When you think about Kentucky basketball, what is your first thought? Your first memory? I bet it’s with someone else, and that is what makes this place so special.
Yes, the wins are huge, but it is the shared connections and memories that make this a family. Few communities in sports can rally like BBN. You’ve seen it with countless fundraisers, special moments when players get to come back to Rupp, and players simply taking a photo in the community. There are moments that you cherish not for the victory
alone, but for the pure joy you got with the people sitting beside you.
This place is sacred not just for the victories, of which there are many, but for the people who drive from all over the state to converge in an arena most will never get to sit in the lower bowl of during a regular season game.
There is a passion here; you can’t find it anywhere else. I know you remember when game day felt like a small town on a Sunday, everything was closing. You called your friends or family, you spoke in angry half-sentences, and questioned every decision. You are the heartbeat of this place. There is a special connection between you and these teams that wear the blue and white.
Yeah, you may criticize and complain, but nobody else better. BBN is resilient; they’ll bounce right back from a 35-point loss and rally the team to a huge win. They’ll show up on football Saturday during long losing stretches and still scream just as loud as if they were winning everything. This place can do so much good.
Kentucky WBB is fighting, asks for you to fight with them
That’s why when Kenny Brooks pleads with the fanbase to show up, you should listen. This team is struggling; they have lost five of their last six. They have missed 13 free throws and turned it over 43 times in the last two games. You’d think those games would be blowouts; nope. They lost by one to Vanderbilt and had No. 4 Texas in a three-point game in the fourth quarter before fading late. Now they come back home, and they’re asking you to stay in there.
After the loss, Brooks said, “BBN stick with us, we need you. This atmosphere here, it got loud, and we need the same energy back home.”
I was there against Vanderbilt; HMC was rocking. It can be done again when the Aggies come to town and then when Ole Miss rolls into Lexington on Sunday. Let’s rally behind these girls as only BBN can. Let’s make some memories with those around us one more time. This season can still be special, but these Cats are going to need you, too.
