Ryan Clark - The Kentucky Wildcats Fans Bucket List

Ive been fortunate to have fantastic friends surround me in life. To Joe Cox, Eric Purvis, and Kris Billiter. No matter who they root for, theyve always been on my team. Thanks, brothers!

Ryan Clark

It was Adolph Rupp who said it, and Cawood Ledford who borrowed the line, but to those who traveled the Glory Road with me, my eternal thanks. But a VIP pass to my wife, Julie, who centers my life, probably because she is always at the heart of it, and to my Sunday school teacher, Dennis Smith, who can somehow challenge me and uplift me at the same time.

Joe Cox

Contents

Foreword by Tony Delk

On February 21, 2015, University of Kentucky basketball great Tony Delk watched along with a Rupp Arena crowd of more than 24,000 as his jersey was lifted to the rafters, retired for all to see. Delk scored 1,890 points in his career, good for fifth on the all-time UK list. As a senior, he was a first-team All-American and the SECs Player of the Year. After leading the 1996 Wildcats to the national title, where he was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, he was drafted in the first round by the NBAs Charlotte Hornets. Delk went on to play in the NBA for 10 years. He is now a commentator for ESPNs SEC Network.

Ive never seen a fan base like the one I saw when I was at the University of Kentucky. Theyre one of a kind. And they make you feel so special, even after your playing career is done. You just cant describe what that feeling is like. They took mea kid from Tennessee and welcomed me into the Big Blue family. And Ive been forever grateful.

There are a couple of memories that really stand out for me that fans probably dont know about. These are things that I never really knew about Kentucky and Kentucky basketball, but when I experienced them, I was so glad I did. They were on my bucket list at UK.

One was the Kentucky Derby. After my freshman season, when we had gone to the Final Four, Walter McCarty and some of my other teammates and I went to the Derby in Louisville. I didnt see a horse, but man, did we have a great experience. That was really the first time I felt like a celebrity as a UK player. I mean, we werent in Lexington, we werent with students or anything. We were in another town, and people just came up to us and were so appreciative.

Another event is Midnight Madness. I went to my first Midnight Madness on my recruiting visit, and seeing how the fans were so crazy, and how big their commitment was to UK basketball, was unlike anything Id imagined. I couldnt believe so many people would come out to a free game at midnight. And years later, when I was a senior, Walter and I came out dressed as Batman and Robin. We had these cables that would lower us to the ground and it looked pretty dangerous. I remember Coach Pitino was not happy about us doing itbecause it looked like we could get hurt and we were getting ready for a national championship runbut we did it and people loved it.

If I could tell fans now what to do on their bucket list, it would be two things:

1. Follow the players on social mediaTwitter, Facebook, etc.and show them support. Dont be weird and post awful things if they lose. We didnt have these things when I was a player, but now, as a fan, you have a way to really be able to get to know these players. And, lets face it, these talented guys arent staying until theyre seniors, so we really dont get to know them as well as we used to. Following them on these networks can help with that. But keep it cool. Tell them how much you appreciate them.

2. Go to the Final Four and watch your team, if you ever get the chance. I remember when I was a freshman in New Orleans, and when I was a senior in New Jersey, all the people who came out to watch us in the Final Four, and how happy they were. Seeing 20,000 or 30,000 Kentucky fans in the Superdome when I was a freshman was just amazingand terrifying. I wasnt playing a lot so I was pretty nervous. But by the time we made it back to the Final Four in 1996 it was more businesslike. We were there to win a national title.

For four years, Kentucky fans made me feel like I was right at home. People stop me all the time and talk to me about hitting a big three and getting fouled when we played Syracuse in the national championship game. We were able to win that title, which was one of things I knew I had to do while I was at Kentucky.

Similarly, this book tells you, the fan, what you need to do while following your team.

And from me to you, I just want to say thank you to all the fans who made me feel so appreciated along the way!

Go Big Blue!

Tony Delk, March 2015

Acknowledgments

Its rare in life that someone comes to you and says, Hey, we want you to write this book and then pays you to do it. Seriously. This never really happens.

But Joe and I are lucky, in a sense. Weve created a bit of a niche here, and sometimes, when people have ideas about UK basketball books, they come to us. And sometimes (okay, most of the time) if we think the idea is a good one, and we think we can do something with it, well give it a go.

In 2014, Triumph Books came to me with an idea: a bucket list about UK basketball. I brought the idea to Joe, and we discussed it. Wed done something similar with Triumph before, but we saw where this could be a little more personal, something more like a memoir than a straight how-to book.

And of course, being a writer, I always feel its better to be working on a project than not. Inevitably, people ask you, So what are you working on now? Its good to have an answer. But this wasnt just any bookthis idea sounded like a quality one. What would we say to those people who wondered what exactly they needed to do (and see, and eat) as a UK fan? Could we even do this?

After thinking about it for a while, we came up with a good working list of chapters and graphics. We thought this could be a really fun book.

And it is. Its been a blast to work on, and there are several people to thank. First, as always, I have to thank my wife, Manda, and my daughter, Carrington, who allow me to do these fun things. They have to put up with me and this UK sickness of mine. Sometimes its fun. Other timesit may not be, and I thank them so much for letting me do this again.

Once more, thanks to Joe for the guidance and motivation. I found a great writing partnerothers should be so lucky.

I have to thank the journalists, athletes, fans, coaches, authors, and staff who either helped us through interviews, or helped us find people to interview. We could not do this without you.

Thanks to Tim Sofranko, the best darn photographer who lives in my neighborhood, for his donated photos (once again, you saved our bacon, Tim).

And thanks to UK legend (and new television star) Tony Delk, who loved the idea of this book and wrote the foreword for us. You were always one of my favorites, Tony. Now you just moved up the list!

And to Noah Amstadter, and all those wonderful folks at Triumph, thanks again for the opportunity.

Last, but not least, when I think about writing this book I will always remember the 201415 UK basketball season. Never before have we been on a ride like the one led by the Harrison twins, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, Devin Booker, Dakari Johnson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Tyler Ulis, and the rest of that years squad. I firmly believe 380 will never be accomplished by a major-conference team ever again. And just because the season ended with a surprise loss to Wisconsin, it will not ruin the memories of that incredible journey.