Jaland Lowe and other UK players will be at Fan Fest on Saturday to greet Kentucky fans. (Vicky Graff Photo)
By LARRY VAUGHT
Big Blue Madness will be Saturday, but the fun is going to start way before the Madness does that night.
This time it is going to be almost an all-day affair starting with the BBN United Fan Fest from noon to 4:30 p.m. ET in the Exhibit Hall at Central Bank Center beside Rupp Arena.
Kentucky coach Mark Pope confirmed that and more at his Media Day press conference on Monday. Pope will take the stage at 12:30, followed by UK women’s coach Kenny Brooks at 1:15. The women’s team will be introduced at 1:45 and hold an autograph session until 2:45. The men’s team will be introduced next and sign autographs from 3-4 p.m.
Here’s what an extra enthusiastic Pope had to say about this:
“I’m so excited about Big Blue Madness, as always. We’re introducing something brand new, which is going to be the FanFest, which is going to go from noon to 4:30.
One of the greatest things about Big Blue Madness that separates us from everything else is that I think the whole arena is sold out in 29 minutes now, maybe. This is going to be open to everybody in the public for free,” Pope said.
“You don’t have to have a ticket to Big Blue. I’m going to be there. The guys are going to be there signing, talking, and taking pictures. We’re going to have a bunch of booths there and food there and games there.”
FREE EVENT OPEN TO ALL BIG BLUE FANS. Let that resonate as Pope continues.
“It’s just an opportunity for us to reach out and actually touch and hug every single member of Big Blue Nation. It’s going to be unbelievable,” Pope said.
He then made a passionate plea to fans.
“One thing very near and dear and personal to my heart, the Be the Match Program, which now they’ve just renamed it to the National Marrow Donor Program,” the UK coach said. “What this is, and this is something that’s really — Lee Anne and I are incredibly passionate about. What you do is you just come in, and you just take a simple cheek swab, and then they put you in a database. It’s really young adults, older teens, and young adults, that’s really the age where it’s most relevant. You could be called, and they could find you as a donor for a bone marrow transplant.
“Let me give you the impact of this. I have a manager at BYU who jumped into this program. He was with all my guys on the team. He did a little swab, just a little test. It takes 30 seconds. He got a call like a year later and was allowed to give a bone marrow — to be a donor, a bone marrow donor, to a young girl, and he went through the surgery and saved her life. It just is incredible. It’s the most amazing thing ever.
“In this state of Kentucky, where we want to be No. 1 at everything, where we don’t want to stay is No. 1 in the occurrence, the incidence, and No. 1 in the mortality of cancer. That’s where we are right now.
“So there’s no community I’ve been around that rallies like this Commonwealth. When you come to this FanFest, if it’s in your heart to do this, it takes 30 seconds. It’s nothing. It’s no commitment, but just to join this donor registry where you literally, literally, could have the chance to save a life. I’m just urging everybody where it’s in their heart to do it. It can make a huge difference.”
