A Blue Mist

I love Kentucky basketball and have ever since I can remember. I remember when they won in 1996 and 1998 having tears streaming down my face because I was so excited we won. Also, I will never forget 1997 losing and locking myself in a closet on Spring Break for hours crying for a very different reason. I may or may not be embarrassed of this and still hear about it from the family we were on vacation with. I have followed UK basketball for years and I can't remember a team as fun to watch as this year. I decided to head to Nashville with my good friend Melisa-Beth, my parents, and Ali & Melissa before they left us to go on Spring Break. Here is a recap of our AWESOME weekend:

1. Get money out of the ATM for MB. Well, she couldn't remember her pin number which led to her card getting DETAINED. Luckily, we were able to get money and head on our journey. Hoping the bad luck wouldn't continue.

2. Arrive in Nasvhille with ONE mission in mind: find tickets! I knew it was going to be crazy to find tickets, but had no idea it was going to be like it was. For the game on Friday tickets were going at the very least $250 for a single ticket upper level. We were hoping our luck and our upset faces would get us a ticket, but we were wrong.



3. We ended up having a great time watching the game at a bar, but still hoping our luck would get better and we would find tickets. There were about twice as many people outside the arena as inside watching the game. The scene was hard to put into words. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking in and out of bars doing C A T S CATS CATS CATS cheers with the thousands of other fans there. The bars at 3:00 in the afternoon were packed with UK fans. We ended up spending the whole day on Broadway listening to live music. That night we bought tickets for $10 to watch the 2nd session. We were hoping to buy tickets from a team that lost. Well that plan FAILED as well. MB and I were beyond tired at this point we went back to our friend Lauren's apartment and crashed. Here is our best attempt of doing the John Wall dance:



4. Saturday we woke up hoping for a new day with better luck. We went to Broadway to find tickets and today the prices were $300 to $500. I was in the worst mood and literally about to cry. I wanted to go to this game so bad. I got a call from my dad telling me to stop even searching for tickets and to come find him. This was the same time my mom and MB were giving me a pep talk to cheer up. Also, this was just right after my mom told me my dad was talking to another random person he knew that he hasn't seen in years (if you know my dad this happens ALL the time). I went to find him and he pulled TWO tickets out of his pocket. This random friend he was talking to felt bad for me and gave us two FREE tickets. I can't describe how excited I was!! He was a TRUE blue fan!



5. We went into the game and our seats were awesome! We were first row in the upper section at mid court. I had a great view. My favorite memory (other than easily beating Tennessee) was EVERY single time from start to finish that Rocky Top came on the WHOLE arena started chanting "Go Big Blue". It was so loud you could barely hear the band. It happened every time. Also, we were in Tennessee's home state and 98% of the arena was blue plus everyone outside watching the game.

6. After the game we went to the bars with all the wonderful UK fans for the rest of the night! I got a call from a 615 number that I didn't know. I instantly listened to my voicemail and it was the same wonderful man offering me the tickets for tomorrows game. This weekend could not get any better!

7. Sunday we woke up knowing we had tickets and it was great! Not to mention it was the best game I had ever been to. I must say I was sick for most of the game, but as I have learned all year this team always REFUSES TO LOSE!!! I was so happy after the game. SEC CHAMPS!



8. This team is SO fun to watch! UK fans are truly being spoiled this year. This is what Kentucky basketball is all about and I love it. I don't know if my nerves will be able to handle the tournament this year. No matter what happens this team has brought us so many great memories this year and that will NEVER be forgotten! GO CATS!!!!!!!





9. The ride home was great! MB and I were so happy that we didn't even care how long it took us to get home. We kept talking about what happened and listened to the Selection Show on the radio. It was amazing to see how many UK fans were down there. I swear the whole time I was there I think I only saw 3 Florida fans. The atmosphere was unreal and was awesome even if you didn't go the the games. When I got home I watched the Tennessee game again and the last of the Mississippi St. game at least 50 times (that is not a joke).

10. This journey has been so fun with this team and I do not want it to be over. I can't wait for the tournament to start! Here are some other pictures from the weekend: