Always leave them wanting more

I have been, I am afraid, guilty of producing a few columns the last couple of years, that may have left the impression that I am less than impressed with the way the University of Kentucky football program has been going. But the truth of the matter is I am just like any fan of any sports team, and that is, if the team does not go all the way and win every game it plays, well, obviously things could have gone better.

And you gotta remember that U. K. football still has at least three dubious streaks that are still alive, despite the success the team has met with over the last three years. First of all, there is the fact that no U. K. team has ever beaten a team coached by Steve Spurrier, and this year, with every chance to break this 15 game losing streak, yep, we failed, miserably, by the score of 24-17, and now that streak is 16 games long.

Then there is the team formerly coached by Spurrier, Florida. Well, this streak was in no danger of being broken this year. Frankly, I still believe that this Gator team, which put the whippin’ on U. K. big time (we weren’t the only ones who got this honor) by the final score of 63-5, and ran this particular streak to a mere 22 games, is going to be the national champion once it whips up on the Oklahoma Sooners in a similar fashion.

But the granddaddy of these nasty streaks is the one that is currently owned by Tennessee. Yep, the Vols got our number big time. And even poor ol’ Phillip Fulmer, the by-now fired Tennessee coach, was able to take advantage of our Wild Kitties this year, and run what is the nation’s longest winning streak by one college football team over another, to 24 straight games. What is sad, though, is that that Florida’s streak, the second longest, presumably, trails Tennessee’s by a mere two games.

Okay, so Rich Brooks and company can’t be held liable for a lot of these losses. And the fact of the matter is, Rich has now done something that even the legendary Bear Bryant couldn’t do, and that is, he has coached his Wild Kitties to three straight bowl victories, so that does ease the stinging disappointments already alluded to somewhat.

Bear, by the way, was the coach at U. K. for eight seasons. (All facts regarding the Bear are gleaned from Wikipedia.) Under the Bear, “Kentucky made its first bowl appearance (1947)… won its first Southeastern Conference title (1950)… concluded its (1950) season…ranked #1 according to the Sagarin Rankings (after a) victory over Bud Wilkinson’s #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the Sugar Bowl.” But as great a coach as he was, two consecutive bowl wins was the best he was able to do (the 1951 Sugar Bowl and the 1952 Cotton Bowl). One more thing, there is no truth to the rumors the the Bear was let go because he failed to live up to the (losing) traditions which had already been long established at Kentucky.

But there is one more reason I want to clarify my stance on U. K. football, and that is the fact that one of its better players for the past four years was none other than Belfry’s own David Jones, he who was once a part of a storied duo in Kentucky high school football, referred to (in German) as “Donner und Blitz” (Thunder and Lightning). His counterpart was, I believe, Doug Howard, and the two of them were as responsible as anyone for a pair of AA state championships for the Pirates. Now as to whether he was Thunder and Doug was Lightning, or it was the other way around, I am unsure, but because of his blazing speed, and because of Doug’s brute strength, I would say that David was Lightning, and Doug Thunder. But that is just my opinion.

Okay, as has already been noted about how a true fan views any loss by his team of choice, so it goes with a player of whom you are a fan. You can enjoy watching your favorite player, but you want him to do his very best, and, in football, that means a Heisman trophy presentation. Well, obviously that doesn’t happen for every football prospect, but danged if David didn’t help make U. K. football a lot more fun over the last four years. During Jones’ first couple of years, I remember exchanging a lot of phone calls with my brother, Steve, the one-time Voice of the Pirates, over some great play that David mananged to pull off, and when these incidents occurred, well, dagnabit, we wouldn’t have been any happier if David had got that Heisman.

On one of these, now, you’re gonna have to trust my memory, as I can find no record of this happening, but I believe that Jones actually ran down one of the fastest wide receivers in the SEC from behind. I hope he was from Florida, but I cannot be sure. This was probably when he was a Freshman. When Jones was a Sophomore, and against the Gators, he “Had a brilliant seven-yard rush on an end-around…to set up a UK touchdown, reversing field several times before bulling his way down to the goal line… .” (All info reproduced here is from the web site http://www.ukathletics.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/jones_david00.html.)

It was during his Junior year that Jones had an emergency appendectomy, and missed all of two games because of it. Dang! Just two games?!? During the next 11 games, Jones “Set a season high with three tackles against Florida ... Made a critical stop on Tennessee's two-point conversion attempt in the third overtime of that game ... (and) Preserved the Music City Bowl victory with a pass breakup in the end zone in the game's final play.”

And leaving the best for last, this last Saturday, Jones merely took the second-half kick-off a Liberty Bowl record 99 yards for a score that was crucial in the comeback victory the Cats enjoyed over Conference USA champ East Carolina. Yep, just like the great stars always do, Jones made his exit from the University of Kentucky football stage, and he left that appreciative audience wanting more.

So, to this years U. K Wildcats, and especially to David Jones, now officially one of my favorite all-time U. K. athletes ever in any sport, let me say “Well done, sir. Well done, indeed!”