Wildcat Football Memories remain strong over the years
By Staff
by Tru – www.aseaofblue.com
Just before I took over A Sea of Blue (www.aseaofblue.com) back in 2007, I had just begun to realize that something had changed in Kentucky football.
For most of my life as a Wildcat fan, save for a couple of magical years back in the mid-1970’s, Kentucky football had been little more than an afterthought. The SEC is, and always has been a football conference, and the rites of fall seemed to bring little more than disappointment.
Since the days when the Bear stalked the Big Blue sidelines, football gradually faded as the go-to sport of the Wildcat faithful. Adolph Rupp was busily creating a dynasty in basketball, and making a reality of national championship dreams that never seemed possible with the pigskin.
But UK football has had it’s moments, even through the dark days. Here are a few I remember:
1. Alfred “Sonny” Collins — Sonny Collins was a terrific running back, and even though the Wildcats weren’t great during the 1972-75 seasons when Sonny Collins played, he was unquestionably the greatest running back every to play at Kentucky during my lifetime, gaining over 3,800 yards in 3 years as a Wildcat.
When we played sandlot football, every kid running the ball would invoke the name of Sonny whenever they would rip off a long run from scrimmage. At the time of my high school days, Sonny Collins was Kentucky football.
2. The Greatest Year in Kentucky Sports History – 1977-1978 — Everybody remembers Joe B. Hall’s national championship of that year with Givens, Roby, Phillips, Macy and Lee (among others), but fewer remember that this year was Kentucky’s best football season since 1950. The 1977 Wildcats went 10-1, undefeated in the SEC, and were ranked #6 in all the land behind the great Derrick Ramsey.
Ramsey was a quarterback at UK, but was drafted and played in the NFL for nine years as a tight end. Only probation kept the ‘Cats from their second major bowl, having made it to the Peach Bowl in 1976, where they defeated North Carolina.
3. 1982-The Oh-fer ‘Cats — 1982 saw a new head coach, Jerry Claiborne, replace the flamboyant but NCAA sanction-riddled Fran Curci. 1982 was the year that Kentucky football officially achieved doormat status, and interest in football waned among all but the very most faithful. Even at this lowest of low points, Kentucky football still enjoyed a remarkable following, but enthusiasm for the sport waned.
4. 1990 — The coming of Bill Curry — I’ll never forget when Curry, the former Alabama coach, was named the head coach of the Wildcats. Wild optimism flew from everywhere, with the UK faithful sure that Curry would lead the football ‘Cats to perennial contention in the SEC. The Big Blue Nation’s excitement at having Curry and Pitino running the two major sports programs was tremendously exciting, even though Curry ultimately failed.
5. The coming of Hal Mumme and the Air Raid — While Curry tried to make Tim Couch, one of the best high-school quarterbacks in America into an option quarterback, Hal Mumme turned Couch into a Heisman Trophy candidate with his “Air Raid” offense, and made Kentucky exciting to watch again.
6. The 68-34 drubbing of Louisville in 1998 — Tim Couch threw for almost 500 yards (498) and completed 29-39 passes to grind the Cardinals into a fine powder and smoke them in the first game ever in Louisville’s new Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. Louisville fans still squirm when you bring this game up.
7. Kentucky 40, Alabama 34 (OT) 1997 — A Tim Couch to Craig Yeast connection in overtime lead to one of the most improbable and memorable upsets in Kentucky history, overturning a 75-year winning streak by the Crimson Tide. I’ll never forget the goal posts going down, something we hadn’t seen at Kentucky in a long time.
8. The Bluegrass Miracle — I was unable to watch the game, and as I was coming home, I was listening to it on WHAS. I pulled into a car wash just as the Gatorade was spilled on Guy Morriss and the fans were running out on the field. Even the radio announcers were confused, thinking the play was dead. It wasn’t, but the Wildcat’s hopes for a huge upset were on the “Hail Mary” pass from Marcus Randall that wound up in the hands of Devery Henderson. Kentucky fans were up on the goalposts ready to tear them down, but then it dawned on them that lightning had struck and the Tigers had won.
9. Kentucky 43, LSU 37, Oct 13th 2007 — Nobody believed that the undefeated LSU Tigers had anything to worry about that day, but somehow, Rich Brooks led a suddenly resurgent Kentucky to something of a payback for the Bluegrass Miracle. It was a physical, hard-fought game that saw some incredible hits including a de-cleater of the decade by Dickie Lyons, Jr. on the Tigers’ Craig Steltz.
I have a lot more in the way of memories, but these are the most vivid and come back with the least effort. Some of them, of course, are iconic — the win over the Tide and the Bluegrass Miracle. Others represent the excitement we all felt at the passing of the torch, or a change in attitude surrounding the team after a coaching change.
With the advent of Kentucky’s fourth straight bowl game, it’s hard to argue that the Wildcat football program has not turned a corner, and the future is sure to bring even more great memories.
***** PROGRAMMING NOTE *****
This is just part of a whole day of Wildcat football memories on the site. Keep checking back throughout the day today as we will have more bowl memories and thoughts throughout the day. Stay tuned for these football columns later today:
1:00 PM: Andrew Hardison
3:00 PM: Ken Howlett from “A Sea of Blue”
Keep following www.http://wildcatbluenation.com for the best in Kentucky basketball and football news, rumors, and opinions. By Kentucky fans for Kentucky fans