Its a Game!

I want to state up front that I am a diehard University of Kentucky fan. My DNA was infected by Big Blue Madness at birth. You can blame my parents on that one. I’m old enough to recall former Cat greats like, Dan Issel, Kevin Grevey, Jack “Goose” Givens, Kyle Macy, Melvin Turpin, Sam Bowie and Kenny “Sky” Walker.

One of my favorite childhood memories is my Dad taking me to Louisville’s Freedom Hall to watch the Cats practice late during the Baron’s (Adolph Rupp) tenure as head coach.

I don’t know how many Kentucky basketball games I’ve watched since about 1968-69, but it’s been a busload. I’ve enjoyed the highs (1978, Pitino’s run, Tubby’s first title and Cals freshman phenoms) and the lows (Sutton and Gillespie years) of the storied program. Big Blue Nation has some incredible fans and like any other school, we have our share of those who blindly worship these flawed and imperfect, human players and coaches. The other day I heard a UK fan call in a national radio show and state that if UK was playing his church basketball team he would cheer for the Cats! And there was a recent report of a fan who was offering to sell his wife on CraigsList in exchange for tickets to the Final Four! Yes, that’s for real.

The Kentucky-Louisville Final Four matchup Saturday night is better than anyone could’ve dreamed. Two extremely competitive coaches. A major in-state rivalry and blue chip talent on both teams. State pride and season bragging rights is huge in my native Commonwealth. A season long, top ranked program versus a late bloomer peaking at tournament time is a prescription for major attention. If you are a baseball fan it’s the Red Sox & Yankees. If you are a football fan it’s Clemson v.s. South Carolina, or Alabama v.s. Auburn. However, at the end of the day, it’s just a game! Okay I’ve said it.

Reality check----there is more to life than football or basketball! Trust me, on the backside of chemo and radiation treatments you realize that sports (those we play and those we follow as fans) are not about life and death despite media attempts to prove otherwise. Remember, it’s big business to the networks regardless of which teams win. They are games. The alignment of the planets and the rising of the sun isn't dependent on the outcome of Saturday’s game. Win, or lose, the sun will come up on Sunday, grass will grow, flowers will bloom and life will somehow find a way to move on. That said, I pity anyone in the Bluegrass state who planned a wedding, or scheduled elective surgery this week. You might find a pastor willing to do the wedding at half-time, or a surgeon who will operate as long as the game broadcast will be on in the operating room. Doubtful though.

As a Butler University alum I know exactly what it’s like to lose the biggest game on the national stage, not once, but twice in back to back years! It’s not a great feeling, but guess what? Life moved on. A tumor and surgery popped up between those games. Cancer treatments, a child’s wedding, and the birth of a grandchild. Now those are important things. Just like those battling divorce, losing a job, or struggling with an awol teenager. The game of basketball serves an important role in the midst of all this life junk though. Like a great flick, it takes our minds away from the all too serious side of life. It lightens our load. It puts the focus on something other than disease, disappointment, heartache and pain. It takes us high in the joy of victory and low in the agony of defeat. But when it’s over, it’s just a game, even one of national proportions.

So Saturday night, as I cheer for my beloved Cats, and believe they will get by Pitino’s boys for the second time this season, I have no doubt that I am going to sleep soundly when my head hits the pillow. I’m not going to burn a couch in my yard if we win, or hang myself if we lose. I’m going to smile and thank God that were it not for His amazing grace instead of watching a “game” I might be spending the night hunkered down with my family in a dark, moldy and muddy Syrian shack as my own government drops bombs on my town and shoots its own citizens. Now there’s some perspective!

And by the way, dare I risk saying something sacrilegious to diehard Cat fans? Okay, here goes: God could care less about the outcome of Saturday's game. His glory is greater than either school, coach and their players. Somehow I think He is far more concerned about the hurting, hungry, imprisoned, widows, orphans and the broken than He is championship banners and trophies. That said, Go CATS!