| 31 March 2010
For any of you who may be reading this, there’s probably a pretty good possibility that you know on Saturday night, I wrote an article titled, “Kentucky’s Elite Eight Loss: A Season To Remember, Even In Defeat.” Chances are pretty good you’re either a regular reader of mine, or more than likely were referenced here by another Kentucky fan or message board. Thank you for coming back.The reason that I wrote that article on Saturday night was simple. As I stated at the time, I’m not a Kentucky fan, and have no affiliation with the school. But after my UConn Huskies played Kentucky in Madison Square Garden in December, I was fortunate enough to get in touch, and stay in touch with a handful of Kentucky fans.
Over the course of the season, those fans were nice enough to take me under their wing, and share “the ride,” with me, as their Wildcats went through an unbelievable season. They sent me links, funny videos and player news, as if I were a long lost cost cousin, and they were updating me on their own children. They didn’t do this because I asked them to, but because they’re some of the most incredibly gracious people I’ve ever been fortunate enough to be in contact with. And there’s no doubt they love their basketball team too.
When I sat down to write that article on Saturday night, it was for those fans, who had made feel like part of the “Kentucky family,” all season long. To try and ease their pain and put everything in perspective. I’m a sports fan who has been through tough defeats like everyone else (Including George Mason over UConn in 2006, which still makes me sick to my stomach). I figured I owed it to the friends I’d made in Kentucky, after everything they’d done for me all season. If I could make things just a little better for the handful of people who’d been so nice to me, it would be the least I could do. And truthfully, I never imagined it’d turn into anything more than that.
Well it did. Since posting that article on Saturday night, it has quickly become the most well received thing I’ve ever written. And for that, I will forever be grateful.
I’ve received hundreds of e-mails, messages and comments on my site, to the point that I feel terrible that I can’t personally respond to all of them (And if you were nice enough to send me an e-mail and I haven’t responded, please don’t take things personally. I’m sorry that I haven’t gotten back to all of you. What can I say, I’m a slow typer!)
The e-mails have ranged in length from a few words, to 1000 word manifestos. They’ve ranged from a quick “good work,” to the offer of beer the next time I’m in town.
But most of all, the people of Kentucky and beyond have just wanted to thank me. For shedding a positive light on their program, when so many in the national media were instead negative, throughout this historic season.
Yet despite all the thanks from Kentucky, a lot of my friends locally still didn’t understand. After posting the article, I received a handful of texts and e-mails asking me, “Aaron, why are you writing about Kentucky? Why not Butler? Or Michigan State?”
As hard as I’ve tried to explain to them, I just can’t. I can’t explain to anyone who isn’t from Kentucky how much this basketball team, means to the people of that state, and the transplants beyond their borders. I can’t explain that this isn’t Butler, with 4,000 undergrads, or West Virginia, a place that cherishes their basketball team, but is a football school at heart.
This is Kentucky, where basketball is a statewide birthright. If you’re born into Big Blue nation, it doesn’t leave you, even if you move to Seattle, New Mexico or Hawaii, three places that I’ve received e-mails from these last few days.
Truthfully, I’m still trying to fully understand and appreciate it myself.
And it’s because of that, I’ve decided to do something different. Rather than try to explain to those who might not understand in my own words, I’m turning it over to the people of Kentucky to explain it themselves.
Everything you are about to read below, are actual comments or e-mails that I’ve received since late Saturday night. They’re hardly every single one, but just a sample, of what great and passionate fans Kentucky has.
Before I publish them, I want to make one thing clear: Doing this is my way of showing appreciation to the people of Kentucky for the gratitude and generosity they’ve displayed to me, and not to promote or congratulate myself in any way. This piece is to thank everyone, for their outpouring of support. Honestly, even five days after publishing the article, I am still overwhelmed by all the kind words that have come my way. So thank you.
