Fancy's Monday Morning Thoughts...

Don’t you just love Monday mornings? The horrifying sound of your alarm signaling the start of another work-week, the whining children that stayed up too late the night before and do not wish to participate in morning routines, and the whaling and gnashing of teeth caused by our severe cases of road rage. However, this particular Monday morning, Big Blue Nation seemed to be a little different, maybe a smidgen more pleasant. The birds were singing, there was a brief moment of sunshine before the beautiful snowflakes, and our Wildcats are the #1 team in the country!!!

WOW! Our guys really put on a show Saturday! Coach Cal always says, “Play to win,” and they did just that. Every single player that stepped on that floor hustled... diving for balls, offensive rebounds, and an unbeatable defense. They wanted it so bad that they didn’t care if they even lost their teeth! They played with heart, they played with intensity, they played to win. Congratulations Cats!

Now, that I have addressed the obvious achievement of getting the “W” on Saturday, I want to move on to a bigger “W.” In my previous columns, I have rarely (or maybe not even at all) mentioned the man behind the players, Coach John Calipari. Coaches come and go, and are mainly there for one reason…to lead his team to victories. However, this guy is different. Undoubtedly, he enforces his philosophy “play to win,” but it seems he has made it his personal goal to exemplify how to win in life, as well.

Obviously, the game was thrilling to watch, but have you ever listened to the post-game show or The John Calipari Show? This man is taking his position to a whole new level. He seems to have made it his personal goal to teach life-lessons as well as basketball. During his post-game show Saturday, Tom Leach mentioned the score of the Georgia vs. Tennessee game, in which Tennessee lost, and those who had stayed behind at Rupp to listen applauded at the defeat of the Vols. Calipari somewhat scolded the crowd and insisted they not root against a rival team. He is convinced that this will in turn result in a loss for our beloved Cats. Also during the show, when the obvious fact of our Wildcats rising to the number one spot was mentioned, Calipari prepared fans. “I am just going to go ahead and prepare you that they will probably say we haven’t played anybody.” His requests were for no one to get angry and call-in, or blog about the misfortune, but take it all in stride and not worry about sour grapes. Basically, he was saying that it doesn’t change the fact that UK is going to be the #1 team in the country. I thought to myself, “What a classy guy!”

To confirm that thought, I was watching his show on Sunday with my husband, and it focused on Hoops for Haiti. The show begins with him surrounded by his team who all sported a blue t-shirt designed special for the fundraising event. He took this opportunity to teach his team that there is more to life than basketball, and at some point in your life, you have to start caring about other people and doing your part. You see, loving basketball is great, but loving people exceeds any other type of love you may experience in life. “You can use your fame for good, or you can use your fame for bad,” was a statement he made to the guys that echoed in my mind for the remainder of the weekend. These guys are so blessed to have this man who loves the game, but more importantly loves them. The goals he has set for himself and for his team far exceeds the game of basketball. While he is teaching skills, strategies, and fundamentals, to succeed in the game, he is also teaching respect, compassion, and responsibility for the game of life! Coach Calipari… truly a class act!

Love you…..Go Big Blue!

Fancy
Feline