Greetings Sportsthat. I am on the verge of making my triumphant return to Duh Ville. I am now sitting in a bedroom in Chicago, viewing the website and marveling at the wonderful job Monster Mash has done in my absence.
I have crossed through three separate states in my journeys this past week; Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. I took some mental notes on the reactions that people have when I tell them that I am from Kentucky.
I do not keep my origin state a secret. I lay the accent on pretty thick (sometimes I get free stuff for this, thanks Starbucks and Mayson's Bar & Grill!) and I most always have on a shirt or a hat that flaunts the blue of UofK. People recognize quickly that "I'm not from around these parts."
When people find out that I am from Kentucky they generally get the usual jokes out of their systems. "Well, I guess some people from Kentucky do have teeth", or "If you are from Kentucky then why are you wearing shoes?" and the always popular "Do you eat opossum?" are the usual jabs that people throw at me. Once that is out of the way, they talk about the three things that our Commonwealth is most famous for: The Derby, bourbon and Wildcat basketball.
Almost everyone that I ran into knew about the Cats going to the Final Four this year and could name certain players from our storied programs history, John Wall being the most popular at the moment. I take a certain amount of pride in the fact that I cheer for a team that is so widely recognized throughout the country. Coach John Calipari is also very famous outside the Commonwealth. People are all over his recruiting capabilities and yes, his vacated seasons.
In Minnesota people also recognize Kentucky because of Tubby Smith. And believe me, they are about as ready for the Tubster to hit the road as we were at the end of his tenure.
When I go into further detail and tell people that I am from Louisville Kentucky, they also mention Muhammad Ali and Louisville Slugger. Nobody, and I mean nobody, talks about the Louisville Cardinals. I'm not just saying that because I hate them, I am removing all bias when I make the statement that nobody in the country cares about them outside of Kentucky. The Cards have a very strong local following but it pretty much ends with that. The Commonwealth of Kentucky and even the city of Louisville are associated with Wildcat basketball.
Sorry Cards, you really are Little Brother. Actually, you are more like a distant second cousin that rarely shows up and everybody hates, that is if they know you at all.
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