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Weekly Editor's Blog: Redemption in the Bluegrass

Saturday night’s game had all the makings of a classic Southern rivalry: two high-octane offenses, six lead changes, and not one, but two, Hail Mary passes with less than 60 seconds left in the game--one a beautiful 57-yard spiral caught and run in for a touchdown, the other stopped just 11 yards short of the goal line.

After press passes for the Tennessee game fell through, I almost sat this one out and watched at home. But, by the grace of God (and an enterprising Kentucky fan), I ended up on the front row of Commonwealth Stadium for the Governor’s Cup game between bitter in-state rivals University of Louisville and University of Kentucky.

"You’ve got to understand," explained long-time UK fan T.G. Shuck, chief meteorologist of Lexington station WKYT, who sat across the aisle from me. "I grew up on Kentucky football. These tickets belonged to my dad before they belonged to me. I’ve sat through years of bad Kentucky football."

Indeed. It had been 30 years since the Wildcats had beat a ranked opponent and more than 20 since they’d cracked the Top 25. But this year was different.

"Both schools went to bowl games last year," T.G. noted. "These seniors played through the lean years, so you can see this stadium is ready to explode."

He was right. You could feel it. Long-suffering fans dared to "Believe in Blue" again. They crossed fingers, threw salt over their shoulders, and hoped against hope that the ’Cats would finally ground the high-flying Cards, a team that finished one play from a national championship berth last season.

From the opening kickoff where Louisville fumbled and Kentucky recovered, the game was a barnburner. Still, with just 1:37 left on the clock, the ’Cats trailed 34-33. "We’ve been here before," an old-timer behind me reported stoically, arms crossed over his chest.

After making a fourth-and-one conversion near midfield, Kentucky was flagged for a personal foul. Andre Woodson answered with a 57-yard bomb that connected with receiver Steve Johnson who eluded two defenders and stumbled into the end zone.

Louisville’s own desperation pass was deflected and then caught on the 11-yard-line where a UK defender stuffed Louisville’s hope for a miracle. Men, women, and children began pouring over the stadium walls like lemmings plunging into the sea. Goalposts were toppled. Euphoric fans ripped clumps of bluegrass from the field. Others kissed the ground where Johnson caught the pass that sealed the game.

T.G. stood smiling long after the final buzzer sounded, his arm around wife Angie. "I can’t believe it," he said. "I just can’t believe it."