2007 UK Football Best in Years

For many across the nation a picture of people barefoot, wearing bib overalls and smoking a corncob pipe is synonymous with Kentucky. Enter Lexington on game day and you'll see that the only saying about Kentucky that's true is that we do indeed bleed blue.

Our pride, our hope...our legacy has always been the prestigious UK Wildcat basketball team. Even the Kentucky Derby plays second fiddle. The basketball program has long been a dream of many aspiring athletes throughout the country. Every basketball player, coach or fan feels strongly about the Cats. Loving or hating them is a choice but respecting them is a given.

This year Kentuckians have found an outlet for their sport-related enthusiasm in a surprising source: the football program. Each year we turn our half-hearted attention to football. With the exception of some all-weather fans, football has largely been regarded as what must be endured before basketball season. Football is more like a pep rally for basketball. Not so this year.

This year the UK football team has gone from a team of disregard to a major contender. Few, if any, saw it coming. Head Coach Rich Brooks has roused a sleeping giant and is rattling cages throughout the country. Those that once paid no mind are suddenly rigid with attention. With the team having its best starting season since 1984, it's easy to see why.

Quarterback Andre Woodson is the key element in the winning chemistry the football team is enjoying. Recruited to the Kentucky team as a freshman, Woodson served as back up to then quarterback Shane Boyd. Though he was expected to do well no one anticipated the explosion of talent and leadership Woodson has demonstrated. Breaking multiple college football records, Woodson has made Kentucky relevant in a sport that has largely taken it for granted.

With the possibility of going first round in the NFL draft Woodson has had the grapevine alive with talk he may become the first Kentuckian to win the coveted Heisman Trophy. Considering, the history of the program and the work he has poured into it, no one deserves it more. Woodson is performing equal to his Heisman rivals except he's doing it with less and required to do more. From the ashes of obscurity Woodson and the Kentucky team has risen.

In the world of sports, a team or player who unexpectedly achieves success is dubbed Cinderella. It signifies the dream of winning manifested against all odds. Despite popular opinion I don't consider Kentucky a Cinderella team. The label congers up images of mice becoming men, pumpkins that turn into coaches and success only for a limited time. At the stroke of midnight Cinderella's time runs out. Going from glamour to glum, she flees the ball and returns to those who believe she doesn't quite measure up.

Forget the fairytale. This team should be likened to David and Goliath. LSU came to town ranked number one in the nation. They went home utterly stunned. For David it took three small stones. For the Cats it took three overtimes. It's a moment that will live in infamy. At the winning moment the camera panned to LSU Head Coach Les Miles, who appeared to be trying to get his mind to comprehend what his eyes just saw. The University of Kentucky, the team considered not to even be a house cat let alone a wildcat, had just scored the winning touchdown. He was still peering over his shoulder as security officials virtually dragged him off the field in a near all-out run.

Officers weren't in fear of a hit being carried out on Miles. They were concerned, however, he could be accidentally harmed. Knowing the passion of UK fans, officers knew exactly what would happen next. Hordes of blue shirts descended as fans, unable to contain their excitement, stormed the field. The celebratory move cost the University $50,000. During the in state rival game with Louisville, UK was fined $25,000 for the same thing. There's logic in the imposing of fines for swarming the field. Nothing can tarnish a victory more than the severe injury or death in a triumphant melee. Think soccer.

Rumor has it that prior to the LSU game, arriving, fans could drop money into a collection that was designated to off set the fine the fans caused the school. Fans knew restraint would be an impossibility if the Cats pulled off a win over LSU. Perhaps the fine was doubled because it was a premeditated rush.

We all hope for the opportunity to again flood the field in celebration. Recent losses and injured players have surely pricked the team's morale. It shouldn't. They're still a winning team. They rekindled our football flame with a superb example of leadership, teamwork and perseverance. They shook up the game of football, turned the SEC on its head and rallied a fan base they didn't know they had. Kentuckians are no longer just bleeding blue; we're bleeding football blue!