UK Football Fan Day
I have always been a UK fan and more importantly a UK football fan, but somehow this year I had my first UK Football Fan Day experience. As with every other football event this off-season, there was a buzz among the BBN as the first kickoff in the new era of Kentucky football takes place.
It threatened to rain all day and sprinkled a little at the beginning, but a rainbow showed up over Commonwealth (that has to be a good omen right?!) and fans stuck around. Fans were lined up all around the inside and outside of Commonwealth for autographs, people even tailgated. The most popular stop was Coach Stoops, followed by the quarterbacks, then receivers and running backs- but everyone signed enough autographs to have a hand cramp by the time the singing portion was over.
Kids were everywhere on the field throwing and catching balls, playing with tackling dummies and posing for photos on the 50- maybe a future Kentucky Wildcat was catching his first pass on that field today.
Before practice the air raid siren was blowing for the first time, a sound that received applause from the fans present. Coach Neal Brown said, “We plan on sounding the air raid sirens every touchdown. Maybe that will become the norm around here.” Once they cleared the field and practice got underway we saw what “high tempo” truly means to Stoops & co. Before practice Coach Brown said, “(speed) is the number one focus at the beginning of camp.” He wasn’t kidding- when switching drills, players run. When its time for a break, players run there. Coaches run, assistants run, managers run. Lots and lots of running. It seems to be paying off for the Cats, however. Fans got pretty engaged in practice and were applauding touchdowns and tough catches. Stoops said post practice that the team was a little off and didn’t perform up to par, possibly because of the crowd or the autograph portion before practice. The rain held off for several hours but when it came many fans decided to pack up and go. The Big Blue faithful stuck around, however and the fireworks show came at 10:00 as promised. Also making an appearance at practice were 2014 commits Drew Barker and T.V. Williams.
I caught up with senior linebacker Avery Williamson to ask him a few questions about his final fan day as a Wildcat.
On his last fan day: “Its pretty said knowing that I won’t fully be a part of this fan base anymore but I’m glad I can be one of the people that helps start a great tradition with UK Football.”
On practicing in front of a crowd: “It was good, kind of distracting for some guys but we’ll bounce back tomorrow. It was good for the freshman to play under the lights a little pressure.”
Any fans that stood out?: “There was one guy who wore a UK mask and really had me laughing. Its good to see the BBN come out.”
Overall, it was a great event, as most put on by UK athletics are. I highly recommend UK fans attend at least one fan day in their time. It was awesome getting to see the high tempo practices and the freshman in action for the first time. 22 days until kickoff in Nashville and a long road ahead.