Mr. Wildcat WAS in attendance – no doubt….

I am making the pilgrimage to Lexington tomorrow so i can take my 3 kids to Rupp on Wednesday…and giving my wife around 40 hours of peace and quiet at home!

but those last 3 paragraphs (I’m not counting that last line) simply read like poetry…and you threw in an Indiana Jones quote!

Just based on that, I wish I could rec it more than the once I’m allowed!

That’s so funny. The Lakers are my NBA team, and I totally think you are correct in your above statement, Tru. Not many could have touched us with the way we played tonight, and even though I do like the Lakers, our boys-in-blue are a whole hell of lot more exciting to watch and I love them. : )

I said this in the open thread, as well, but really, we looked absolutely fierce tonight. I think this was a great win tonight for the history portion of the program, it was a great win for the team as they played great, and as Tru mentioned, they just seem to improve every game. Whatever will we look like in March? It’s so exciting to think about and be hopeful about and dream about. This team definitely leaves me with a good feeling after every game, but in the back of my mind I know we are capable of greatness and they definitely leave me wanting more, too (more as in, watching more of them : )). This is such a great year so far. A really great year.

My jaw fell to floor watching Liggins out there. He was ferocious. I love it!

Good times, good times!

saying, you told us it would take longer than it has for this team to come together. If this team continues to improve on defense, and I think they will, this could be a season to remember. They are certainly fun to watch now.

Thata was SO much fun!! The atmosphere was AMAZING and it was a big celebration afterward. Good times….good times.

The crowd went absolutely nuts when the team insisted Pat take the mic. I was SO proud of our team, our program, and our history. I am truely happy to have been on hand to witness this historic event.

GO CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UK2K!!!!!!!!!!

one doing the math and trying to figure out how old I’d be when we hit 3000? If we could play every game with this team, I’d feel pretty good about my chances!!

The game was almost flawless and we see continued improvement in almost every aspect. Could we ask for a better team and coach to represent UK and BLOW through 2000?

I wanted to take in every second so I didn’t even post during the game. Maybe a 53 yr old shouldn’t show his emotions but I couldn’t help but shed a tear thinking about loved ones who are gone and taught me to LOVE this school. About games shared along with the highs and lows of this program. About talking to complete strangers anywhere in America just because you had UK on your shirt.

We all whine about the game being on the U or CSS or whatever that was Saturday but how many of us have sat in our car in the middle of nowhere trying to catch Cawood’s voice as we turned the dial?

How many of us have a certain chair, a certain shirt, a certain hat (ABC!!) that we must have when UK’s playing. How many have listened to Billy from Munfordsville ask a question to a coach and then say, “I’ll hang up and listen to your answer”? How many have planned anything from weddings to funerals around a UK game? How many have attended church services where the ushers were relaying the score to the preacher who would update the congregation?

I have a 14 year old still at home who doesn’t “get it” yet. He thinks Dad’s love of UK is a little wierd. Thankfully his older brother and sister did finally “get it” and both were in NY to see the UCONN game. He doesn’t realize it yet but when UK wins 3000…..he might just tear up thinking about Dad.

in the movie Rudy when he said “My eyes have seen the glory”. It was a great moment. I love it. I had tears streaming down my eyes. Very emotional.

What a wonderfully historic day…
And I’m with UKlvrJM here. This is a day that I would have loved to have shared with some souls now in Big Blue Heaven, or wherever the old Wildcats go…………. God Bless, Happy Holidays, Go Big Blue.

anyone else think John Wall was pissed after the game? He was nowhere near the center stage with the celebration nor the commenting, it was pretty much Boogie, Patterson, Dodson and a few others.

but I’m thinking that if I buy Final Four tickets, I’ll have a pretty good chance of seeing the Cats in Indy…. tonight was absolutely ridiculous. I was in Rupp and strangely enough the game was kind of boring, because we just outmatched them THAT much. I can’t wait to see this talent, skill, will, and heart beat teams that make the games close. I’ll be at the UF game in Gainesville on the 12th and believe me, my screaming will help us pull that one out too! Go Cats!!!

I wonder would any other school have made such a spectacle had they been the first to this milestone? My guess is yes they would just not admit it since they were not!

Loved the game. Loved the commentary by the announcer who defended Cal. Loved seeing all the allums. Love warching Big Cuz and the Freshmen. Loved watching Liggins provide signifigant minutes. Loved the flashbacks during the broadcast but where was the love for the 1998 Cats? Why must we endure the one duke game and not see “The Comeback”?

and was going to go on and on about the history of this program and how much we deserved this and how proud and excited I was. Then when it happened, I was speechless. I will say this much though. I think there were 2 games played last night. We saw the one here. We saw streamers, and confetti, John Wall behind-the-back layups, monster PPat dunks, defense so intense the court seemed to catch on fire, fans cheering, celebrities smiling, and non-stop pandamonium. And it was amazing.

