A UK "Pick-Me-Up"

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I can't even pretend that I know what it feels like to be a UK football player right now. I can't even act like I know the pain and disappointment the Cats feel right now after losing 30-24 to Tennessee in overtime. None of us really know.
But I do know this - life goes on.
It's not like this UK football team will never get to play another game. They've got their fourth straight bowl win to look forward to.
It's not like this UK football program will never get to play Tennessee again. Believe it or not, the Vols will be on the schedule again next year.

My dad was a high school basketball coach. I played for my dad for three years. When we had a bad game (which we had many) my dad would always tell us, "Guys, there are 5 million people in China who don't even know who we are and have no idea that we had a game tonight."
Life goes on.
When I didn't play well (which happened a lot) my dad always told me, "Son, believe it or not, the sun is gonna come up tomorrow."
Life goes on.

In no way am I trying to diminish a great effort by the Cats. It may be hard for these UK football players to realize that this overtime loss to Tennessee is NOT the end of the world. It does NOT mean they've had a bad season. The loss does also NOT mean that they are a disappointment.
I don't want this loss to diminish what this team has done this season. This UK football team lost arguably their best defensive player before the season started (Jeremy Jarmon), lost their starting quarterback (Mike Hartlline), had to start a true freshman at quarterback (Morgan Newton), but yet still managed to finish the regular season bowl eligible, with road wins at Auburn, at Vanderbilt, and at Georgia. I think UK football fans would take that every season.

As wise man once said, "When we die, we're dead for a long time." UK football lives for another day. I can't wait to watch another bowl victory. Going to bowl game after bowl game after bowl game is a nice change of pace from the past 30 years, isn't it?

Life goes on.

Tags: American, Football, Georgia, Morgan Newton, Quarterback, Randall Cobb, Rich Brooks, Tennessee, True freshman, UK, More…sport

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Comment by Bigcatinva on November 29, 2009 at 10:56pm: In the words of Farmer Fran in the movie The Waterboy....We livapay unudder day......We livapay unudder day.

Comment by Ryan Lemond on November 29, 2009 at 7:30pm: very clever young krystal ball!!!!!!!! you are right, you never go up there to bunt, you go up there to drive in the winning run. You are very wise for a shake rag alumnus.

Congrats on the new one. I didn't know when I saw you the other day. I'm happy for the family!!!!

Comment by The Krystal Ball on November 29, 2009 at 3:07pm: Good stuff Ryan..but I think what most fans are upset about is this. I know you were a great player back in the day, I have seen the pics and heard the stories...I bet when the game was on the line your dad didn't send you up there to bunt. You went with your best player.

Randall Cobb got us down the field and then never touched the ball inside the 10. It was like the South Carolina game all over again.

Yes this team has done some great things this year, but it could have been so much more.

Comment by Isaac Hickman on November 29, 2009 at 10:40am: Good points Ryan I'm proud of this football team and how the season has went. I think the hardest part of this Tennessee game is the rollercoaster of emotions it put you through. I came into the game thinking we had a chance to win but being the pessimist I am I though we would lose. The pick six at the beginning of the game really gave me some hope, I thought it would shake the confidence of their QB and give us some huge momentum. 3 plays later I see Tennessee in the endzone, way to easy, I am deflated again. We play great the first half using Randall Cobb in the wildcat getting a 7 point lead, I am feeling great again. Then the offense disappears the second half. I had accepted our fate of losing to Tennessee for two and a half decades...then the fumble! I have hope again....then when we are seven yards from scoring and our best player doesn't touch the ball, the guy who personally took it all the way down to that first and goal making it look easy on the way. When he doesn't get a chance to put it in the endzone like we have seen so many times in that position this year really baffles me. I don't think anyone would be as upset with this loss if we didn't get that fumble and go through that last series. I also don't think anyone would be as upset with this loss if we had ran the wildcat with Cobb every single play on that last series and not got the ball in. So yeah the loss hurts because we got so close, but I still feel like this season is a huge success and we still have a very important bowl game to look forward to winning and gaining redemption.

Comment by kyfan32 on November 29, 2009 at 9:42am: Sad point your article states, and in my opinion, until it changes, we will never be the program we should be, never beat the Tenn, Alab, Fla, South Carolina's, " but yet still managed to finish the regular season bowl eligible, with road wins at Auburn, at Vanderbilt, and at Georgia. I think UK football fans would take that every season." Why do they settle for that? Until expectations and mentality change nothing else will either. So go ahead, toot the horn based on second tier victories, (not referring to SEC victories) about what this football team has accomplished.