mash who was the best UK player since Rex to help us compete with the Blue Devils....
It was an emotional rollercoaster like I've never been on in Sports...
When that final shot went through the net I experienced an indescribable emotion like I never had felt before or since....
From then on, UK Basketball has held me hostage. It is a huge part of my life, and my family's life.
My 1st Daughter is named Macy
My 2nd Daughter is named Katherine, KAT for short, for Karl Anthony-Towns
My dog is named Rupp
UK Basketball is a huge part of me, and that fact can mostly be traced back to the unbelievably epic Kentucky/Duke game on March 28,1992.Comment
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I'm sure we all remember where we were and what we were doing when Laettner's shot went in.
I actually had the telephone in my hand. I was home alone because a friend who was staying over had gone with my mom to his house to pick up some clothes, so I had the place to myself. When Woods' shot went in, I ran to the phone to call another friend of mine who was a huge Duke fan. I was ready to give him absolute heck. Laettner's shot fell as I was dialing.
I remember being crushed as we all were, but I get much more crushed now when Kentucky loses. People say age brings perspective...well, I played so many sports in high school I couldn't follow UK like I do now. I didn't live and die with the team like I do at this point in my life. Now a shot like that would send me into a funk for a week. As a kid I remember getting over it fairly quickly.Comment
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These guys are nearing 50 years of age, how is that even possible? I read the article yesterday and I have to say it was depressing, which I guess is natural, but my goodness. Even the tenor of the paragraph with Feldhaus is depressing.
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I'm torn about the article.
Very well-written...but it's definitely a downer.
I'm not going to ascribe any motives to Forde or anything. I think he was just trying to tell a story. As we all know, the story hasn't been a happy one for a couple of those guys.
But I agree with you that he seems to be searching for a dark tone. Pelphrey for example: the guy hasn't had a great coaching career...but he's had a long career in basketball. That's success, in my mind. Huge success.
But the way it's written here is like Pelphrey has had every dream shattered, every life goal crippled. The whole piece is drenched in melancholy.Comment
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It casts a depressed tone upon all four members. Like you, I'm not trying to gather pitch forks and march upon Forde's residence...but don't think for a second that he didn't pen the descriptions with purpose.
25 years later, and each member still is an underdog of their own arena. Woods is looking for a new career, Feldhaus lamenting his income, Pelphrey still an assistant despite Pitino's blessings, and Farmer is reduced to assistance from the government and his parents.
As a resident of Eastern Kentucky, it stings especially sharply because in many ways those guys, even Woods as a resident of Indiana, represented the idealistic dream that people from this area actually were able to compete against the best this country had to offer. There was John Pelphrey working like an escaped asylum resident against future All-Stars...and holding his own.
That meant a whole lot to people here, and I think that's why raising their jerseys seemed so appropriate at the time. That team (plus Mash) was the figurative example of success the youth of this state needed so badly.
Forde's article and interview findings are just a little too sobering in many ways, because as Pitino is quoted therein, it's best to talk about the past rather than the present.Comment
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Did manage to find this on youtube:
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^ The infamous (and atrocious) technical foul on Calipari at about 1:08:00 or so.
Added bonus: a shot of a very young John Robic giving an official crap.Comment
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That was a great post about your experience watching that game. That got the essence of being a UK fan.
I watched that game with the sound turned down on the TV and listened to Cawood. It turned out to be his last game. He said with 2.1 seconds left this game isn't over yet. That was all too true. While it was disappointing I felt OK after the game. They had played whale of a game and you knew after that UK was back as a national force.Kentucky fan since 1971.Comment
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There was a defining moment at that time...... and Cawood was all class!!!Comment
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