As you read this, our beloved Cats are in Cancun, drinking bottled water, enjoying the great weather and hopefully putting lots of sunscreen on Josh Harrellson.  But back on the mainland, we are preparing for Thanksgiving, and a chance to spend some time in reflection for all the good we have and the gifts we have been given. 

Nowhere are those gifts more apparent than with the UK basketball program.  What was once a time of dismay for our UK fandom has turned into a time of joy, and following the Cats has become fun once again.  Thus while most people might spend the Thanksgiving season saying a word of thanks for their families, friends or health, we should take a moment to be thankful for what is much more important than all of those things…the upward momentum of the UK basketball program.  So along those lines, here are Six Things Every UK Basketball Fan Should be Thankful For:

1.  The Gift of John Wall:  Whenever I look at the UK basketball team warming up, it is astounding to see just how much talent has been amassed in such a short time in Lexington.  At the center of that talent is John Wall (aka “Blue Jessus“) a player who radiates star power” as much as any player I can ever remember in the Big Blue.   While Kentucky basketball has always been the best program in the land, I can’t recall a time when we have had the coolest” player in college basketball wearing the Blue and White.  Like Calipari’s buddy LeBron, John Wall gives off a vibe that suggests he is the coolest character in the room, all the while radiating an approachable friendliness.  No matter how long Wall wears the Blue and White, he will leave a legacy on the UK program that lasts far beyond his time in Lexington.  How great would it have been to be the school where LeBron James went to college?  We will never know, but one day we will know what it’s like to be the school where John Wall went to college. . . and I think that will be pretty sweet.

2.  Pikeville to Paducah:  We all know the Big Blue Nation is worldwide and everyone has a story about going to some random part of the globe and running into a UK fan.  However the true home base of the program is of course within the state, and thankfully we have two cities that are on both ends of the state that have start with the SAME letter.  That means that when describing the state, we can say Pikeville to Paducah” and everyone will know what we mean.  Yes that leaves some people out (Murray and Mayfield have a gripe), but the alliteration of Pikeville to Paducah” works. . . just ask Coach Calipari.

3.  Orlando Antigua: Have you met Orlando yet?  Well if you haven’t, get somewhere quickly to make it happen.   When you see a tall, athletic guy with a goatee and gelled curly locks, you might be a bit intimidated to go and say hello.  But don’t be with Orlando.  If you don’t introduce yourself to Calipari’s assistant coach, you will miss out on his stories (he played for the Harlem Globetrotters and traveled to 49 countries during his 7 year tour) and his role as Mr. Approachable of UK Basketball.  UK basketball is about the fans and Antigua gets it, even if he won’t just admit that I could take him in a three-point shooting contest any day of the week.

4.  The Patterson Family:  You know how great Patrick Patterson is on a daily basis.  No player works harder, no player gives more of himself to the team and no player is a greater ambassador for the program off the court than Patrick.  But did you know how great his parents, Buster and Tywanna Patterson are as well?  Sitting behind the basket on the visitor’s side for every game, the Pattersons represent the best of what a players’ family should be about.  They cheer their lungs out, come decked in Blue and White and meet and greet the fans who want to simply tell them how much their son means to them.  Add to that the fact that Buster is the smoothest man you have ever met and Tywanna is one of the sweetest people you will ever speak to, and you have the perfect parents for one of the great UK players to ever put on the jersey.  They are the parents that bring in the other players’ parents to the program and help everyone bleed the Big Blue.  They are simply the best, and they are Kentucky through and through.

5.  Tom Leach:  Every program needs a soul and a voice.  For Kentucky, that person is Tom Leach, who has become the torchbearer and has had passed on from Cawood Ledford, the title of Voice of the Cats.”  As only a fan who grew up cheering for the Big Blue could do, Tom lives and breathes UK sports and he loves it from the bottom of his heart.  You can hear that love come out when UK scores a big basket or makes a big play on the football field.  There is never a moment when you don’t know that Tom Leach loves the team as much as you do and that love shines through in everything he does.  Like all the great announcers, you feel like you know him and when he is happy, you are happy.  There are lots of people who chatter about UK (including yours truly), but there is only one that is UK.  Tom Leach is that person and there is no better mouthpiece of UK sports. 

6.  The Banners:  Next time you are in Rupp Arena, or have the time to thumb through a record book, take a chance and appreciate the history of the UK basketball program.  Kentucky is the only program in history to win an NCAA Championship in five different decades.  It is the only program to win a title with four different coaches.  It leads college basketball in wins and its national titles are memories of all of our lives.  1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998 are all years that Kentuckians remember by heart.  Names like Hagan, Issel, Mashburn, Dampier, Cox, Prince, Walker, Givens, Bogans, Spivey, Macy, Delk and others each evoke a time in the history of the program, but also in the history of our lives.  The Cats as a team have won national championships, a gold medal and played in the greatest college basketball game of all time.  If you are like me, then those experiences weren’t just fun things to watch, but were also great moments in your life.  Only Kentucky basketball produces that affection and there is no other place that comes close.

So there you go, six things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day, some big and some large.  If we were going to pick a 7^th, I would probably have said the increase in unlimited text message plans in the Commonwealth thanks to Calipari’s Twittering proficiency, but space was short.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving and get ready for more great stuff(ing) next week.

Matt Jones is the founder and genius behind Kentucky Sports Radio. He is a regular contributor to CoachCal.com

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