I Heart Late Games

They are more of a drag on me than they used to be, but I've always been partial towards the late games. Especially when I was a youngster, I used to really enjoy those delayed broadcasts on WAVE-3 (Bob Domine with sports!) that would come on after the local news.

Depending upon the matchup, it was a bit of a question as to whether or not I would listen to Cawood Ledford's live call on the radio, and therefore learn the outcome before it was shown on television.

I know it's heresy, but sometimes I would prefer to not listen in as it unfolded on the AM dial. That's certainly no knock on Cawood, a legend if ever there was one. (I could probably do a dozen posts on his contributions to UK fandom alone, and still not do the man justice. Suffice it to say, I was a huge fan.)

But the fact is, at that age, sometimes I would just rather wait for the TV, with all of Dan Issel's Kentucky Farm Bureau commercials and the spots for Golden Flake potato chips.

Did I always stay awake the entire game? Well no, especially if UK was pulling one of its blowout specials on some hopelessly undermanned team in a rowdy Rupp Arena. I might wake up on the couch to that blizzard of "snow" on the screen, listening to the perfect white noise background that cable and Dish and DirecTV have all but eliminated from our existence.

But it seemed like a secret that I could keep to myself, with the rest of the house quiet, to stay up past 1:00am...pulling for the Big Blue and not caring how tired I might be at school later that morning. It was truly like an "event" for me. It was somehow better than a Saturday afternoon game with everyone else awake and watching with me. Late games, it was usually just me and the big fat housecat.

So of course things have changed. I no longer live in the Blue Grass, and am not even aware of an option for "delayed" TV broadcasts, unless you count DVRs. Telecasts can be streamed over your home computer these days, or you can at least get live audio, real-time stats, and who knows what all. The interwebz might not always bring progress, strictly speaking, but it is a wondrous thing. There's more information out there about his favorite team than any kid could have imagined that many years ago.

Speaking of kids, I have my own now, and somebody needs to make sure that they are tucked in and getting their proper rest (Thank God for my wife.) Being in the Central time zone also means that even the later tip-offs, such as the game with Tennessee tonight, should have me asleep long before midnight-- if I can properly unwind, and resist the temptation of another hour of SportsCenter.

So late games have their downside, to be sure. I might have a tendency to um, snack farther into the evening than I should. Yeah, snack. Or if I want to watch with friends and fellow Kentucky fans, it might keep me out on the town a bit later than I would prefer. But for me, there is still something about late games that just makes them seem special.

If the Cats can beat Tennessee in Knoxville tonight, it will be even more special.