This weekend I had the awesome chance to travel to Lexington, KY and see the Kentucky Wildcats in action at the legendary Rupp Arena. I was able to get my dad and I tickets to the Kentucky - Florida game back in November as I knew that tickets would be tough to get. This was a bucket list event for me as my dad grew me up in the ways of a Kentucky basketball fan. My dad didn't attend UK, but grew up in the Bluegrass State until he left with the Army. My grandpa, his dad, did attend UK and they attended a handful of games at the historic arena and it has been a dream of mine to go there for as long as I can remember. What made this trip even cooler was the fact that my cousins and uncle were able to attend the game as well due to one of their friends offering them tickets.
We got up early on Friday to fly out of Lawton into DFW. Sat on the plane for a bit when we landed, then we were delayed as a flight crew member was late to the airport due to traffic. We finally flew from Dallas to Louisville and grabbed a bite to eat and headed to see my aunt, dad's sister, and her family. We hung out there for a bit and then headed to Lexington for the weekend.
Saturday we started the day off with breakfast at the hotel, I hit a workout (which I desperately needed lol) and then we headed to UK. My dad took me to campus where he trained as a cadet in the Army ROTC. He didn't attend the school, but Centre College, in Danville, KY, was a satellite ROTC program and he was commissioned out of UK. It was really cool to go into the Buell Armory on campus and see where my dad did pushups for not having his patches on his ROTC uniform. He told me that the building hadn't changed much, but he was upset that he couldn't find the picture of his graduating/commissioned class. We found all of the Air Force ones dating back to 2001, but never any of the Army ones.
(Also, I have no clue if we were supposed to be in the building, but there was one door left ajar, not open, just cracked, and it was locked. So, if you are reading this and you are from the UK ROTC program, thanks for letting us look around. Meant a lot for me to be there with my dad.)
After the armory, we decided to check out the new student center, which was finished in 2019. The bookstore was overwhelming as, being from Oklahoma, we had never seen that much Kentucky blue in one spot. It was awesome. After getting some sweet gear, we walked around the massive student center. It had a gym, which was two floors, a small bank, nutrition store, two ballrooms, a cinema and live theater, massive cafeteria, plus so much more. My dad said it best, "It really is a one-stop shop student center." He wasn't wrong. We decided to get some food and head back to the hotel before we met my cousins and uncle for the game and we watched basketball in the hotel room. I don't get to do that to often with my dad anymore. It is something I will always cherish with my dad.
Saturday night was amazing. Absolutely unbelievable and I will never forget the moment we walked into the arena. Rupp Arena is one of, if not the, Mecca of college basketball. There is obviously Chapel Hill, Cameron Indoor, Pauley Pavilion and Phog Allen, but Rupp is up there. The energy was high, Cats fans everywhere, and they were rowdy. I had never been to a big time college basketball game, other than Oklahoma, and I honestly didn't know what to expect. When the starting lineups were announced, the boo's rained down on the Florida Gators as Kentucky and Florida don't really get along. When UK's lineup was announced, it was deafening. Big Blue Nation loves their basketball and they didn't disappoint. Kentucky would go on to win the game 72-67 with Jacob Toppin and Cason Wallace leading the way for the Cats. Toppin had 17 points and 10 boards while Wallace dropped 20. At halftime of the game they honored one of the Kentucky greats, Mike Pratt. He played for Adolph Rupp back in the late 60's and is still in the top 30 all time for scoring, and he played 50 years ago! He is also one of the top rebounders and assisters in Kentucky history. He played and was the radio broadcaster for the Wildcats for 20 years and passed away due to cancer a year ago in July. Another Kentucky legend, and teammate of Pratt's, Dan Issel (who is the leading scorer in Kentucky history), was there to honor Pratt as his number was retired and his jersey was hung in the rafters at Rupp. It was truly and amazing moment to witness and be able to honor someone who had done so much for the team and school in his lifetime. The game, atmosphere, setting, all of it, was truly remarkable and I was so blessed to be there with my dad. It is something I will never forget
Now, we are sitting at the Louisville Airport waiting for a flight to Dallas. We will get some food and then fly home to Lawton. I had an awesome time. Definitely a great break, but going home is always the second best part of any trip.
I will get back on my regular schedule. Get back to my wife. Get back in the gym. Get back to school. Get back to coaching.
Rupp Arena, I will have to come back again. Big Blue Nation, you made an Oklahoma boy feel right at home in the Bluegrass State. Cal and the Cats, go win us a championship soon.
Stay tuned for more life updates and random stuff I write about. Thanks for supporting as always.