Happy Hollandaise

Happy Hollandaise

To all of our 1,037 readers out there, the Wildcat Textbook Blog Team would like to wish you the happiest of holidays. By blog team, I am referring to our west KY correspondent Lifer, The Goat (resident deadbeat blogger), and the 2007 Blogger of the Year Award Winner - The Blue Donkey.

Our first year has been a work in progress, as most fledgling endeavors are. However, 2008 looks to be a great year for the Wildcat Blog. First off, we will be changing the name of the blog to My Old Kentucky Gnome, incorporating a life long dream with a force of habit, shaking it twice, stirring it once, and pulling out a rabbit. The Gnome element will bring in the world wide travels of My Old Kentucky Gnome mixed with the journalistic incompetence of the Wildcat Blog. Secondly, we will be adding writers to add more flare (15 pieces is the minimum) and more posts (per Matt Jones). We will also begin interviewing past, and on occasion, former players in typical Wildcat style.

2007 Recap: This year has not been the best of years on the court for the basketball Wildcats. Off the court, however, I would argue that is has been pretty damn good. The addition of Billy Clyde will begin to yield fruit in '08 & '09 (Blue Donkey Guarantee). Beyond that, we have added the best player to play for the Wildcats since '96-'97 in Patrick Patterson. I firmly believe this kid will take us to the promise land. He has been perfect on and off the court, possessing a basketball I.Q. the equals the rest of the team and grounded upbringing that could make him the 'Not Leaving Too Early Poster Child' of the post Tubby Smith Era.

In football, the past year and the one previous have been something that I will always remember as my immersion into Kentucky football. Even though I attended UK at the beginning of the Tim Couch era, never have I seen a Kentucky football team capture the heart of the Wildcat faithful like this one has. This senior class is simply one that should be admired, and one that I hope gets it's due respect in the history of Kentucky football (retire a jersey maybe?).

And finally, let us remember that as a fan base, what happened this year regarding the basketball coach is something that most of us wanted. The outcome of this year may not be pretty, but it is a sacrifice that needed to be made. Change is not always pretty and rarely is smooth. But in the end, remember that we are not content being pretty good - we demand to be great. That is what makes Kentucky, KENTUCKY! That is what makes people like Dick Vitale rant about us. That is what makes the national media portray Kentucky as the red-headed stepchild of college basketball. That is what our opponents fear. As Rick Pitino once said, "Success is a choice, and so are hair implants."