And I hope that in the process, it will take away a lot of the national negativity surrounding the program, and shed light on the fact that Kentucky basketball is a first class organization, with a group of fans that are as passionate, yet kind as you’ll meet anywhere.
My only regret, is that I couldn’t post everything I’ve received.
Aaron Torres
(And by the way, if you haven't read this article yet, on the "P.F. Chang's Birthday Surprise," Do so. Thank you to reader Billie H for forwarding it along to me)
Here are the Letters:
I wanted to thank you for the article you wrote about Kentucky yesterday. There aren't too many people outside of Kentucky fans that really understand 1) our passion 2) how much this specific team means to us and our state. I have been fortunate enough to go to lots of great games this year (UNC, the game against your Huskies (which was incredible), senior night against Florida, the SEC tournament in Nashville, and New Orleans for the NCAA opening rounds). This is as much fun being a kentucky fan as I have ever had (although I was only 13 when we last won a championship). This season was incredible. The thing is that once you get to the tournament, any given team can win on any given day. Yesterday just wasn't our day.
Anyways, thank you for trying to understand the big blue nation. To us, it isn't just basketball. It represents everything about our state. Kentuckians are proud of our state and it is epitomized in our team. We even sing our state song (my old Kentucky home) after every game.
I live in Washington DC and once gave a DC friend a Kentucky shirt as a gift. I told her, if you wear this, someone WILL stop you and ask you about it. That same day, she was flying through Miami and called me to tell me she had just been approached by a fellow Kentucky fan in the airport. Seeing the blue and white means you have an instant friend and someone who understands where you come from. Someone you can literally talk to for hours (probably about basketball ;) ). Someone who probably knows someone in your extended family. Someone who knows that Jack Daniels is not bourbon no matter how bartenders describe it. Someone who knows the correct pronunciation of Louisville. And someone who knows that the sun shines a little bit brighter in Kentucky. You get all that from a tshirt. No explanation needed.
Thank you for not following the negative perceptions of cousins in the media. He is one of the funniest/goofiest players we've ever had and I for one do not think he has an attitude problem. As my 77 year old grandmother says "they need to stop pickin on my boy." (BTW after the SEC championship game she called me to tell me she was so proud of cousins that she just wanted to hug him).
Anyways, I could go on about this for pages but I'll spare you. Thank you for a great article.
Melissa M.
Aaron: As a UK fan, I just wanted to thank you for your recent article on the Cats and their season. It sounds like you have come to "know" a few of the Wildcat faithful this year, and we can be a crazy bunch -- but we love our team, and we feel as if the boys on the team are part of our family.
I especially appreciated your take on these kids and Coach Cal. It was so tiresome to watch much of the media label DeMarcus Cousins as a "thug" when we saw the other side of him -- a big fun-loving kid (and, as you note, they ARE kids) who loved to play tricks on the media; who calls Mrs. Calipari "Mom," and who, in one hilarious video, made a baby laugh by making funny faces and noises at him. It was particularly upsetting to hear one member of the media say that John Wall was "disinterested" and had "one foot in the NBA." Anyone who watched that kid (that word again) play knew that he gave everything he had on the court. They also forgot that Wall had a 3.4 GPA in his first semester -- and they didn't know that, before his dad passed (when John was 9), he promised him that he would go to college. Of course, Coach Cal has taken the brunt of the nasty stories. I can understand why people say the things that they do about Cal -- but he has been a fine ambassador for the UK program. His "Hoops for Haiti" idea, and the subsequent phone call that the team received from the President, made us all proud to be Cats fans again.
Michele W.
Words cannot express the emptiness I feel after this loss. We, as fans, got much more from this fine group of young men than we ever expected. I've never had the good fortune of meeting any of these players but I didn't miss a minute of any of their games, except for Saturday when I had to walk away for a moment. I'm depressed and feel selfish because I know I'm not the one hurting the most. The players, coaches, and their families have invested the most and I want to thank ALL of them for sharing this truly magicial season. Aaron, thank you for noticing and appreciating the magic of this season. We have all been blessed and I wish everyone a speedy recovery. If any of the players read this I want them to know that they are loved and appreciated as human beings and lifelong members of the Big Blue Nation.
