What It's Like to Love Kentucky Basketball.....

The month of March has come and gone, but the madness was unreal this year for the Big Blue Nation. After what many would consider to be a mediocre season, the Wildcats have made an incredible journey through the brackets, taking down K-State, Wichita State, U of L, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Only to find themselves playing in the finals for the hopes of bringing back #9 to the Bluegrass State.

Doing the John Wall on Mike the Tiger 

Loving Kentucky basketball is really something that can't be explained, only experienced. It's screaming at a TV at a bar, calling your family long distance to get through those last 2 agonizing minutes of a thriller, telling other sports fan the stats that make Kentucky the greatest, hating Duke because the 22 year old Laettner wound still feels fresh, seeing old friends and family when you have all shown up from various locals to the Final Four, and proudly wearing your boldest Kentucky shirt with pride.

My journey through the Big Blue Nation, like most Kentucky natives, began at birth. I have lived and breathed through Eddie Sutton, Pitino, Tubby, Billy G, and Coach Cal. I have been to countless games, SEC tournaments, first round action, 2 Final Fours, and even was a witness to Gr8tness in 2012.

2011 Final Four

I will never forget how my heart sank in 1995 when my family left the Bluegrass and landed in the Big Easy. However, I did get the comforts of home when my family would gather in the living room to cheer on our Cats and celebrating the Championships together in 1996 and 1998. Then my fate of leaving the place I still call home brought me to the Final Four in 2011 and 2012.

The Return to Gr8tness

Being a part of the Big Blue Nation means so much more to me than being a member of the greatest fan base in college basketball. It means never being far away from home. No matter if the soles of my feet never touch the soft Kentucky Bluegrass again, I still get the same rush of exhilaration when I watch my boys play. I get a chuckle inside of me when a passerby yells "Go Tigers" when they see my Kentucky sticker and I get a rush in my heart when a fellow Kentucky fan throws some 3 goggles my way in traffic. No matter how far away I am, watching Kentucky play gives me a feeling of joy that I can't explain. But most of all, it means never really being that far away from home.

This journey through the tournament has been an epic one to say the least. Win, lose, or draw, thank you boys for always reminding my why I'm proud to bleed blue.