Tradition means the handing down of beliefs, customs, and information from generation to generation. That pretty much defines Kentucky basketball. Generations of fans, including myself, were schooled on the lore of Kentucky basketball, and I, like the generation before me, have passed it on to the next. Rupp Arena is a huge part of that tradition, just as Alumni Gym, and Memorial Coliseum were before it, for those generations.
A controversy is starting over the fact that we need a new basketball palace to replace Rupp, that Rupp is outdated, dingy, and just outlived its time. It seems much of this is due to the fact that Louisville has built a brand spanking new venue that does make Rupp pale in comparison. The Yum Center, don't you just love the name, has suites, many different kinds of bars, restaurants, game rooms, and so on and so forth. The one thing it doesn't have yet is personality, the kind of atmosphere that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck, when you walk in. Freedom Hall had history, personality, yes, tradition. This is not to say that the Yum Center, might one day, have tons of tradition, just as you might say if we built a new arena for Kentucky basketball, might not have the same goose bump atmosphere as Rupp, but one thing is for sure, at this moment, Rupp has it right now!
This generation seems ready and willing to cast off anything that's not shinny and pretty, just to satisfy the microwave mentality that is prevalent in society. What would be wrong with remodeling the old arena, making some changes, that allows it to move into the esthetics's, that it takes to impress the next keepers of the flame that is Kentucky basketball. Tradition is not always served by change for the sake of change, or just because your neighbor has something that you don't have. Tradition is having something that very few have, if any.
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