The second game was a little quieter, and was played after the first, and we didnt get to see it. There was a man in a brown suit strolling the sidelines with a kid named Keightley sitting beside him on the bench. A guy in suspenders and reading glasses sat behind a large microphone and called out the action as guys like Casey, Beard,Barker, Groza, Rollins,Hayden, and Carey played up and down the court. In the stands were celebrities and big time famous sports fans, and then there were the others. Most of them were unnoticable in the sea of blue t-shirts, polos, sweatshirts and jackets, my grandfather was there with his daughter and the rest of his family all dressed in blue. There were others too. Grandfathers and fathers, and mothers and sisters and friends and cousins all watching the action like it was their first time at a game. The crowd is lined up for miles to get in, but no one complains. They have nothing else to do there in Big Blue Heaven but talk amongst themselves about the game in ‘49 when this player did this, and the game in ’55 when that player did that. They all remember every win, but cannot seem to remember any of the losses. Every shot is uncontested in the game, and no one ever misses, prompting the man in the brown suit to ask, "Don’t they play any defense up here?".

 They all stopped just briefly for the first game today, because that was a special one. You see, they have only stopped play here 7 times before. All for big-time celebrations. There have been other coaches patrolling the sidelines like Buchheit and Mauer in the earlier years, but they get to just sit and watch now and enjoy. And one bright light shines over it all and seems to smile as if He is pleased with it all.
Big Blue Heaven…..I cant wait to go.

It was a big party in Lexington last night! Just before I left the office I poked onto Facebook to update my status and noticed that a good friend of mine from undergrad was headed to the game with his wife.

We got to the game and I snagged some programs just before they sold out. Then we went to our seats, which were in the upper level. Rupp Arena was built at a time when America was skinnier, so I literally had room for one ass cheek and the other was in the aisle. At half time, I texted my friend and found out they were in the lower level just behind the E-Rupp-tion Zone and that there were two empty seats right next to them! So we moved down and sat with them.

The clock ticked out with the ball in senior Perry Stevenson’s hands (played for Tubby, Billy G, and Cal) and the party was on. With the amount of confetti in the air, you’d think we just won the national title. First Cal spoke, then Adolph Rupp’s son spoke, Joe B Hall spoke, and Patrick Patterson spoke. A memorable night that was just a whole lot of fun.

Now I need to hunt down one of those UK2K shirts!

I now live in Houston, TX, and my family has moved away from Lexington to Flemingsburg. Thankfully, we were able to get tickets to last night’s game. I couldn’t have asked for a better game for quite possibly my only UK game of the year.

The crowd was excellent. I’ll never forget being able to be part of such a momentous occasion.

Ahhhh C!!! A!!! T!!! S!!! CATS!!!! CATS!!!!!! CATS!!!!!!!!!!

Who made the Y at halftime? And is Eric Bledsoe’s ankle worst than we think? He looked in pain last night.

I thought that we have hit 31 FT in a row. Two games in a row without a miss?

Did Ramon actually miss 2 shots from the stripe?

My older daughter went regularly to Rupp when she was in pre-school, but she didn’t remember going to the games since we moved to Georgia when she was still very young. At one game, one of the cheerleaders who was a friend of the family came up to get her to be the Y in her little cheerleader uniform. SHE WAS IN THE BATHROOM (I still cry myself to sleep about that occasionally). My younger daughter, a Georgia Tech graduate and a huge college basketball fan had never been to Rupp. I have told them numerous times about the darkened arena, indoor fireworks, and the general craziness that is UK basketball. They were in Louisville visiting their grandparents and my brother-in-law was kind enough to give them his tickets. About a month ago, I apologized to them because they would be there for a Monday night game four days before Christmas and it would probably be one of the two smallest and quietest crowds of the year. I hadn’t done the math. After the Indiana game I told them they could be there for a historic game. They went on to beat Austin Peay and the rest, as they say is history. My younger daughter may never admit it, but I think in her heart she knows that what she considered to be big time basketball at Georgia Tech is not even in the same catagory. This is not intended to be a slam on Georgia Tech, but rather a compliment to the biggest, best program in college basketball.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/645/kentucky-basketball-great-program-or-the-greatest-program

there is even the slightest chance Wall and Cousins stay for more than this year? Do you think the recruits UK are after are waiting to see if this happens before committing? Thoughts?

He has adapted his normal offense(DDMO) to take advantage of his big post players.

Honestly, I think there is more of a 30% chance he will stick around. Is he awesome to watch? Oh my goodness, yes!! However, he could really develop a great deal as a player under Calapari. He is amazing, but he still makes some control mistakes that sticking around for at least a second year of college would really help him to nail down. If he would go as a #1 pick this year, chances are he’d be #1 whenever he went to the draft! From all reports, he is taking his education very seriously, and he’s really working at the practices. These are all things that tell me he wants to learn. If he takes the time to learn now, he’ll get more playing time and more money when he finally goes up to the pros!!

good point on the presence of another big man impacting his decision.

By the way, did you hear Meeks might be headed to the D league. He’ll make it back, I think — but darn.

Now that I think about it, is his NBA money guaranteed if that happens?