GAMETHREAD! Kentucky at Florida

What was life like the last time Kentucky beat the University of Florida in football? Was it simpler? Was the Internet even a thing? Were children more polite to their elders? Were teenagers less angsty? Were politics less contentious? Did it still take three licks to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop? I can't answer all of those questions, but can provide you some context to what Kentucky fans experienced that year:

Life for the average American in 1986:

• The average price for a gallon of gas was $.89
• A stamp cost $.22
• Fox News was brand spanking new
• The first federal holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. was observed in the U.S.
• Prince Andrew of the British House of Windsor married Sarah Ferguson
• Geraldo Rivera opened Al Capone's vault, to discover exactly one bottle of moonshine, a whole lot of dust, and the punchline of way too many jokes
• The world's worst nuclear accident in history occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Ukraine
• The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded in flight, killing on board including civilian teacher Christa McAuliffe.
• Robert Palmer, with the help of some seriously intense models, made us all "Addicted to Love"
• Oh, and Kentucky won its last football game EVER over Florida.

Will this year be the year the streak finally FINALLY ends? I mean, we’ve come close a few times. The closest and most painful was hands down the 2014 Triple OT loss, but last year stung too. I know many of the Big Blue Nation have already written off this team after last week, and to be frank, if this game goes down in flames, I suspect the fans will more or less be done with UK Football for the year.

But what if they’re wrong? What if this is FINALLY the year? Would it not be the most Kentucky thing ever for the Cats to come out and win this game after a horrific second half last week? Call me a glass half-full kinda gal, but I woke up this morning feeling excited for UK Football. I hope you are as well.

For those not convinced, I encourage you to read Max Godby’s “Open Letter to the Big Blue Nation” to get perspective on how our support affects the young men who chose to wear Kentucky across their chests. And then I hope you’ll join us here at ASoB to cheer our Cats on to victory as they try and kill this streak that has been an albatross on the program’s neck for far, far too long.

Until 3:30 Central, Cat fans...Go Big Blue!!!!