Midnight madness

A reprint of my Oct. 8 SlapShot column published in the Woodford Sun.

I used to think I was a sports fan.

I have my University of South Florida, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tampa Bay Lightning gear. Lots of it. T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and jackets.

I’ve been known to rearrange my schedule to watch a big game. I’ve plunked down several hundred dollars for Lightning partial season tickets. I’ve yelled at the TV, stood in line for autographs and called into sports talk radio. My friends and family have witnessed my moods change based on a big win or loss by one of my teams.

And yes, I’ve even driven 45 minutes across Tampa Bay to watch the Lightning - practice.

But true blue University of Kentucky basketball fans have shown me the error of my thinking.

I’m no fan. I’m a poser. A pretender. A wannabe.

Because never in a million years would it have ever occurred to me to camp out for tickets – to a practice. And even more, I would never contemplate forking over more than $300 to purchase free tickets – to practice.

They call it Big Blue Madness. They got the last word right.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people camped out for several days around Memorial Coliseum. Tents started popping up on Wednesday for a ticket distribution that took place at 6 a.m. Saturday morning. University officials said that it took just 45 minutes to distribute all of the Big Blue Madness tickets.

Did I mention that all of this carrying on was for a glorified practice?

And in the immortal words of Billy Mays, “That’s not all!”

Yesterday the tickets started showing up on eBay and Craigslist for upwards of $300 a pair. Perusing eBay on Monday morning, I found one pair of lower level tickets with a current price of $305. There were 24 bids. The highest asking price I found was $500. No bids on that one yet. Keep in mind; these tickets were originally distributed for free.

And it’s for a practice.

On a side note, I have no problem with enterprising folks selling their free tickets for big profits. This represents capitalism at its best. If a seller can find a buyer willing to pay a given price, no matter how ridiculous it may seem, I say more power to both parties. They both get what they want. They both walk away happy.

But I do have to question the sanity of anyone who would camp out for three days (don’t they have jobs??), or pay $150 to watch what amounts to a practice. Okay, call it a scrimmage if you like. But all in all, Big Blue Madness still amounts to an over-hyped layup line.

Sorry Big Blue fans, I just don’t get it.

But you see that just proves my original point. I’m clearly not a fan – of anything.

Quick Shots

I did think it was good PR move for UK basketball coach John Calipari and his son to camp out with the Big Blue Madness ticket seekers on Friday night. It remains to be seen what the new coach will do with his team on the hardwood, but he clearly knows how to endear himself to fans and the community.

The Woodford County High School volleyball team will go into the 39th District Tournament as the number two seed with a 4-2 district record. What an amazing turnaround from last season when the team failed to manage even a single district win. The Jacket volleyball squad’s improvement will surly rank as one of the best Woodford County sports stories of the year. Coach Meredith DellaGuistina has managed to get her team to believe in themselves, play as a team and most importantly find the fun in their game.

I’ve officially suspended calling the Cincinnati Bengals the “bungles.” I loved the grit and determination showed by Bengal quarterback Carson Palmer when he talked his coach into going for it on fourth-and-10 with time winding down in the overtime period against Cleveland. Palmer scrambled for the first down and Cincinnati kicked a field goal for a 23-20 win. The Bengals will face the Baltimore Ravens next Sunday for first place in the AFC North.

The University of Kentucky football team lost to another top-five opponent in Alabama. The path doesn’t get any easier with road games against two more ranked opponents. UK seems to suffer some kind of voodoo jinx when it comes to playing South Carolina (ranked 25th) and number 17 Auburn is much better than anybody expected.

Speaking of rankings, the USA Today Coaches’ Poll is just plain silly in some respects. The poll ranks Penn State (4-1) 12th and Iowa (5-0) 14th. Iowa beat Penn State two weeks ago. On what planet does this make any sense?

Quote of the Week

Have any of you ever stepped on a cat’s tail? I have accidentally stepped on a cat’s tail before and it’s pretty funny how fast – they make a noise and they go really fast. That’s kind of like when I step on the gas of the five car today, it was like stepping on a cat’s tail.”
-NASCAR drive Mark Martin after winning the pole for the Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway

Puck to the head

This week’s puck flies at the head of any coach who voted Penn State ahead of Iowa in the above mention USA Today Coaches’ poll.