Monte
Excellent, excellent piece. You came about as close as someone who hasn't been a Big Blue Fan their entire life could come to nailing just what our basketball teams mean to us here in Kentucky.
I have been watching since Dan Issel, watched a lot of fuzzy, snowy TV screens down through the years before Cable came along and big TV contracts began to bring our Cats to us on a more secure, regular basis. I've climbed up on the roof many times to turn the antenna toward Ch 3 WAVE out of Louisville to hopefully get to see the picture fade in and out as the signal came and went, all for my Wildcats (on a delayed basis, mind you), and remember much of the basketball season comes during the winter months. It gets cold and slick up on the roof in January and December, February and March. I say all of this to let you know that it takes a special insight to fully understand the Big Blue Nation, and its dedication to "our" team. Thanks for taking the time to gain that perspective and insight.
David B.
Luckily I get to talk with folks close to and within the program at UK. To add to your outstanding piece, I would add this:
All of the players who are being assumed to leave for the NBA want, WANT, to come back. But they will not, and it breaks their hearts. Many tears were shed in the UK locker room Saturday night, and not only because of the embarrassing loss.
They love each other, these players. They don't want it to end. Demarcus has grown, not physically, but mentally, in a quantum leap. He is, by a recent poll, the most loved Wildcat. I know factually that he wants to return. But he won't. Cal will encourage him to go.
Bledsoe had never cried after a game. He did unashamedly Saturday night. He doesn't want to go, and he may not. But his family situation may dictate that he goes, even in the second round.
John Wall doesn't want it to end either. But for sure he's gone.
These guys, on Saturday, lost their confidence, as you pointed out. But credit must be given to Hugs and the Neers for taking it away from them.
Great article. Mega kudos.
Anonymous
Thanks for your story...it IS true what you said about this team and it's fans. After every loss over the years (some bigger than others) I would be mad for a couple of days or weeks and not sleep too well...but this team WAS different. I was not mad. I was profoundly sad.
This team grew to love us fans and appreciate what their skills ON and generosity OFF the court did for us as a UK family. We were PROUD to be back on top. Proud that our boys would battle for a title. I still am. I love this team and what it stood for. From "Hoops for Haiti" to the "PF Change Birthday Surprise" to all the countless autographs signed by the players to fans thankful to be in their presence. I wanted this for the fans, sure...another banner in Rupp would have been great. But I wanted it for the kids too, they sacrificed and laid it all out on the floor. One thing I want everyone to know is that sure they came to UK for Cal and the hopes of playing in the NBA but left KENTUCKY WILDCATS...and that is soooo cool.
Tim L
I have been blessed with Kentucky Basketball for the last 50 years. Our loss last Saturday against WV was as difficult a loss as Rupp Runts against Texas Western, Skywalker against St Johns and the Unforgettables against Lettner's 10 for 10 - 10 for 10 and 10 rebounds.
It feels good to hurt again after a loss because it means great basketball is back in the Bluegrass. Under Tubby and Gillespie we got too use to loosing. Hopefully Coach Cal will get the credit he deserves for leading and developing young men through a basketball game with positives and a will to win.
PS, I'm with Tim. Still cannot sleep
Brian A
Today i woke up feeling as if my girl friend had just broke up with me. I was a hardcore fan before this team, but this team had a part of my heart. Cal brought us out of the dark age we all cant forget that, but i know with me and with every other fan we wanted it all. And your right these are just kids younger then my little brother so at the end of the day we got to say thanks boys for one hell of a season, a season where i wrote go BIG BLUE more that ever before, a season where i didnt miss a single game on tv bc you boys were so captivating. Best of luck in your futures men.
ps 1 MORE YEAR haha
Jordan
Thank you for this article. It has been an amazing ride, and the loss was heartbreaking. I am sad, but more because that is the last time we will see this team play together. Although we didn't obtain our goal, I couldn't be more proud of a team. They have truly brought joy to my life at time when there was little to be joyful about. Thank You for enjoying this season with all of the BBN.
