-Danny Mac's has the Gatti's style sausage. Absolutely worship.
-Hit The Post on Goss before last week's St. X game. Arguably top 3 za in the River City IMO.
-We wore this combo against UGA in the 2018 SEC East Championship (a lot of people forget that) but with black facemasks and I actually liked it.
-If our offense could get off the ground I'd like us by 2-3 scores tomorrow night, but just wonder if we're ever going to move the ball with any proficiency. 21 - 10 for the REAL Black and Blue squad.
-That said, I am really hopeful that the Ole Miss game was a definitive reversion to the toughness and grit Stoops teams were known for before the last few seasons. It seems this squad actually has some leadership in the locker room which always helps. If so, I can see us pounding Vandy a la 2018 Miss State when we absolutely bullied a physical SEC West squad.
-Been listening to the Locked on Vandy podcast all week and he continues to call out Rich Scangarello for not being effective with this offense. I, too, think Rich Scangarello sucks.
-Excited for the Pope era to begin and for the return of
Kentucky Basketball as we know it. The guys are doing and saying all of the right things. If the hustle and execution are there (they will be), then this is going to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
-Still focused on getting the new business venture up and rolling. So far, so good. Testing my resiliency quite a bit but we'll get there.
-3 kids is a nightmare. Youngest just turned 2 and oldest will be 11 in a couple weeks, so the spectrum of child rearing is in full bloom. Still being knee deep in diapers for the 10th year running while counseling an adolescent young lady on the trials and tribulations of life tests just about every bit of what I have to offer, mentally and physically. Toss in a rabid racoon for a son and, well, it's hard. Trying to find the light on the horizon without wishing away time is the art to it all, but it's damn difficult.
-I lost my Dad unexpectedly a few weeks ago. Really a gut punch. Being without parents is uncharted territory and not sure I'll ever get used to it, but am doing okay. UofL is 0-2 since, we beat Ole Miss and St. X even beat Trinity the first Saturday without him. Worried that Dad cashed in all of his divine equity already tbh, but that's been pretty nice. But losing him has put my role as a Father into clear focus and I've taken some inventory of where I have failed and what I need to improve upon, so I'm working on it.
Dad held 2 season tickets for decades (Sec 210) and had a Red Lot pass. I can't remember a single game, big or not, that I wanted to go to but he didn't make happen. He always got me in the stadium. I think the biggest test was Game One in 1994. It was a damn tough ticket. I remember not learning if I was going until that morning, but he found (and paid) for me to go. He's really the reason why I love Kentucky Football so much because he knew I loved it and he fostered it.
In anger I made a post after the SC game, which was my 5 year old son's first, that I was not raising my son to be a UK Football fan (at least I wasn't going to impose it on him), and it's funny how life sometimes calls you out on your bullshit and resets you. Kentucky Football is a major part of my memories of Dad, even with all of the pain, disappointment, highs/lows, and sometimes hopelessness that it can bring. None of that is relevant when viewed through the lens of a Father/Son bonding over something like sports. It's not the point and likely never was for Dad. I understand that now.
So, and thanks to my lifelong friend who often tailgated with us in the Red Lot (our parents were very dear friends) for the tickets (richie), I am bringing Teddy to the game tomorrow night. His first night game. I am doing so with a better perspective that it's the time with him that matters most, and it's the bond we're forging over something we can both love together that matters.
I love Kentucky Football.