Sharing Tickets With Fans a Good Reminder That Big Blue Madness is Still Special to UK Fans

Felicia and Don Barrett at Rupp Arena Friday. (Tina Cox Photo)

I can remember years ago counting the days  until Midnight Madness.  Fans gathered outside Memorial Coliseum for the door to open and unveil the new team. Then the opening practice time changed and it turned into Big Blue Madness.

Through the years there were exciting times at Memorial Coliseum. Rick Pitino on a motorcycle, fans realizing something was up with the Chris Mills team. Tubby Smith had his singing moments and then the celebration moved to Rupp Arena.

Fans will never forget the John Wall dance or Enes Kanter Undertaker entrance. Then there was the year the court was turned into a projector and of course there was Drake.

There has not been a WOW moment at Big Blue Madness in years. It has become stoic. The players don’t really care about the dancing intros and I really think Cal’s drop the mic speech has been repeated one too many times.

I had zero level of excitement this morning as I grabbed my laptop and hurried out the door and then I received a phone call from Larry Vaught. When Larry calls, I answer and I am glad I did.

Larry had two free tickets to Madness given to him by UK fan April Peal, a doctor in the Nashville area who could not attend Friday night. Larry asked if I could find someone that would like to go. I knew that wouldn’t be a problem.

A quick text message and response from my good friend Felicia Barrett and her and her husband Don were ready to go. The numerous thank-you texts and heart emojis told the story. There still is excitement for Big Blue Madness.

It’s not for everyone. It’s for those fans who aren’t season ticket holders and don’t have many opportunities to attend games. It’s a chance to get a first glance at the new team. It’s a chance to sample some Rupp ice cream and sometimes you might even get wowed. In my case this year it was a chance to make two friends happy.

I can’t say there was a WOW moment tonight. However there was Demarcus Cousins and videos from former players (Oscar Tshiebwe got a huge reaction.) T-shirts were shot into the crowd but there was no speech from Cal.

How do I know it’s still special? The mist that came to my eyes when the “DREAM ON” video was played. Once a Wildcat fan, always a Wildcat fan.