Senior night at Rupp Arena!

March 1, 2007

I remember shooting my first Kentucky senior night probably in 1992 or 93. Can’t quite recall exactly. What I do recall is a man named Happy Chandler being in attendance on the floor and a new coach by the name of Rick Pitino running the show! Of course that was the year of the "Unforgettables", John Pelphrey, Deron Feldhaus, Richie Farmer, and Sean Woods. Their storied careers were coming to an end in Rupp, and an eventual end in Philadelphia thanks to Christian Laettner’s shot at the buzzer.

Rupp Arena was full of emotion, both from the fans and the players. They didn’t want to go and the fans didn’t want them to go. Tears flowed all around including the players as "My Old Kentucky Home" was sung. It was an awesome event, I believe televised live by CBS. Billy Packer remarked "there is nothing like senior day at Kentucky", if I recall that correctly.

Well that was then and this is now. Last night’s senior night was the polar opposite. I knew we were in trouble when the players took the floor and immediately face the wrong direction. They traditionally face the seats facing the Kentucky bench and that is where the photographers line up to get the photos we all need. Tonight, the seniors ended up in an awkward line up facing an end zone. The photographers were now out of position and the whole thing felt strange. There was little to no emotion on the floor or in the stands. I think, and since this is a blog I believe I am allowed to do that, there was no real connection with these seniors. When they came in as Freshman hopes were high, but none of them were the big name recruits so maybe the expectations weren’t as high as maybe they were with the "Unforgettables" who had won the hearts of Kentucky by playing way over their own skill levels and showing the pride in the uniform.
.

photo by Mark Cornelison
These players did not do that. There was fan favorite Lukasz Obrzut eating up the call of WOOOOO from the student section, but other than that it was polite applause and let’s get the game going. I must say I missed the emotion of the event. It felt strange not feeling any sadness about departing players. When Chuck Hayes left you could feel it. Once again, a player who put on the Kentucky uniform and played above his potential and the fans loved it. Maybe that is what we need someone to step up again and believe in the letters on their chest. I think, here I go again, that a big part of it is probably the star players are not here for four years anymore in many cases and the fans don’t get that full appreciation when they leave early. Or maybe they are just mad that they left early. Who knows? I just hope that we get a few players in who work hard, play hard, elevate Kentucky back to the top and maybe even stay four years. Then the fans will be sorry to see them go and senior night will be what it is supposed to be. Bitter sweet.