LEXINGTON — Surrounded by dozens of media members from a long list of other newspapers, radio/TV stations and other related outlets, I found myself sitting high above the 10-yard line inside the Central Bank Press Box at Kroger Field Saturday afternoon preparing for my first-ever UK football game and proudly representing the Harlan Enterprise as a still-new resident of Harlan County, Kentucky.
I lived the first 62 years of my life in southwestern Michigan, and more than 40 of those years were spent working for multiple newspapers as a sports reporter and feature-writer. Having officially retired from the working world in early 2020, my family, and I, moved to southeastern Kentucky in May, shortly after the onset of the COVID pandemic.
Not since we had moved from Michigan to Harlan County had I been afforded the opportunity to return to part-time local/college sports coverage, nor did I choose to seek out local media with an eye on coming out of “retirement,” and getting back into the game. I had just become a homesteader and a farmer in the Appalachia of eastern Kentucky
Our first 3+ years had been invested in establishing a homestead, where we now have a small dairy and chicken farm. Now that things are manageable and less-labor intensive around the farm, I finally decided to reach out to John Henson via a Facebook message earlier this summer and our initial conversation evolved into an arrangement that has led, directly, to my sitting in my seat on a sun-splashed Saturday.
It has also allowed me to become involved, again, in support and coverage of mainly Harlan County and Bell County athletes; doing something for which this old pundit still has passion – sports-writing.
When I shared my “resume” with John, one of his first responses was that he had been under the impression that he was “the last living sports writer in Harlan County.” Little did he know that a 66-year-old Michigan State grad and retired sports writer was now living across from Stone Mountain up in Smith and was eager to be part of his local coverage team, if he’d be interested.
He was.
Fast-forward back to my first “live” college football game since 2018 here on Saturday afternoon, where the pre-game period allowed me to not only catch my breath, get my press box bearings, and grab a bite to eat, but also to reflect back on the first part of the day; the 3-hour drive to the UK athletic complex that was made a whole lot more tolerable, and certainly less lonely, having my wife, daughter and son-in-law along en route to Lexington and in support of an old dog who had been given the opportunity to dust off some old tricks.
When the fireworks went off inside the stadium, following the Wildcats’ first touchdown of the afternoon, the partisan UK crowd cheered, but the press box remained silent. Not a peep is allowed, and there are posted/printed rules about “no cheering” requirements that are actually enforced inside a working college football press box.
The touchdown staked the Wildcats to a 10-0 lead during the early stages of the second quarter, and I actually found myself “cheering” on the inside for the Wildcats, who had suffered an emotional 1-point loss last week at home to then-No. 1-ranked Georgia.
The Wildcats recovered a fumble on Ohio University’s next possession, scored another touchdown, and appeared to be on the verge of maybe blowing things wide open prior to halftime.
Halfway through the third quarter, the Wildcats had tacked on a field goal and a pick-six interception return and the rout was officially on.
Still, and despite the fact that college football was being played in front of me, and the home team was putting on quite a show for the assembled throng, Saturday was much more about the experience, than the game for me. John even messaged me on Facebook this week, writing, “have fun.” It was.
After separating from my family in the Yellow (press) parking structure, I caught a jam-packed shuttle which delivered me to Kroger Field. On the way, and from where I stood at the front of the shuttle, I gazed out at a sea of blue and white-clad Wildcats fans. The smile on my face and in my heart was unmistakable; to see the sincere joy and excitement of spending another afternoon at Kroger Field, cheering on their beloved Wildcats to the last play of the game, win or lose.
Although my allegiance is bought and paid for as an alumnae of Michigan State University, I have maintained a soft spot in my heart for UK since the 90s when Tubby Smith was roaming the sidelines at Rupp Arena as men’s basketball coach. If there was such a thing as a second favorite college team, UK has been that for me for more than 40 years. The fact that I now live in Kentucky and have an opportunity to sit in the UK football press box, borders on surreal.
With Kroger Field now officially checked off the list, my hope is to accompany John back to Lexington some time in November and mark what would be my first trip to Rupp and provide an opportunity to see Trent Noah in an early-season game.
For now, it’s football season and the Wildcats flexed their muscles and had some fun Saturday against the outmanned Bobcats of Ohio, winning, 41-6.
And made it a pretty special, memorable day for this transplanted northerner.