Running head: THE METHOD BEHIND THE MADNESS Mahan 1

The Method Behind the Madness

Riley Mahan

The University of Kentucky

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The Method Behind the Madness

Tradition, is defined as the “handing down of statements, beliefs, customs,

information, etc. from generation to generation, especially by world of mouth or practice,”

dictionary.com. You could travel any where in the world and find tradition. Whether it is

family traditions such as gathering on holidays, or dances and rituals performed by groups

of people, tradition is found everywhere. China is known for it’s fantastic table tennis

tradition as they are the top dogs every year at the Olympics. When it comes to volleyball,

Brazil comes to mind. In terms of soccer traditions, there is Madrid, Spain, or Brazil. In the

United States, one can argue that when speaking in terms of tradition, the three main

sports come to mind; basketball, baseball, and football. Tradition is enormous in sports,

especially on the college side. There are many different traditions throughout college

athletics such as the “chomp” performed by the University of Florida and executed by

stretching your arms out in front of you, top palm turned down and bottom palm turned

up, then imagine an alligator’s jaws clamping down on some food. The Mirror Lake jump

hosted at The Ohio State University is nationally famous. Every Tuesday night, during the

week the Buckeyes play Michigan, Ohio State football fans jump into Mirror Lake.

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At

the University of Kentucky, we have a particular tradition tangled with our basketball

program; a tradition known as Big Blue Madness.

When we were assigned this community project, we were instructed to go outside of

our comfort zone. Classmates started choosing communities such as the Jewish community,

or the homeless community, but nothing came to mind or presented itself as interesting.

While walking one beautiful Monday morning, there were people lined up in lawn chairs.

These people were lined up on the campus side of East Euclid Avenue, facing the CATS

center. When being recruited by The University of Kentucky, you begin to learn about some

significant and historical traditions of the school. One tradition I learned fairly early in the

recruiting process was that the basketball team hosts an event titled Big Blue Madness,

which is an open practice, also the first technical practice. There is another tradition that

comes along with that of Big Blue Madness, and that is camping out. Fans line up down East

Euclid Avenue to receive free tickets to Big Blue Madness. When Wednesday arrives, fans

are allowed to pitch their tents, and it is first come, first serve. Seeing these people sitting

out in lawn chairs on a Monday peaked my interest, considering they were technically not

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allowed to be there until Wednesday. My perspective instantly was that these people are

absolutely insane. Who in their right mind would give up a week of work or their lives to sit

around waiting for free tickets to a practice? Never in my life have I thought about things

from a fans perspective, only an athletes’. These crazy fans presented themselves as the

perfect opportunity for myself to step outside of my comfort zone and explore the sports

world from a whole new point of view.

My first impression imposed a question, one that I felt intrigued to explore: Were

these dedicated, faithful, and outlandish fans wasting their week, or were they having the

best week of their lives?

Beginning the 1982-83-basketball season, Kentucky head coach, Joe B. Hall was

determined to bring some excitement to Big Blue Nation, Kentucky’s fan base. Coach Hall

wanted the student body enthusiastic about the upcoming season (Bennett, Timoney, Kiser,

2013, 1). Allowing the public to enter and watch the very first minute that the team was

allowed to practice, turned into one of the greatest traditions in the history of college

basketball. This historical tradition began with more than 10,000 fans filling Memorial

Coliseum in 1983(Bennett, Timoney, Kiser, 2013, 1).

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According to Spam in his article “The History of Big Blue Madness,” there has been

an abundance of significant dates over the years of Big Blue Madness. In 1983, Big Blue

Madness was introduced and more than 10,000 fans came out in support of the basketball

program. In 1986, Big Blue Madness saw an increase in the number of fans, making the

jump from 10,000 to 12,500. This leads us to 1989 when Rick Pitino was introduced to a

capacity crowd of 8,700 plus. The capacity level of the Coliseum dropped due to

renovations, but that did not stop fans from coming out in full support. Kentucky fans being

as crazy about their Wildcats as they are, still attempted to make it inside. Fans tried

climbing through windows and any opening they could find. With each passing year, fans

began lining up earlier and earlier. In 1991, fans lined up thirty-six hours prior to the

release of the tickets. Leading up to 1993 when the first fans arrived three days early. In

1994, the first campers stayed for a full 5 days prior. In 2000, the University of Kentucky

decided to vend tickets online for the first time ever. They were gone in 13 minutes. In

2005, the Kentucky men’s basketball team moved from Memorial Coliseum to Rupp Arena.

