Scary Good

Tonight is game seven of the World Series.  This is the first time the Series has gone to a game seven in nine years.  Hard to believe, since most of our fantasies about the great game of baseball seem to revolve around that mythical game seven, and for me it is among the greatest spectacles in sports.  One of the definitions of drama is the seventh game of the World Series.  I know most of you can come up with other moments or events that may rival this, the Super Bowl, the National Championships in football and basketball, and of course the Kentucky Derby.  But for me I just like saying GAME SEVEN OF THE WORLD SERIES!

I don't have a heavy rooting interest in this game, in fact I like both teams and their players, but I will not miss this.  This is what makes sports fun.  Baseball is different from most sports in that the players in tonight's game take the field and linger on the game at a slower pace, they have time to think, to fret between pitches, which ultimately lends more pressure to a simmering cooker.  Mistakes will happen, magical moments will as well, and goats and heroes will share this stage.  Nothing can be much better then that.  All of the players, coaches, and fans spent countless hours in their backyards simulating what they are experiencing tonight, and when you stop and think about it, it is downright scary!  But on the other hand it sure is good!

Basketball Madness

We are only a few short weeks away from another college basketball season, and no place anticipates it more then the folks here in the bluegrass.  A record number of people and tents camped out just to get free tickets to the first practice.  Practice is hardly what Big Blue Madness is all about.  It's more about a celebration of basketball, a way to honor a team, a program for so many memorable moments that occured the last time our basketball team took the floor.  It's an outrageous display of affection for young men who put on our colors and carry us into battle.  It's a time to get behind our General and put our faith in his ability to bring more glory to a pride that is already running over.

Madness is not just the first practice, perhaps at other programs, but not at Kentucky.  Madness is a time to honor and respect a thing that will ultametily get us through the bleak winter weather just ahead.  For more than seventy years basketball has kept a light burning for all of us when the promise of spring seems a distant point.  Pride in something done well, year after year, puts us Kentuckians in a rare class of elitist who "get something" that few groups ever experiance.  Many of our critics think of this as arrogance, and perhaps it is.  But most of our critics have never experianced the longevity of excellence that is Kentucky Basketball.

So, you insane fanatics of Big Blue Madness, who camped out for days and will drive for miles to just watch practice, enjoy.  Does it realy matter to you if someone doesn't understand?  When you paint your faces and scream until you throat is sore for practice, and constantily get reminded that basketball is just a game. Remember this, those that don't get it have proably never had anything in their lives to be proud of.