C-A-T-S

Confession: I did not grow up in a sports-minded family.

Now, mind you, this wasn't actually a problem until I was ten and realized that I had just been transplanted into a community that almost scheduled days off for the State Basketball Tournament because the girls team at the high school (yes, "the" high school, as in, the only high school in the county that every other school fed into) had already won a couple tournaments that decade and regularly made it to the tournament. Oh, and this community is in Kentucky, home to the phenomenon that is UK basketball.

To say I was out of place would be a serious understatement.

Fast forward to 2002, when I moved to Lexington to attend grad school at UK. I made it to several football games, but still maintained a safe distance from Rupp Arena.

Fast forward again to 2005, when I realized that my new boyfriend J (later to become the hubs) was a huge UK fan. Like, 'super-grumpy if his team lost; super-grumpy if couldn't watch a game on TV; all plans were cancelled if he got his hand on a ticket' kind of fan. That first basketball season was interesting, to say the least.

Fast forward to today. There has been a lot of compromise, and to be honest, it's probably a 70-30 kind of compromise where J gets the short end of the stick. It's hard to live here without following the team just a little, and it is impossible not to get a little excited when you are one of 20K+ people all cheering for the Blue and White. But he has definitely come farther--not every game has to be watched, among other things. We do try to get to a game every season (well, J still tries harder; I usually get to share the tickets once), and tonight is that night for us!

Wish me luck as I fight rush hour to get downtown (with most of those 20K+ fans) in time for the game!