Kentucky Football Fan Gear from Fanatics
Stock up on new gear for the college football season!
Shop my outfit: Kentucky Football Hoodie
It’s finally football season in the Bluegrass, y’all! t’s been such an insane year, and I’m so excited to finally have college football returning today. You know, real SEC football.
Shop my outfit: Kentucky Wildcats SEC Shirt (Men’s version here)
Now, football season looks a little different for most of us this year. We’ll be sitting at home rather than tailgating. We’ll be cheering our favorite teams from our couches, not our home stadiums. That gives us even more reason to stock up on new team gear for the football season! I’ve teamed up with Fanatics.com to show you some of my favorite gear for at-home football viewing.
This SEC Football tee — BBN edition is so cute. They have a version for every SEC school! I think I’ll spend all fall in my Football in the Bluegrass Hoodie. It makes me feel a little closer to all the fun of Lexington on Game Day!
I ordered Bob this amazing lightweight sweatshirt from Fanatics and I’m so in love with it that I may just need to order one for myself. It’s just the most incredible texture and weight!
Fanatics has some great pieces for everyone in your family. I love the SEC branded mask, the classic women’s fleece jacket, and the vintage Wildcat hoodie. Fanatics has great prices, fast shipping, and a fabulous selection. You can be well-dressed for the big game, even if you can’t make it there in person!
Happy Caturday, y’all! Here’s to lots of football!!
{This post contains items gifted by Fanatics.com. This post contains affiliate links; I will receive a small commission on purchases, at no cost to you.}
Gameday Tee and the Stadium that Will Always be Known as Commonwealth
My favorite new gameday tee!
Hey y'all! It's the first home game at, uh, Kroger Field. It's going to take a little minute to get used to calling it that. Anyway, I wish I were in Lexington for this UK game, because not only is it the first game at the newly-renamed stadium, but the Cats are playing my parents' alma mater, EKU.
The University will also be saluting one of my very favorite UK alums, garden designer Jon Carloftis, today! Jon is such a cool, creative, and wonderful Kentuckian, and I love this story of how he utilized his Kentucky degree to craft a dream career.
I can't make today's game, but I am rocking a fun game day tee from Draper James! I love this top because I can cheer for both of the teams I love -- the 'Cats and the Crimson Tide -- without a costume change! (Don't forget to click here for $20 off your Draper James order!)
Who are y'all rooting for today?
Bourbon and Coke Slushes for Tailgating
Football season is finally here, y'all! Enjoy these bourbon and Coke slushies for tailgating!
Football season is finally here, y'all! Bob and I may have started the countdown to football sometime in June. And we may have added the Kentucky game and the Alabama game to our iPhone calendars back in July. And Bob may have gotten some fancy tv speakers that I don't fully understand in anticipation of the football season. Let's just say that we're really looking forward to Saturday's games!
Image via Draper James
With the 'Cats in Hattiesburg and a full Saturday of great games, it's the perfect time to kick off the long weekend with a frozen bourbon and coke slushie. These Tervis Tumblers from Draper James are the perfect way to keep your drink cold and reflect your school spirit. (Click here for $20 off your online Draper James order!)
These slushies are fun because you can use any soft drink you like, and even omit the whiskey for kids or anyone who doesn't care to imbibe.
For each slushie, use two cups of ice, a cup of Coke, and 2-3 ounces of bourbon. Add ice to the blender and crush until smooth. Add bourbon and pulse; add coke and pulse again. I used Maker's Mark in my test recipe, but I also like the idea of adding a lower proof bourbon (like Basil Hayden or Old Forester 86 proof) to keep these drinks a little less potent. I added a splash of bitters to the Maker's and Ale-8 slushie, like they do at Star Hill Provisions at Maker's Mark. It really adds an interesting dimension to the drink!
Cheers, y'all. How are you celebrating the return of football season?
Bear Bryant and the Kentucky Wildcats
Remembering a legend of college football.
On September 11, 1913, Paul William Bryant was born in Munro Bottom, Arkansas, the eleventh of twelve children born to Wilson Monroe and Ida Kilgore Bryant. From a young age, he was undertaking legendary things, like the time when, at age 13, he agreed to wrestle a bear at a carnival. The nickname "Bear" stuck.