Kelly D
Great read. For a 34 year follower of Kentucky basketball, you have certainly captured the heartfelt love we have for the CATS. I had the pleasure of seeing this team play in person 22 times this year and was fortunate to follow them to Nashville for the SEC tournament, then to New Orleans, and finally to Syracuse.
What intrigued me about this team was how much fun they were to watch (a breath of fresh air from the past 5 years). From Wall to Cousins and Patterson, we were very talented, but had some deficiencies in 3 point shooting, free throw inconsistency, and too many turnovers. Coach Cal did a masterful job taking the leftovers from Billy Gillespie's last team and melding them with the incoming superstars to produce an unselfish "team" with one goal in mind.
While Saturday was disappointing, the fun that this team brought to "The Big Blue Nation" will never be forgotten.
Steve
Hey,
Thanks for the story you wrote on Kentucky's season.
I would like to add that even if the season ended with a national championship, there would still be sadness for most of us. And it is for the reasons you mentioned. This team and this year brought back a spark that we'd been missing, the "characters" in this drama were easy to like, easy to hate, and easy to watch play ball. Like watching the last season of your favorite TV drama, you just don't want it to end, and even if it ends well, you're sad it's over. Cal might win a National Championship at Kentucky, but this elite 8 team will be one we remember. Teams like this don't happen often.
Again, thanks. You get it.
Jason B., Wyoming
I was born and raised in eastern Kentucky. It's very difficult, maybe even impossible, to adequately describe with words the fanaticism that is the Kentucky fan base. I attended Purdue University, but I was born a Kentucky fan. I pull for Purdue, but Kentucky games, even though I'm now 48 years old, are still a borderline life vs death experience. I'm only slightly exaggerating with that statement. My brain knows full well that it's just a game played by youngsters, and that relative to most things in this world, Kentucky winning or losing a basketball game has no significance. That's my brain talking, but my DNA has a completely different take. I'm ruled by my DNA. For the past three mornings, my first thought as I awakened was of the loss to West Virginia. Yes, I know that's crazy, especially considering that I didn't think this team would go all the way in the first place.
I would estimate that as much as 70% of the state's population are "born Kentucky fans." Most Kentuckians care about the Kentucky basketball team, from the very young to the very old, from the east end of the state to the west end. The great majority have never set foot on campus and have never attended a game in person, but still embrace the team like close family. I think I was a teenager before I learned that Kentucky was a university, not just a basketball team. ;-)
I've lived in Southern California since 1984. I've seen a lot of teams in person and I have been to a lot of big games . . . Lakers, Clippers, Raiders, Rams, Angels, Dodgers, USC, UCLA, etc. None of these fan bases that I've walked amongst remotely approach the loyalty and fanaticism of Kentucky fans. Calipari has more fans that remain in Rupp Arena to see his post game radio show than Long Beach State ever gets to show up for one of their games. I was at the Hartford game on 12/29 and about 5,000 fans stuck around for 40 minutes or so just to see Cal's post game show at half court. I think even Cal is amazed. 24,000+ fans showed up for their first practice. A record crowd of 22,144 showed up for ESPN Game Day on 2/13 at 8 in the morning. There were three or four hundred fans at the Lexington airport when the team arrived at 1:30AM on Sunday morning, following the loss to WVU. These people were born fans.
There's much to do here in the greater Los Angeles area, almost infinite distractions, but I NEVER miss a Kentucky basketball game. I've scheduled flights around games. Like I said, tough to describe the Kentucky fan base with words, but that's my shot at it. My words are woefully inadequate.
Brent
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