Wild Cats Fan
Sports Illustrated - Kentucky Edition 2004
By: Ashley Judd

For six months beginning last September, I played the role of Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof on Broadway, and during curtain calls I was always entertained by shouts of "Go, Big Blue!" and "Go, Cats!" or seeing signs expressing our shared passion for college basketball. But while I treasured my time on stage, I deeply lamented the fact that it prevented me from attending my beloved Kentucky Wildcats' games. That's why the first thought I had (after Ouch!) when I injured my left foot during a performance in February was, I can probably catch the rest of the games. Indeed, shortly after I had surgery, I flew to South Carolina in early March to watch the Cats dominate the Gamecocks 84-65.

People often ask me to try to explain why Kentuckians are so nutty about UK basketball. My guess is that it's because the> commonwealth is so diverse, from the mountains of the east, where my family hails; to the central bluegrass, where we have a proud tradition of raising the world's best thoroughbreds; to the farmlands of the west. Basketball is one thing that unites us, something for which we all can be proud. An airline pilot once told my Nana that when he flies over the state, he can tell when UK is playing because the roads are empty.

I loved hearing my Aunt Margaret talk about my grandfather Papaw Judd driving a large group of kids down Route 60 to Memorial Coliseum in Lexington. At home, Aunt Margaret said, they watched games on TV with the volume turned down so they could listen to Cawood Ledford's radio broadcasts, and I dream of them doing so. When my family moved to Tennessee in 1979, I used to wait anxiously on Saturdays for the SEC games to come on. I'd sigh when I finally saw Rupp Arena, wistfully reckoning that I knew half the people in the gym. That's a lot of people for a 13-year-old to know, but Iwas homesick.

One thing I love about going to UK games is that I don't feel like a movie star, I'm just another passionate fan. In 2002, I hopped on a plane to Gainesville, Fla., took a cab to the arena and watched the Cats beat the Gators 70-68, feeling as free as I do when I walk the woods surrounding our farm. Later that year, after my brother-in -law's car went out in the first 30 minutes of the 12 Hours of Sebring race in Florida, my husband, Dario Franchitti, and I left earlier than expected. He went home to Tennessee, and I went to St. Louis, where along with the rest of Big Blue Nation, I gleefully watched Tayshaun Prince score 41 points to beat Tulsa 87-82 in the second round of the NCAAs.

I have had the pleasure of getting to know many UK players and coaches over the years. I get to go backstage, if you will, and enjoy time with the young men, appreciate their basketball IQs and develop friendships. Tony Delk is still my favorite. He was the MVP of the 1996 Final Four, and watching him taught me to look past the flash of offense and to value tremendous defense.

After the Cats beat IUPUI 95-64 in the first round of the 2003 NCAA tournament in Nashville, the team came to my house and I cooked for them. The fellas signed a wall that runs along the staircase to the basement and is adorned with awards given to me by the people of Kentucky, and what they wrote is almost as dear to me as my grandmother's pearls. I have had so many wonderful memories over the years, but I'll leave you with my most recent. It was March 7 and I was sick with bronchitis, but I made it to Rupp for Senior Day. During the first timeout of the second half, the UK cheerleaders spell out KENTUCKY, and a person from the crowd is asked to come out to make the Y. That day cheerleader Jason Keogh hoisted me onto his shoulder and carried me (and the blue-painted cast on my left foot) to midcourt. BeforeI was even introduced, I was given a standing ovation. It was the most extraordinary feeling.

...the people of Kentucky.

Sports Illustrated - 2004

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