Kentucky Coach Bear Bryant with Team Captains Vito Parilli and Doug Mosely, 1953. Image via KDL
By 1930, Bear was a high school football player whose team won the Arkansas state championship, but he didn't quite make it to graduation. In fact, when the Bear was offered a football scholarship to the University of Alabama, he had to finish up his degree at a Tuscaloosa-area high school while undertaking fall practice with the Tide.
January 1, 1951 -- Bear Bryant's Wildcats win the Sugar Bowl
Now, here in Kentucky, we know Bear Bryant as the Coach who toughened up the Wildcat football team for eight seasons and reinvented the way we recruited our players. He took the 'Cats to their first Bowl game in 1947 and on to their first SEC Conference title in 1950.
Sugar Bowl Champion Kentucky Wildcats. Image via Big Blue Fans.
The 1950 Wildcats went on to upset the #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the Sugar Bowl, with a final score of 13-7. That Sugar Bowl game is considered one of the greatest upsets in college football history, as the Wildcats ended Oklahoma's run for an undefeated season.
Now, as we all know, Coach Bryant stayed in Lexington through 1953. The stories are murky about why he left us to coach the A & M Aggies. Some say it's over a fight with Coach Rupp over a Cadillac, a watch, or maybe a cigarette lighter. Others say that the rivalry between the two legendary Kentucky coaches has been over-dramatized. In 1966, Bryant himself told Sports Illustrated: "The trouble was we were too much alike, and he wanted basketball No. 1 and I wanted football No. 1...In an environment like that one or the other has to go."
When you have the two best coaches ever to coach their respective sports, the stakes are high.
I hear that, after his 8 seasons at Kentucky were over, he tried his hand at coaching Down South and took to wearing a snazzy hat. I'll leave the stories of those years to our friends in Alabama who can tell them way better than I ever could.
Here's to Coach Bryant and the 1951 Sugar Bowl. Go Big Blue!
College Colors Day: Janet Wears Western Kentucky Red and White
Because everybody loves Big Red!
Janet Roe is here to tell us why we should all wear Hilltopper Red on College Colors Day. Janet writes KY Klips Blog, where she shares “klips” about her family and life in western Kentucky. She loves coffee, social media, bargain shopping and travel. You can find Janet on Twitter @kyklips. -- HCW
Every year, Kentuckians across the state support their favorite team on College Colors Day. Although many focus on the big city, big money, big name schools, there are also many other very special division one schools throughtout the state. Growing up in western Kentucky, I can not help but get excited when the red towels wave in Bowling Green at Western Kentucky University.
Sporting Hilltoper red on college colors day pays tribute to years of sports excellence by a little school in the hills of western Kentucky. WKU has been successful in various sports ventures, including “playing the the big boys” in the NCAA division one basketball championships. Coaches with storied histories, including Coach Jimmy Feix and Coach Ed Diddle have inspired countless players, students, alumni, and even everyday residents of the area.
Diddle arena, named for Coach Ed Diddle, provides the small school with a great sports facility and has often been used to host state tournament games and other conferences. Western Kentucky University has one of the most beautiful college campuses in the state with hills and trees and a natual beauty that is second to none. The name Hilltoppers even comes from the unique landscape of the college campus.
One of the most important reasons to wear Hilltopper red is Big Red himself. Years ago, fans started waving red towels in support of the WKU teams. From this tradition, a fuzzy smiling energetic creature unlike no other was born. Children young and even not so young, enjoy being hugged by the large red furball. Many fans also enjoy having their head disappear into the mouth of Big Red and posts of fans swallowed up by Big Red love can be found across social media. Even if you are not a Western fan, how could you not love watching such an adorable mascot?
Big Red has often been recognized for being such an unusal mascot and currenly once again in the running for Capital One Mascot Challenge. WKU’s Big Red represents a little school in western Kentucky alongside big school mascots like Joe Bruin from UCLA, Sparty from Michigan State University and Otto the Orange from Syracuse Unicersity. You can even find Big Red on Facebook at wkubigred and you can support Big Red in the Mascot Challenge using the hastag #CapitalOneBigRedWKU
Whether a multi-generation alumni or just a resident of the area, Western Kentucky pride runs deep. A small school with a big heart and a fantastic tradition of competitive sports teams, Bowling Green’s Western Kentucky Univeristy deserves the support of wearing Hilltopper red not only on College Colors Day but every day. We are blessed to have a school with red towel wavin’, Big Red lovin’, campus hill climbin’ students both past and present located in western Kentucky… Once again, proving that not everything great in the state of Kentucky comes from the big cities!
