Kentucky Football: What Holiday?
By Paul Jordan
In this picture Joker Phillips is happy and laughing and enjoying the fruits of his labor. That was a long time ago. Rich Brooks made a handoff to Joker Phillips and the rest is history, so they say. Fast forward to today. Joker is not laughing. Not because he is unhappy, but because unlike the rest of us who are going to be unwinding with our families, relaxing on our La-Z-Boy recliners, and fighting off the overdose of triptophan ( That has to be the dumbest way to say I overate and now I am ready for a nap in history), Joker has got work to do. And I am not talking about raking the leaves and stringing his Christmas lights for all to see this year. He has some founding father type work to do. This is his first Thanksgiving as the Head Coach at Kentucky and he has to make it just right for the whole Big Blue Nation.
Not to forget about our beloved hoopsters out in the Wild Wild West. Yes, the Basketball Cats had a long trip out to Maui to play basketball, and I just love the fact that we have Kentucky sports on TV four times this week. Four times. It is like winning the lottery. I cleared my schedule all week long in preparation for this. I have to work every day but Thursday, however, work is just what I do so I can afford to be a Kentucky fan. I spent big bucks preparing my “Man Cave” so that this occasion could be savored just as much as that bird on Thursday. The 55″ screen has been cleaned and polished with the proper stuff for electronics. I spent the weekend cleaning out any nonsense out of the hard drive on my laptop and my IPhone just so I will have them at the ready to blog my little heart out for each and every game. All of this weeks events are going to be carefully recorded on my DVR so that I can relive each and every moment of this glorious holiday. I checked the surround sound and made sure it was adjusted perfectly and the ambiance optimized for a sporting event. The blackout curtains are hung and fixed so no sunlight may get into the room and glare the picture at any time. All of my UK paraphernalia that doesn’t get to see the light of day on a regular basis is out and displayed. Pennants are stuck behind pictures, blankets draped over every couch and chair. I placed all of my lucky hats in strategic places around the room so a switch can be made at a moment’s notice to swing things in our favor when needed. I doubled up on my prayers this week, not because I think the Cats are going to be living on them, mind you, but just in case I did something I am not aware of and need punishing by taking away my wins. And I did all of this because I only want one thing for Thanksgiving. I want to see the Cats leave Neyland Stadium with a win. I want to introduce Derek Dooley to UK Football with a taste of what we have had to endure against the Vols for the last umpteen billion years.
Coach Cal and the Basketball Cats had what I consider to be a successful trip. They won 3 games out of four in six days, while logging a ton of reward miles. A good look at tournament basketball. We learned a lot of things about our young team, and got a few surprises along the way. Looking at the schedule pre-season, if anyone had said we would be 4-1 I believe we would take it.
Now, in the spirit of competition and the holiday season, the teams can all sit down and have a huge dinner together after it is all over, but make no mistake about it. This is the Cats year to end this madness in Knoxville. When the Pilgrims came over here lo those many years ago, it was in escape from religious persecution. The Cats have been persecuted by the Vols ever since. For every beatdown and pounding we gave them on the court, they returned the favor on the field. We have been pummelled, violated, hammered, and even had one or two stolen from us over the years, but the results are always the same. UT wins. Not this year Joker. This is not going to be a popular stance, but I don’t care about a meaningless bowl game. Oh yes, I would love to see the Cats playing on into 2011 for the first time in decades, that would be great. But to be honest, it is also about time. We have gone bowling in Tennessee so much it is becoming mundane. And making the trip further south, while satisfying, is simply what we should be doing now. Right now I want Tennessee looking at us from behind for a change. Beating the SEC East champs this year was a nice way to end that streak, and it was very satisfying, make no mistake. But beating Tennessee is something that no Kentucky coach has done in decades. And doing it in Neyland Stadium is priceless. Is it going to be easy? No. Is it going to take all of the tricks in the Joker’s arsenal? You better believe it. But if this team is going to be Joker’s team and now a force in the SEC, it is time. This is the game in Tennessee we all want to win. And we want to win it so much more than a East Carolina, or a Clemson, or any other opponent for that matter. Bowl games have become an exercise in futility anyway. We knew before the season started that the chances of the Cats playing in anything other than a Music City or Liberty Bowl were pretty sketchy. But to beat South Carolina and Tennessee in the same season is not only approaching legendary status, it is the kind of stuff that big time recruits live for. This is Randall Cobb’s homecoming. His chance to make sure Tennessee never forgets the mistake they made in not recruiting him. This is the beginning of Joker’s legacy. And this is the end of decades of frustration and failed attempts at respectability. Yeah, we are shorthanded on defense, and we have some guys who are injured, and we have a first year coach, and we have a QB that no one shows any respect to, and we have a football legacy that is about as long as my big toe. However, none of that matters right now. And the fact that this is a holiday week means nothing to Joker and the Cats right now. I want to be thankful for a Cats win on Saturday. I don’t think I am asking too much. So, Joker, you stay in that film room, you push every button on every coach on your staff, you drive those kids to what they want, and what all of the rest of us are ravenous for, a UK victory on Saturday. Time to start the wheels in motion for the future. It is a new day, and this is your time to enjoy the fruits of your labors. Just as soon as Saturday is over.
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