ENVY OUR PAST, FEAR OUR FUTURE

Much appreciation to HawaiiBill~ for giving me the opportunity to bring ya’ll a weekly piece. It’s my hope that you will enjoy reading it half as much as I will enjoy writing it.

Roars My Fellow Felines!

I have studied & studied on what a good introductory piece would be and thought …ya know, why not at the beginning– to coincide with our Nation’s theme this season.
So, let’s get right down to the heart of the matter shall we.
We’ve all pondered, debated & reminisced throughout our life & board tenure about what makes KY BB the most storied, traditional enigma of the ages. For us,  here in the Big Blue Nation that is a fairly simple question to answer, but yet capturing it’s mystique is entirely all together a different matter. There aren’t words big or bold enough to actually capture the visionary essence or our legendary culture. But I think most  will agree when I say that it delivers Hope, Family & an overwhelming sense of  Identity– unifying a fan base like no other team in sports history has ever achieved let alone maintained. It’s filled with memories of a simpler, better time on the court as well as off weaving in through colorful, clear voices of yesterday…. Hello Everybody, this is Cawood Ledford to visual treasures from Lee’s dunk  to Woods’s shot. We’ve laughed, cried, preached, and willed our Wildcats on & with every falling leaf of the new season arises a  Hope & Determination to climb the insurmountable NCAA mountain and once again be heralded as KINGS of College Basketball.
Yet, with all these attributes a sense of entitlement was born. The very qualities that made us who we are & what we are turned to faults rearing their ugly heads in ways that were unimaginable & unforeseeable. Yes, the fall of the Mighty Roman Empire of basketball came to be through losses on & off the court, violations, laziness & finally to desperation.  The mighty basketball Gods punished & humbled us, stole our pride and left us for dead in basketball oblivion . Let us learn from our mistakes & go forth into battle once more on a UNITED  front with a Warrior King hungry for battle & victory. The time has come to Embrace, Energize & ENJOY our basketball birth rite. Let us learn from our mistakes and become the better for it. Let us NOT be that brilliant team of 1978… a season w/o celebration for that is the very thing that led to our fall. Never take for granted again the coveted banners and rare trophies of victory. It’s time to evolve with the game and join forces with the 1 & done’s because in the end, from the ArmChair Point Guards to the 1 & Done’s of the hardwood, we are all 1! 1 Thought, 1 Heartbeat, 1 Body, 1 Team, 1 Nation!! Only together can we make our stand & annihilate the enemies seeking to destroy this family, this nation we love.
The opportunity has presented itself as unification has been established once again. Now what we need is to find that voice that will deliver, uplift & display our BIG BLUE NATION & who better qualified to for that title than each & every on of us TOGETHER?!  It’s time to learn from our mistakes of yesteryear & evolve with the sport that we arrogantly portray as our own.  For evolution has been one of our biggest rivals throughout the years & it’s high time we conquered it. Texas Western taught us that lesson in the coming of the African American Athlete.  We tried to  invite, develop & incorporate  their talent but were prohibited from doing so by a league that was stuck in the slave era mentality culture which ultimately led to our defeat.  Yet, we moved forward & acceptance prevailed with rewards of  banners and titles.  Our past provides us with the power to make history rather than learn from it.  I know many of you, are disenchanted with the concept of the 1 & done. Don’t be!  Accept it for what it is… the game has changed and in order to survive & conquer  we must  change with it.  These 1 & Done’s are the present, the here & now and with the superior coaching that we are getting ready to witness this season, we not only have the honor of watching  history being made, but becoming it!  The example, case in point to the rest of the NCAA that YES YOU CAN with a 1 & Done ingredient & YES WE WILL be the Masters of the new Era in College Basketball!

If  we choose to learn from our past,  the NCAA will indeed FEAR OUR FUTURE  and follow 2 steps behind in our footsteps!
We’re back & this time I call on all of you to make the best of it & to guard it with every passionate bone in our big blue bodies!
And so let their beatings begin!
WE ARE KENTUCKY BABY, HEAR US ROAR!