College Colors Day: Heather Wears UK Blue and White!
"I come from a family of fanatic Kentucky Wildcats fans... In fact, I didn't know there was any other kind!"
I can't really remember a time when I didn't wear UK Blue and White.
I was born into a family of fanatic Kentucky Wildcats fans. Come to think of it, I didn't really know that there are any other kind of UK fans.
My family's history with the University of Kentucky goes back to the 1930s, when my grandfather and his siblings travelled from their rural Knott County home to Lexington to attend the University. I can't imagine how long it took to drive there, how difficult the journey must have been, or what campus looked like at the time. I do know that my granddaddy always had a unique perspective about UK; when I once mentioned visiting the Funkhouser Building, he let me know in no uncertain terms that he had not been a fan of the building's namesake.
Construction of the M.I. King Library on UK's campus, 1930, via University of Kentucky.
Like many Kentucky families, we are all Wildcat fans no matter where we matriculated. The University and the Wildcats are part of our family's story. Watching the games and cheering for the 'Cats -- Well, that's just what we do. My great-uncle recalls the Bear Bryant - Adolph Rupp years in great detail, my father can describe listening to the storied '66 Championship on a transistor radio, and I can even tell you who my very first favorite UK player was.
I ran into this guy at the 2007 Music City Bowl.
The Lilly Pulitzer UK Wildcat. My favorite thing in the history of ever.
Today, on College Colors Day, I'm wearing UK Blue and White because that's what my family does. I'm wearing Blue and White because my fiancé and I collectively hold three graduate degrees from the University of Kentucky and because some of my favorite memories involve trips to UK football and basketball games. I'm wearing Blue and White because I always want my Wildcats to win. But, most of all, I'm wearing Blue and White because I can't really imagine doing anything else.
Football...Schmootball
We don't all have the same reasons for learning about sports!
I know considering my less than enthusiastic support of Kentucky basketball, this next confession is not going to come as a huge surprise to y’all but…
I don’t really like football.
I went to the occasional high school football game to flirt with boys and stare jealously at the homecoming queen. I went to the occasional intramural football game to flirt with boys and stare jealously at other sorority girls. I went for the boys is what I’m trying to say.
The running and falling down and running and falling down and running and falling down. Not interested. I just didn’t get it and didn’t really care to.
Until, one of those boys I was always flirting with flirted back. We fell in love and I discovered that this boy LOVED – no LURRRRRRRVVVVEEDDD – him some football. He enjoyed all sports and watched ESPN obsessively but football was his passion. Eventually, I decided that despite this very obvious character flaw this boy had plenty of other endearing characteristics and that I would make this boy my husband.
In an effort to show said boy how much I loved him and how committed I was to him, I decided I would learn to love football and the first step seemed to be to figure out what the hell was going on. I couldn’t ask the boy because this tremendous gift of my time and energy was going to be a surprise Christmas present. So, I bought a copy of Football for Dummies and dug in.
I read the entire thing (I swear!) and began to determine that all that running and falling down had a purpose. I started to see the choreography and expertise in the plays and even learned when to cheer and why. However, the book emphasized that even if you didn’t become an expert, if you could learn some of the lingo the rest would come eventually. In particular, the authors beat into me “the frozen tundra of Lambeau field.” Remember this phrase they promised and you could survive any football conversation you found yourself in.
Christmas came and I wrapped up the book proudly and presented it to the boy. He was touched and so excited to finally have a girlfriend who wouldn’t bitch and moan through every game and whine when did SHE get to watch ER!?!
Only one thing…
My lessons didn’t quite take. I have now been married to said boy for nine years and I still don’t give a rip about football. I retained a tiny amount of the technical information from Football for Dummies. I can identify the quarterback. I still can fake cheer in all the right spots. However, at the end of the day, I still find the game LONG and more than a little boring.
Of course, if I NEED to I can still talk a good game…especially the frozen tundra of Lambeau field.
~ Sarah Stewart Holland