A $10K Halfcourt Shot and the Snackwards Cam added to a fun night at Rupp Arena
Last night, Kentucky beat Mississippi State to get back on track in early SEC play. The Wildcats trailed for only a minute when the game began but then led by as many as 20 on the way to a 90-77 finish in front of 20,016 fans in Rupp Arena. I was one of those fans, trying out a new perspective in the crowd instead of my regular seat in front of a computer on press row. It was only the second time in nearly a decade that I’ve watched a game at Rupp from a fan’s perspective. I should do it more often because I had a blast cheering and sitting amongst the most passionate fan base in college basketball, even if the Hunk Cam never found me. (They should recalibrate the Hunk detector. It seemed off.) Here are some of the non-basketball highlights from the night, seen from my seat in Section 40 and drafted on the Notes app.
Never doubted the $10K halfcourt shot.
At the 12-minute timeout of each game, one lucky contestant gets three attempts from halfcourt for a $10,000 prize from Central Bank. When Gannon McMahon barely missed his first two, I pulled out my phone for his final attempt, knowing the third was destined to find its mark. Gannon delivered, and Rupp Arena roared.
Fans fear the Snackwards Cam
About 50 words ago, I said I wanted to be on the Hunk Cam. I really meant the Snackwards Cam. The new fan favorite (or, to some, the least favorite) video segment at Kentucky games plays clips of fans eating in reverse, and it can be pretty repulsive. “Hungry Eyes” is a nice touch.
My neighbors at the game referenced the Snackwards Cam as soon as they sat down, saying they would not eat out of fear that it would be replayed later in the night. One KSR listener told me he now eats his food on the concourse, where the cameras can’t find him. I think it’s awesome, but it’s probably not helping food sales if everyone is afraid to eat.
Speaking of eating at Rupp Arena…
Do you really need ice cream tonight?
When John Calipari famously told the Big Blue Nation, “You people are crazy,” he was talking to the fans who stand 50-deep in line for ice cream in Rupp Arena while basketball is being played. I understand there are circumstances when a young child demands ice cream, and you have to take one for the team as the parent or guardian, but last night’s lines were outrageous, and it was freezing outside! It was so cold that they could’ve served the ice cream from the sidewalk, yet BBN lined up in the concourse as far as the eye could see for a winter cone. You’re missing Rob Dillingham on the other side of that concrete wall!
Hey, it’s Maggie
There was a new house emcee at Wednesday night’s game. Former KSR superstar Maggie Davis kept the fans going during timeouts as the fill-in with the microphone for the night, further proving there is no job she can’t do.
Rupp Arena really loves this team
Fans either didn’t check the forecast or didn’t care. I think it was the latter. Whatever the case, Rupp Arena was mostly full for a Wednesday night game with below-freezing temperatures outside. UK officially announced 20,016 people were in attendance to see the Cats host Mississippi State. It was another energetic atmosphere, too. This team gets a lot of those in Lexington because the new Wildcats have really re-energized the Big Blue Nation. After the game, John Calipari asked the fans to bring it again when Georgia comes to town.
“Let me say this. When you have — everybody wants to have engaged fans. I just walked into that arena. This Georgia game, I want it to sound — when I went to the Philadelphia Phillies playoff game, folks, I got chills. It was so loud and people were so engaged. I want that Georgia game to feel that way, like it is — that’s our fans having a ten-point edge, being those people. And today they were really good.”
Run it back on Saturday. Tip-off is 6 p.m.
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