Memorial Rocks Again

So it's unanimous.

The old girl still has it.

In a place that Kentucky basketball fans consider to be absolutely hallowed ground, the Wildcats opened the NIT with a 70-60 win over UNLV on Tuesday night.

But the biggest buzz of the night was not generated by Patrick Patterson's double-double, or Perry Stevenson's absolutely SICK dunk over (insert UNLV poster victim here), but rather the venue itself.

The Coliseum.

I almost want to spell it like the Romans-- exchange the "i" for an "o" and add another "s".

Big Blue Nation showed up for her. They wore their blue. They painted their faces and they cheered and they supported the Cats like it really was the Big Dance, and not a consolation event. The fans definitely wanted to see some more Wildcat basketball this season.

But I think most agreed that the night was really all about that old gymnasium where Rupp used to prowl the sidelines. Where Kentucky had accumulated a record of 306-38. (Make it 307).

In a building opened in 1950 to honor the true heroes of the Commonwealth-- those who had fallen in battle during both World Wars and the Korean War-- the Kentucky fan base seemed to truly sense what a rare opportunity it was to be able to pay that most special place another visit.

Memorial can still rock in '09.