28. See the Cats in Enemy Territory

Why is it on the list?

Originally, this item was see the Cats at Rupp Arena. I revised this item because I have seen the Cats play at Rupp on numerous occasions. I've seen them in their home away from home at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati. I've also seen them on neutral sites (in the NCAA tournament). However, I had never gone to another school's gym to see them play in a hostile environment. Living in Knoxville provided me with the perfect opportunity to do so.

The Process

I had scouted out UT's website looking for when tickets went on sale. Of course when the big day occurred I forgot and by the time I remembered the only tickets left were single seat obstructed view.

Well, what the hell. I was determined to go so I plunked down my $21 bucks and braced myself for heading into the Lion's Den all by my lonesome. At least UT doesn't serve alcohol at the games I thought.

Parking for the game was a remarkably easy process and I was delighted to see many blue shirts sprinkled in with all the orange as I made my way to UT's arena. Even better, my seat wasn't too obstructed (only a small corner of the court was blocked) and I had 3 UK fans sitting right behind me.

Before the game started the UT folks showed a video of Chris Lofton, a Kentucky boy who UK didn't recruit. It made me sad, especially when Lofton said, "Thanks for believing in me Tennessee". Sorry Chris! I wish Tubby would have recruited you.

Anyways, the game started and Tennessee came out hot. They went on a run and were up 15, which was what most people expected with it being their gym, with them being the #1 team in the country, and the Cats being without their stud power forward Patrick Patterson (lost for the season with a stress fracture).

Then the Cats began to claw their way back. Billy G's game plan was great and the Cats were executing it to perfection. Run as much time off the shot clock as possible and then score. Using that plan the Cats had made it a game again by half-time and actually took the lead in the 2nd half.

The UT fans grew quiet, and the UK fans in the building starting "Go Big Blue" and "C-A-T-S" cheers. It was great.

Unfortunately, UT made some big plays down the stretch (Lofton's tear drop in the lane comes to mind), UK uncharacteristically missed some foul shots and easy layups, and Joe Crawford's (who had been fighting foul trouble all day long) desperation three to tie in the last seconds missed. UT survived quite a scare from a UK team that showed grit, determination, and courage in the face of adversity. Perry Stevenson and Ramon Harris came up huge (which they must continue to do in Patterson's absence) and even Michael Porter made a few decent plays with Joe in foul trouble.

Overall I was very proud of my Cats. It was a great game and the UT fans were some of the most polite fans I've ever seen. If someone had walked into Rupp wearing Orange I would have given them a hard time, but no one said a word to me even though I was decked out in blue and yelling "Go Cats!" every other minute. A great way to spend my Sunday afternoon and another item has been crossed out!