Big Blue days are here again as 'Cats roll on

<p>NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Anybody got a boat?</p><p>Walking along the sidewalk and taking a right on Opry Place, you see the task at hand. The Big Blue Sea awaits. Bridgestone Arena is downhill from this corner in downtown Nashville and more than an hour before Kentucky takes on Tennessee they Wildcat fans are linin the street looking for tickets or a spot at the bar at Rippy's where it's four-deep surrounding the place.</p><p>Many of them are trying to buy tickets, which are going for as much as $650 for club level.</p><p>Kentucky is back in its element.</p><p>The last two years of this tournament have been miserable for the Wildcat faithful. Two years ago, even Kentucky fans with tickets couldn't get in because attendance was limited to family and bands when it was moved from the Georgia Dome after the tornado hit. To make things worse, there as a first-round loss.</p><p>Last year in Tampa, Kentucky fans were so soured by a bad season and Billy Gillispie they only dominated the attendance rather than dwarf the other 11 schools.</p><p>And then they went two-and-through.</p><p>But this year is different, a new coach with one of the best freshman classes in the history of college basketball. Some people believe Kentucky needs to be good for the SEC to thrive. There is no question UK success means a successful tournament financially, especially for the host city. There are estimates that 180,000 Kentucky fans are in town. That may be a bit high but they seem like they are everywhere.</p><p>In the Bridgestone Arena, it is a Kentucky home game. There are pockets of Vols, but it's a Kentucky world and we're all just living in it. There are almost as many fans outside as inside. They wear T-shirts that read, “Envy our past, fear our future” and “In Kentucky we love our Cousins,” the ultimate in double meanings.</p><p>The royalty is here — Pat Riley and Ashley Judd.</p><p>“Coach just said, “Let's go win it all.' It's so exciting,” she tells me later at the post-game press conference. She has a flower in her hair. She can't stop smiling.</p><p>I've been in Rupp Arena several times. This is louder. It's louder because the most passionate fans are here, not the old money bluebloods and white hairs who politely clap at made baskets. When “Rocky Top” cranks up during a time-out, it's drowned by chants of “Go Big Blue!” Kentucky fans even dominate the press area, but I won't get into that.</p><p>On the court, Kentucky is showing both its mad skills and maddening youth. The Wildcats turn it over 10 times in the first half, yet lead by 13. Daniel Orton, a freshman back-up center, gets into it with an assistant coach and is banished to the locker room. For a minute.</p><p>“I'm coaching a team of 19-year olds,” says John Calipari after the game. “There are some things I shake my head at.”</p><p>The fans groan every time DeMarcus Cousins misses a free throw. They are convinced the officials have taken Big Orange bribes. When Tennessee cuts the lead to six in the second half, Bruce Pearl in his loud orange jacket tries to fire up the small group of Vol fans. It only makes Big Blue get louder.</p><p>And soon the rout was on.</p><p>Kentucky will be an X-factor in every bracket in America. You'll want to pencil them into your Final Four but you've seen them play down to the level of so many teams and have to pull games out in the end. At the same time, if you saw the way the 'Cats defended Saturday, it's difficult not to pencil them into Indianapolis.</p><p>But remember that Saturday was about more than just advancing to the final and securing a No. 1 seed. This was revenge for that loss to Knoxville, one of two blemishes on the record. the fans and the players wanted blood and they wanted it colored bright orange.</p><p>It flowed.</p><p>Calipari riled some fans up when he said the regular-season title and the conference tournament trophy are not as important as seeding for the NCAA. On Saturday, he decides to clarify. He's seen what the tournament is about.</p><p>“When I see a building full of blue fans who paid a lot of money for the tickets,” he says. “$500, $1,000 and they probably can't afford it. They took their vacations to Nashville, Tennessee. People are selling tickets to everyone but Kentucky fans because they don't want the arena to be all blue. You feel you owe them something.</p><p>“The Blue dust is everywhere.”</p><p>And it's choking everyone else.</p><p><i>Contact Pat Dooley at 352-374-5053 or at dooleyp@gvillesun.com. You can listen to The Pat Dooley Show weekdays from 4-6 p.m. on 104.9 FM. And follow at Twitter.com/Pat Dooley.</i></p>