Florida Gators vs Kentucky Wildcats, 9/30/2023, 12pm

Kentucky 33 – Florida 14, Attendance: 61,699

Weather: Sunny, 78; Ticket: $97 Stubhub, Face: $72, Parking: $0

“Isn’t Kentucky a basketball school?” by Tree

The University of Kentucky is in Lexington, which is reasonably close to Louisville and Cincinnati airports. Either airport is about an hour and a half away. Lexington also has an airport. Of course, with only a handful of major carrier flights in and out, you are probably better served going with the bigger airports I mentioned. I flew into Louisville and left via Cincinnati, and both were fine. If you are into booze or horses, you will like the area.  The bourbon trail is close by as is the Keeneland racetrack. While lesser known to the public, Keeneland’s spring and fall meets are equal, or as some may argue, more fun than the races at fabled Churchill Downs up the road in Louisville. Our timing was just off for the start of the fall meet, but we heard plenty say we should come back for it.

Lexington is the second largest city in Kentucky which is a lot like your kid being the second smartest student in his kindergarten class. It’s notable, but not noteworthy. It did not feel like a big city and was easy enough to get around. A land-grant university, the UK campus is big. It is a nice campus fitting of its size with a mix of modern and classic facilities. I stayed in an Airbnb that was just far enough that it was not really walkable to campus. As with almost any college town and especially with an SEC school, expect to pay a premium to be near campus on game weekends. In general, it is a nice town, with plenty of options for eating, easy to get around and with some attractions beyond UK.

Unfortunately, I could not have been further from the Purple Lot, which was on the opposite side of the stadium. It made my walk much longer than expected. I stopped and talked to several tailgaters and was offered food and beverages. These lots are on the way to the stadium and require season passes but I was told sometimes the attendants will let you park there if you slip them $40 or $50 cash on game day. As I came into the stadium area, it was clear that the Blue Lots are the primo spots for tailgating. It was robust and big-time. I walked on towards the Purple Lots with big expectations. They were not met. The Purple lots are nice in the sense that there’s lots of room to spread out. Of course, that also means that the tailgating is subdued. If you have a big group, it works great. Luckily, the group I was with numbered about eight to ten at the peak, so we had fun. If you were with just a couple of folks, that lot would feel a lot like Siberia. In any case, you are not in the main tailgating action.

Kroger Field is of medium size at 61,000 with two video scoreboards and multiple video ribbons. With that size and those amenities, there really isn’t a bad seat in the house. While aluminum bleachers, all but the upper deck seats have a back to them. Not that it matters because the fans stood for much of the game. My seats were in Section 225 on the 40-yard line about halfway up the stadium. I paid about $100 which was very reasonable to see a big opponent like Florida. I was on the home side and thankfully in the shade. Even in late September, the Kentucky sun can be a force so bring some sunscreen. The concessions were standard, along with a souvenir cup that at first glance was awfully plain. However, I grew to respect its simplicity of the blue “UK” logo on a pure white cup and nothing else – no corporate sponsorship, Coke Cola logo, or Billy Bob’s used cars. Its starkness is its genius. And with free water stations around the stadium, those cups can come in handy.

The team enters to a horse montage, which I get because of the racing heritage in the state. It makes you wonder why they went with the Wildcats nickname when “Thoroughbreds” would be much more fitting and unique. In college football, you can’t throw a stick without hitting a cat mascot. The Kentucky mascot did do pushups after every score. The game was sold out and I had forgotten what an electric environment big, Power 5 games can be. The fans roared with cheers of “We are UK” and the stadium shook as the Wildcats entered the field. It is hard to beat that experience. They have several standard cheers: “Let’s Go Cats”, “Blue/White”, and “Go Big Blue”. However, my favorite is “Whooo, C-A-T-S, Cats! Cats! Cats!” They have some gyrations that go with it. It was not bad at all. The fans were into the game and Kroger field was loud. Fans were friendly and courteous with occasional lighthearted jabs at Florida fans. There was nothing too dramatic in attire. It was relaxed SEC style with mostly polos for the guys and a mix of jeans and casual dresses for the women. Of course, cowboy boots were present but not overly so. I did also come across a unique take on the standard striped overall, with the bibs having a checkerboard pattern. Again, nice to see something slightly different than the normal Saturday afternoon apparel.

Kentucky was undefeated entering this game. They were also probably pre-diabetic given all the cupcakes they had fed on up to that point. I was hopeful they were the real deal because the last thing I wanted to see was the Gators come in, roll over the Wildcats, and take all the wind out of the stadium. Ironically, it was Kentucky who was doing the rolling – and it was steam rolling.

Florida started the game with a three and out. Technically, it was four and out thanks to a holding penalty. Suffice it to say Florida did nothing. Kentucky took over on their own twelve and proceeded to give Ray Davis the ball whenever they could. It was only Kentucky trying to pass inside the ten-yard line that made the Wildcats settle for a field goal.

For Florida it got worse with the second play of the following series resulting in an interception that gave Kentucky the ball on the Gator fifteen-yard line. Having apparently learned their lesson, the Wildcats got Davis the ball on the next two plays, resulting in a touchdown. Florida then put at least enough of a drive to make Kentucky start from their own ten-yard line.  Inexplicably, Kentucky threw three incomplete passes and were forced to punt. Finally, the Gators had made a stop. Alas, a moronic leaping penalty by Florida gave Kentucky the ball back and new life. At this point, I don’t know if Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops stepped in, but someone realized that “Hey, they haven’t stopped Davis yet”. Next play, Davis goes off the left side for 75 yards and a touchdown. Having finally surmised that the Gators run defense had the tensile strength of rice paper, it was all Davis, all day. He finished with 280 yards and the Wildcats cruised to victory.

When you buy single seats, you cross your fingers and hope you don’t have to sit next to a jerk. At Kentucky, I lucked out. I ended up next to a family with at least two generations present, possibly three (my notes became less detailed once the Davis express entered the building). Standing next to me was mom, who wasn’t talkative but was certainly polite enough. However, at halftime she and most of their crew headed to the concession stands, leaving me and Grandpa standing next to each other. We started small talking, and the conversation grew with him sharing his life experiences from growing up in Athens, OH to the Vietnam war to his long teaching career. Since I still needed to get to Athens to see Ohio University, I was interested to hear his take. Needless to say, this guy was charming – an octogenarian with no filter. It made for a very enjoyable second half, even if his daughter put the breaks on at one point – “No Dad, you can not tell him the joke about a Mormon walking into a bar.” To which he replied, “Well, what about the Baptist?”

This probably is the best feature about seeing a game at Kroger Field. It has all the trappings of the SEC without the arrogance of some of the other programs. Kentucky has one, sort of, national championship when they went undefeated and beat Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. The polls had already declared OU the national champion, but the Bear Bryant led Wildcats rightly claimed the 1950 team as national champs. Since then, Kentucky has had middling success, and the fans don’t have near the bravado for the football team they do for their hoops team. Kentucky is, after all, a basketball school.

Given that, I can’t say that Kentucky is a must-see venue. It, however, should not be avoided. Kroger Field is a great place to see a game. The tailgating, with some good planning, is top notch and the Wildcats usually put a good, if not championship contending, team on the field. In fact, I would be hard pressed to think of a better weekend than hitting Lexington to catch some of the Keeneland fall meet coupled with a Wildcat home game. Sprinkle in a little bourbon, and you’ll have a hell of a time.

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