The news is out, and my American audience has surely heard. Now, in cultural backwaters like the UK (I kid!), you mightn't have heard that my UK, the University of Kentucky, won the national championship in basketball Monday.
Kentucky is roundly hated in the basketball world. It's one of those teams that you grow up with and love, or else they are mortal enemies of whatever team you root for. Would Manchester United be an apt comparison? Notre Dame football seems similar as well. The school motto should be, "Don't hate me just because I'm beautiful," words that roll off my own painted lips often.
The contempt of their peers is, in a way, respect. Who hates bunny rabbits? Well, we don't really respect them, either. I was born here, and got two degrees from Kentucky, so last night warms the cockles of my heart, right down to the bone, the cold, cold bone of my Kentucky heart. (I never studied anatomy.)
When UK won the semifinal game Saturday, the whole campus area erupted in riots. Cars were flipped, couches were burned in the streets. Multitudes were arrested. Imagine if we had lost! Monday night, the celebration was enormous, but the police were better prepared, and the school warned that there would be academic consequences to any student misbehavior. The riot was much more subdued, a riot tempered by respect for one's fellow fan. A nice riot.
Tuesday will be a day of parades and people skipping work. Not me, mind you. I am far too mature to be taken in by Wildcat Fever. Wildcat Rash, maybe. Mostly, I will sit back and observe others, as I have done all my life, and scratch every now and then.
Musings: It's All About Community
5 hours ago
This sounds like a good result. Indeed, I might be pushed as far as saying "reeee-sult" in a poor approximation of a rapper, if such things are allowed.
ReplyDeleteI can respect basketball as a sport, religion(?), in a way that I can't football (soccer) - though the latter is more obviously based on worship and religious fervour. Like Stonehenge.
Congrats to your UK!
Is that the game where you have to be extraordinarily tall to play and have to wear long baggy shorts and shoes squeak a lot on the floor?
ReplyDeleteOh, there are sometimes you need to be immature. I was one of the idiots that ventured out after the game. It really was unbelievable, I hadn't seen that many people in one place before and everyone was just having so much fun, I got a couple of high fives in there to. On the other hand, I was a little nervous with the line of 15 or 20 riot police behind me and the line of 40 sort of rowdy folks in font of me, but they settled down a bit a few minutes later. Couldn't get off campus though until about 3:00 am because of all the road blocks. Lexington PD did do a great job.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, ladies!
ReplyDeleteJoanna, I'm sure Rikki can vouch for the idea that in Kentucky, basketball is a religion. I might go as far as to call it a cult of personality.
Caroline, your sports knowledge is encyclopedic.
I may have overstated the placidness of our riots. There were many, many arrests, couches burned, and a car flipped. There was also an argument that became a shooting. The victim will survive, but there are reports that he had his foot amputated. We aren't soccer hooligans, but we do try.
I saw this and thought of your post: http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/399162_3055042334537_1217681417_46645287_511008726_n.jpg
ReplyDeleteAs for the shooting in a riot, that's less placid.