I'm only hurting myself

sports tripe/hollow confession

meanoldman note: I composed this little salvo in all good faith, but just as I was about to push "Publish," I remembered my good friend Keith, a rhetoric professor from Grayson and, of course, a Cat Fan (capital letters).

I don't know if I should feel relieved that I'm not singulalry guilty of the woeful malice described below, or worried that I'm so far gone I blocked Keith out of my mind as I wallowed in the ill-gotten pleasure of a UK loss.

Hope is so ellsuive.

__________

Right after Kentucky fell to Michigan State in double overtime, my friend, who grew up in Chicago, asked me if I had any UK friends who I needed to call and razz about the tough loss.

First, I said, only a Yankee could be oblivious to how deeply painful tournament losses are to lifelong college basketball fans, particularly the nutbags who live around here. I wouldn’t do that, not even to a Kentucky fan.

And then it dawned on me that I don’t have any UK fans as friends.

Really – not a single one.

Sure, I have friendly acquaintances from work and the like who may have a Wildcat or two in their closets. That I can live with. And as I think a little harder, there may be a couple folks to whom I apply a “don’t ask/don’t tell” policy, just to be on the safe side. Many of my friends simply don’t care much about sports, and some claim to cheer for both teams, which of course is so lame as to not warrant either the respect or contempt of a true fan.

I’m talking about honest-to-gosh, “Cats gonna beat the spread tonight, Cawood?” UK fans. I could never sit across from someone in a true spirit of friendship and talk about how much they love Patrick Sparks or Melvin Turpin or Rick Robey. Basketball is a big part of my life, and if I’m going to share that with somebody, they can’t bleed Blue. And real UK fans feel the same way I do. So there you have it.

I realize this is about as absurd a prejudice as a person can hold, but by virtue of that absurdity perhaps it's also one of the more harmless. As least I know I’m being an ass when I cheer against UK and its fans.

And it’s been a good weekend. Two dramatic wins by my favorite teams: U of L and whoever’s playing UK.