SIOC visits the historic Rupp Arena

By Sye Thomas Hickey

People who make millions of dollars don't like being told what to do.

	Kentucky's student section -- known as The Erupption Zone -- is one of the loudest in the nation. Andy Lyons/Getty Images
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So it was a huge surprise when almost everyone on the north sideline of Rupp Arena was found sporting a white "S" t-shirt as part of a promotion during a recent showdown between Kentucky and Florida.

Rupp Arena is widely considered the Mecca of college basketball. Forget Duke's high school gym they call a stadium, Carolina's wine-and-cheese crowd and Kansas' pre-game chants. The true, die-hard bluebloods -- literally -- of college basketball reside in Lexington, Kentucky. Problem is they're usually found in the upper deck.

Even though Rupp seats 23,000, the majority of the lower bowl is filled with UK Athletics donors who pay top dollar for their seats. Many of the local residents in the thoroughbred industry have the luxury of shelling out six-digit figures for a pair of seats in the lower bowl. This isn't to say that they aren't as passionate or loyal, they just aren't as loud and often show up to games rocking oxfords and khakis instead of face paint and a t-shirt.

That means the average people are usually found in the nosebleeds (even though there isn't really a bad seat in the house). These are the true fans, who show up hours before tipoff and don't get the luxury of valet parking the Land Rovers and BMWs they don't have. These are the people who scream their lungs out during games and are still wearing blue and white six feet under.

So it was a true shock when everyone in the lower bowl actually wore the promotional t-shirts given to them for the big showdown with the Gators. It was even more of a shock seeing the rich folk of the lower bowl on their feet screaming with the rest of Big Blue Nation. I guess it takes a top-ranked rival, ESPN's College Gameday crew, a nationally-televised Saturday night game, and an absolutely electric atmosphere to get the millionaires on their feet.

Attire

The most popular chant at Kentucky involves the spelling of the word "cats." So when UK's Athletic Marketing department decided to come up with a promotional tee for the lower bowl for the Florida game, they decided to give each corner of the stadium a different letter. The "C" and "T" shirts were blue and in the end-zones; the "A" and "S" shirts were white and on the sidelines.

I counted only 27 orange Florida shirts in the lower bowl, which is pretty good considering there were 10,000 people in the bottom half. The upper deck was supposed to be a "Whiteout" for the game, but that didn't work out as well. About half of the upper bowl was filled with blue shirts, but you can't win 'em all.
Score: 8

Volume

"The crowd is so loud, it's definitely a difference-maker," said Howie Schwab (from the ESPN game show Stump the Schwab) who was in attendance for the game.

No surprises here: the students in the Erupption Zone were louder than usual for the UF game, thanks to a 9 p.m. tip that gave them all day to pre-game.

There was one unreal sight at Rupp, though: everyone in the lower bowl, including donors older than Mr. Burns, were on their feet (or their walkers) screaming, especially whenever Joakim Noah committed a foul -- which in this particular game, happened to be more often than Dick Vitale screams, "Diaper Dandy!" The record crowd of 24,465 reached maximum decibel levels when Noah fouled out with 34 seconds left in the game.
Score: 8.5

Venue/Atmosphere

Rupp is the most historic venue in basketball. With seven National Championship banners and 41 retired jerseys hanging from the rafters, the history of Kentucky basketball is impossible to ignore. UK also has 43 SEC Championships, but we don't have enough room to hang the banners for those. Rupp Arena has also hosted a slate of NCAA Tournament games, including Villanova's historic upset of Georgetown in the 1985 Championship game.

The atmosphere on Saturday was unbelievable. With the despised Gators in town and College Gameday on hand, fans were extra excited about the game and proved it through the raucous atmosphere. "The atmosphere here is great -- one of the best in the country," said ESPN analyst Andy Katz.

College Basketball analyst/legend Dick Vitale went even further, saying that "Kentucky has the most passionate fans in basketball." Sports writer Pat Forde said it doesn't get much better than Rupp. "With 24,000 people, all the banners, and a number one team, the atmosphere is pretty darn good."
Score: 10

Chant/Sign Quality

The chants at Rupp are loud and original but there aren't many of them. Aside from the traditional "C-A-T-S, CATS, CATS, CATS!" chant and the "Go Big Blue" chant, there isn't a whole lot to work with. The "What's your favorite color, baby?" chant is rising in popularity but that's during a TV timeout. Not bad, but nothing really special.

Usually the signs in the student section are few and far between. But when the number one team comes into town, people get creative. My two favorites were: "Florida Girls are UGLY" with a picture of Joakim Noah in a dress; and "Doug Gottlieb took my wallet," a reference to Gottlieb's troubled past at Notre Dame. The signs for the UF game were awesome but on your typical gameday at Rupp, they aren't nearly as exciting.
Score: 6

Student Body

Dedicated. Although UK doesn't operate like other schools where students campout for tickets (the weather is too cold, it wouldn't work), it does reward students in the E-Zone based on loyalty. The E-Zone is seated on a first-come, first-serve basis. So it's no surprise that students starting showing up on Thursday night (despite temperatures that dropped into the low teens) to camp out for the Saturday night tipoff with Florida. Senior Adam Embry, the first in line, was "uncontrollably shivering" at game time thanks to the cold. Sophomore Justin Boone, in the second row of the student section, camped out for 24 hours and "froze in the fifteen degree weather."

The E-Zone was absolutely crazy for the game and was full an hour and a half before game time. If it were up to the dedication to the students, the team would have won the game and would be Final-Four bound. "I'd sell my sister on the black market for a final four trip," said senior Jeff Hignite. Too bad the team couldn't match the enthusiasm of the student body. UF 64, UK 61.
Score: 8.5

Final Score: 41 (out of 50)