07i& (jat&' (ause
SEC Hosts Usually Gear Up For Wildcats
Memories From LSU, Tennessee And Florida
Everyone knows how big the University of Kentucky basketball is across the state and nationally. We all know support is always ever present. Know matter where we went as a team, there were always Kentucky fans in the area. I can't remember ever playing a game and there not being Kentucky. As a player, you enjoy having your own fans when you go into opposing teams' arenas. People sometimes don't realize how important it is to have the home court advantage. When you have the fans behind you. you feel a bit more assertive.
When your adrenalin gets flowing, you feel very confident. My point is. no matter how many Kentucky fans are present at an opposing team's arena, their fans will always be more vocal than ours. You might say to yourself, that is true for every opposing team. I'm here to tell you that, that statement is not true. The four years that I played basketball at UK every arena that we played in, it was either the biggest crowd of the year or was near capacity. A win over Kentucky would probably make the season for most teams. The excitement of Kentucky coming to town makes the opposing teams fans go crazy. They really get fired up for the occasion.
Dicky	Beal
Cats' Pause	Columnist
When opposing teams come to Rupp Arena I really don't think they feel the effects that we felt (Kentucky Players) when we were on the road. Not to put UK's fans down, but they aren't really that vocal. I still think there are no better fans in the world than Kentucky fans, but when we play at other places, the abuse that we get is pretty upsetting, compared to the type of treatment other teams get when they play in Rupp Arena.
I'm not saying I want UK fans to be abusive to the opponents' players, but there is a constructive way of supporting the home team. All you have to do is just cheer the team on consistently. You don't have to yell obsenities at the other team. All the players want is your cheering and encouragement throughout the game. We need to let the other teams know that we are at home and that UK players and fans aren't going to allow them to go home with a victory.
As I think of the places where we played throughout my career, there are a few arenas that stand out in my mind, Tennessee, L.S.U.. and Florida in particular. Their fans were more than just vocal, they were obscene. They would talk about your family or anything personal about you at any time. The fans, particularly the students, wanted to beat us so bad that they didn't care what it took to do it. Now, if you are a UK player and you go into the opposing teams arena, their fans are irrate and the team is fired up, don't you think that will be a psychological advantage for the home team? What about the visiting team? That is a great intimidating factor when the visiting team is in front of fifteen thousand screaming fans. I don't mean screaming fans. How about crazy fans? When we traveled to L.S.U. we couldn't hear ourselves talk in the huddle. The introduction was so loud that I wished we could have stayed in the lockerroom until it was time for the L.S.U. mascot to come out of the ceiling. The crowd just goes bananas when that happens. The L.S.U. players can really feel that they can win the game. Everything that they do is done well. LSU will hit just about everything they put up to the basket. It's tough on a team, with the reputation Kentucky has, to overcome those obstacles. As a matter of fact, the day that we practiced before the LSU game there were always fans at the door yelling TIGER BAIT! as soon as we stepped off the bus. I use to think LSU fans were crazy, now that I think about it LSU fans were out of their minds, completely.
NBC Sports
LSU's Tiger Pitt
Florida's Arena
Cats In Stokely Arena
Tennessee fans are the worst fans of all. They'll yell at the opposing team from the time its warming up until the game was over. After they beat us (four for four) they would still talk about us.
I remember the last time we played in Stokely  a Tennesse fan was so irrate that Coach Hall had to be restrained from going after him. That's pretty serious stuff. 1 really can't mention in this column what the two were saying, but it doesn't take to much of an imagination to figure out what was being talked about.
It really helped Tennessee to play us at Stokely. No matter how high we were ranked, or how bad of a record Tennessee had, the Vols would beat us at the Stokely complex. Some people say its a jinx, but I think Tennessee doesn't care how many wins it gets all season, just as long as UT beats Kentucky at Stokely.
Tennessee's players and fans get so fired up that the Volunteers play above their ability. Their fans are loyal from beginning to end. The place is so loud that you can't wait to get the heck out of there.
Eventually UK will get a victory down in Knoxville. Let's hope that it will happen this year.
Florida is the most intimidating crowd of all. You get the feeling that the whole crowd is going to come at you. Here is a classic example of a place that doesn't really have good crowds, but when UK comes to town it's a different matter. The Gators supporters (when playing Kentucky) are on top of you from the time you're introduced until the last second.
The funny part is. if we are winning they still are yelling obscenties at the team. They're the type of fans that will make you feel uneasy as a player.
Before building its new arena UF had a place called Alligator Alley, where the fans were right on top of you. I'm glad we didn't play there. I've heard that it was the most intimidating place of all time.
I don't want our fans to yell terrible things at the opponents but as a player you would like to feel you have the home court advantage. I really don't believe chanting at the other team's players is the way to do it. The noise factor, however, really makes a player feel good.
There's nothing like having a home crowd cheering for you. It's a feeling as if you can do no wrong. Believe me, having the opportunity to play in other arenas makes playing at home very comforting. I don't want Wildcat fans to think that I don't appreciate their support, because I do, but I wish you could experience what the players feel from opponents' fan abuse. It can be intimidating.
Kentucky has the best fans in the country. Though if the fans who attend the games would be a little more vocal, there would be more excitment in Rupp Arena.
Fans play a big part in a team's performance. If you cheered this year's team, especially during its full-court pressure defense, a lot of things will happen. Try it and watch the results.
Cheering will get the players to be more aggressive. The combination of the fans and the players will result in a victory for the 'Cats'.