First Down Kentucky: Post-Super Bowl Blues

Football season is over. All of the excitement reached a crescendo in overtime of Kansas City’s victory over San Francisco in overtime. Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas really brought it, but it now leaves us empty, wanting more.

Speaking from personal experience, today has been an absolute slog. I have no motivation to do anything of substance as post-football depression sinks deep into my bones. To avoid it, I’m just going to share a few things that made me happy from last night’s Super Bowl.

Usher was Incredible

The Super Bowl LVIII halftime show was a catalog of songs burned onto CDs and illegally downloaded off LimeWire. So. Many. Bangers. Set aside the musical content, even if you aren’t a 30-something wrapped in a warm blanket of nostalgia, Usher did a couple of things that should receive universal approval.

1. He used a marching band. It’s not a halftime show without a marching band.
2. Roller Skate Dancing! Let’s get roller rinks back in business ASAP. It’s impossible to not smile while roller skating. That’s science.
3. Usher took his shirt off. Any 45-year-old with abs should show them off as often as possible.

Celebrity Sightings

Some folks enjoy seeing the stars in ballroom gowns on the red carpet. I prefer mine to be a little strung out after a few days at the casino, surprised to see their face on a giant screen. Some play it cool, but not Jeff Goldblum. He’s a strange cat, one who reacted like any of us would if we made it on the Jumbotron at the Super Bowl.

Jeff Goldblum looks like a fan who’s on the big screen for the first time in his life😂 pic.twitter.com/Mjqk2zneo6

— Romi Bean (@Romi_Bean) February 12, 2024

Surprise Commercial Cameos

Super Bowl commercials don’t carry the same cultural cache because they’re slowly rolled out prior to the event. Even so, they still produce a nice pop on the last football Sunday of the year.

Paramount Mountain went above and beyond by bringing in Creed for the scene’s climax. Tom Brady appeared in multiple ads, with Dunkin’ taking the cake. He probably wasn’t even the best cameo though. Jack Harlow’s warning and Matt Damon’s Good Will Hunting call back were excellent. None of them made me laugh as much as Danny DeVito, who came out of left field to appear next to his old buddy, Arnold.

Kentucky is Behind in NFL Player Production

In the SEC, it just means more. In this case, it means more NFL players come from Kentucky’s rivals than anywhere else in the country.

Ahead of Super Bowl LVIII, a Redit user compiled data from Sports Reference that depicts which states produced the most players in the NFL. Arkansas and Oklahoma are the only SEC states trailing Kentucky, while Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and Alabama are head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the country. Ever wonder why LSU is so good at football? It helps to have no competition in the most talent-rich state in the country.

Kentucky on PFF’s All-Transfer Team

Some wait until the games are played to determine the best transfer portal players. PFF created an All-Transfer Portal Team featuring the best players who made moves during the first portal wave. Kentucky linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson was the best linebacker transfer this offseason, according to PFF.

Dumas-Johnson missed the final five games of the 2023 season with a fractured forearm. The year before, he paced all SEC linebackers with a 79.7 run-defense grade and ranked second with a 26.7% pressure rate. He’ll be a leader of Kentucky’s defense next season.

Pro Football Focus, All-Transfer Team

The man known by his teammates simply as “Pop” spoke with the media last week. Sadly, he does not know the song Dumas Walker… yet.

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Catching Up with Tucker Kattus

The youngest Kattus brother is a priority recruit for the Wildcats. A prospect Vince Marrow has been recruiting for years, Eric Wolford recently entered the picture. Tucker Kattus plans on getting a closer look at how UK’s new offensive line coach operates during spring practice.

“They said I was a priority,” Kattus told Jacob Polacheck of KSR+. “I think it’s a great hire. [Wolford] is a great coach. He’s one of the best O-Line coaches.”

He continued, “I want to see how everything flows and I just want to see how the coaches coach. I feel like I’ll fit in really good. Coach Wolfey said I’m a priority so I’d fit right in.”

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