C-A-T-S, Cats! Cats! Cats!

Following Kentucky's loss to Tennessee in men's NCAA basketball last weekend, I was completely depressed and swore I would never recover. I was so sick over it, I turned it off and shushed everyone who mentioned it in my presence. My mother, however, would have probably drawn the curtains and worn black for a week! She once actually CRIED when UK lost to Indiana! Seriously though, no one bled bluer than Mom. She had so much Kentucky gear, and I actually still have a couple of her shirts. She watched every game, win or lose.

The funniest part of this whole love affair with UK is that she isn't even from Kentucky! But you could never tell her that. She was a horse person through and through, and she was the biggest UK fan I have ever known. It was like she should have been from Kentucky. I remember countless battles between my mom and her mother because Mamaw was a die-hard Indiana fan. She loved Bob Knight, and he could do no wrong. How did her only daughter end up being a traitor?! On top of all this, Mom endured many a Kentucky joke from Uncle Rex.

The first UK basketball game I ever attended was an exhibition game at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati. It was just the two of us, and I was SO excited. There was this guy who kept standing up and doing the C-A-T-S Cats, Cats, Cats! cheer. Mom got right up with him and did it every time! We had so much fun, and I still think of that every time I go to a game. And I scream and yell at the TV just like she did!

Mom was in love with Rick Pitino, and was devastated when he left to go back to the NBA. But she was still pretty excited when we were at a cafe on campus and in walked the current coach, Tubby Smith! I thought she was going to fall over! She had her favorite players like Jamal Mashburn and Derrick Anderson. I wish she would have known that I dated a guy who used to play with Derrick! I have been a UK fan since I came out of the womb, and I even ended up going there for college which only further solidified my fanaticism! My mom is the person responsible for all of that. C-A-T-S, Cats! Cats! Cats!