Sometimes, a game is more than a game.
Yesterday was one of those days for a lot of college basketball programs across the country, Kentucky included. But inside Historic Memorial Coliseum, the annual Play4Kay game hit a little closer to home.
It hit closer to home because Kentucky head coach Kenny Brooks’ own wife, Chrissy, battled breast cancer. And it hit closer to home because of a woman named Monica Lacovich, who expressed just how much this game meant to her.
The story of Monica
If you missed the story earlier this week, Monica is a fan currently fighting her own battle with cancer. Her goal throughout her treatments was to get healthy enough to attend Sunday’s Play4Kay game to help spread awareness.
But as anyone who has gone through chemotherapy knows, the toll it takes on your mind is just as brutal as the toll it takes on your body. Suffering from what she called "chemo brain," Monica accidentally bought tickets to Thursday night's game instead.
She sent Kenny Brooks an email explaining the mistake, telling him how much his family's story inspired her. Brooks read it. He shared it with the media on Thursday after the Ole Miss games. And he made sure Monica had tickets to come back for the real thing on Sunday.
She made it. And after the final buzzer sounded on a hard-fought Kentucky victory, Kenny Brooks walked into the press conference, found Monica in the room, and opened his heart.
Charlie Brown's Teacher
Brooks spoke about what the pink uniforms really mean. He talked about how, for a long time, it was just about putting on new shoes and praying for people on the outside.
Then, two years ago, it came to his own front door.
"When my wife got diagnosed, I would go to her chemo treatments," Brooks shared, his voice heavy with the memory. "Part of me was trying to be coach there for her, supportive for her, but part of me was still in denial."
"I would go, and I would listen to the doctor, and he would start talking, and I was intently trying to figure out what he was saying. And by halfway through it, it became like Charlie Brown's teacher. It was like 'wah wah' and I just lost it because I was in denial."
It was a stunning admission of vulnerability from a man paid millions of dollars to always have the answers. He explained that what got him through those terrifying days was his daughter and Chrissy's sister, April, who sat in every meeting, took the notes he couldn't process, and held the family together.
Chrissy got to ring the bell, she got to say she is a survivor. Sunday's game was for everyone who didn't get the chance to ring the bell, those who did, and the families that were touched along the way.
Kenny Brooks knows there things bigger than any trophy
Then, Brooks looked across the room directly at Monica.
"She told me about chemo brain... and I know all about chemo brain because my wife would go through it, and she would forget what we had for lunch that day. It's real. It's real," Brooks said.
"The main thing I can tell her is she said we inspired her. She inspired me that day. She put a calm over me that day. And we're going to play for her, and we're going to play for all the people who have suffered."
In sports, we spend so much time obsessing over the hardware. The banners. The rings. The shiny trophies that end up sitting in glass cases. But as Brooks wrapped up his press conference, he reminded everyone in the room what actually matters.
"That email that she sent me, I'm getting it framed, and it's going in my man cave," Brooks said, fighting through the emotion. "Because it's as big as any trophy that I've ever gotten, any award, any accolade... that's what life is really about. So Monica, thank you for inspiring us."
Sometimes a game is more than a game.
And sometimes, a coach is exactly the person a community needs him to be.