That year, 23,174 Wildcat fans attended Big Blue Madness. In 2009, John Calipari received

his first taste of Big Blue Madness, as he proceeded to promise the fans that he would

return Kentucky Basketball to “it’s rightful place at the top of the mountain,” (Spams 2014,

1).

Typically, the tickets were gone within the hour which is pretty noteworthy and

proposes the question; how amazing are these fans that every year the tickets are not just

gone, but gone within the hour? Many more questions arose which created excitement and

significant interest to find out more about being a fan. I interviewed four people, asking the

same five questions to each; Name, age, where you are from, why have you decided to camp

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here? Are you a student, alumni, or long-time fan? What do you plan on doing with your

tickets? If the tickets were not free, would you still be here? At what price would you still be

here? Who or what introduced you to the UK fan-base? Why UK? My motive behind asking

these questions was to figure out why these “fans” were actually here and what type of

people were coming to this enormous campout. Basically, are they true fans, or fake fans?

I was able to meet some very interesting people during my interviews, people that

significantly changed my perspective on fans and really allowed for me to see a whole new

side to the sports world. My favorite person that I interviewed was named Troy. His father

was a lifelong University of Kentucky fan, not just basketball, but every sport. Troy was a

fan himself but not as much as his father. When Troy’s father passed away 6 years ago, he

decided to carry on his father’s tradition. Every year his father would camp out and go to

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Big Blue Madness, and that was Troy’s reason for being there. There were some other

really cool stories as well, such as Justin, who has been camping out for Big Blue Madness

for 18 years. It was a very eye opening experience seeing fans of all ages, wearing Kentucky

blue, giving up a week of their life to get free tickets to a practice. These people are crazy.

After receiving a whole new perspective of the sports world, I decided to take my

research even farther. I came across the article “Engaging in Distancing Tactics Among

Sports Fans: Effects on Self-Esteem and Emotional Responses,” the authors Aharon Bizman

and Yoel Yinon conducted experiments in which they test the self-esteem and emotional

responses of sports fans based upon the performance of their teams and also the outcomes

of the games or matches. The results, according to this article, registered an association

based upon one’s willingness to associate with a team. You can tell a person’s willingness to

associate with a team just by talking to them. If a fan says things such as, “we won last

night,” or “we are playing here tonight,” that fan has positively identified him or her with

the team of their choice. By positively identifying yourself with a team, the authors mean

that you have considered yourself part of that team or organization, even though you are a

fan, and not actually involved (Bizman, Yinon 2002, 1). The emotional side of being a sports

fan is a genuine thing. The University of Kentucky Wildcats emotionally affects Troy. When

they are doing well, Troy is excited because it relates to his father and his father loved the

Wildcats.

Being a fan of any team in any sport is a great thing. In fact, sports are a great thing.

They give people hope and they give people something to love and believe in. In my

opinion, fans have every right to identify themselves with a team, the fans truly are a part

of these teams, whether people know it or not. Without fans, who would fill the seats and

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create intensified atmospheres? Playoff baseball is on right now, and the Orioles fans have

been waving their orange towels and making noise all postseason. These fans are a part of

the Orioles organization, just like the crazy fans camping out on campus are a part of the

Kentucky Wildcats. Fans are often displayed in popular culture as uncivilized viewers who

just rag on athletes when they do not perform to the best of their abilities or to the

expectations imposed upon the athlete. However, that portrayal of fans is wrong. Fans are

significant, passionate, and powerful and everything good that goes along with sports. Fans

are not just unjustified viewers, fans are the team, fans are the organization, and fans are

the city. Those crazy people that were sitting in lawn chairs on a Monday do not seem so

insane anymore. My viewpoint has experienced a complete three hundred and sixty degree

turn. As an athlete, when you see a supporter being impassioned about the game, it sends

chills through your body. Enthusiasts make sports what they are, and they also define a

team. For example, the Seattle Seahawks are not only known as a great team, but they are

known as a team that is incredibly tough to play at home due to their intensity of their fans.

Another part of the research done by Yinon and Bizman is about emotional

responses. The research shows that fans respond to the outcomes of their team as if they

were personal outcomes (Yinon, Bizman 2002, 3). This is what is so intriguing about fans,

when they relate themselves to a team, they takes things personal. As an athlete, this

inspires you so much more to give your all and to work harder. When you hear the fans

yelling and screaming and knowing they are there to have your back, is exhilarating and a

huge momentum carrier. I have seen numerous fans in tears or on the edge of tears in the

postseason this year. These fans are invested in their teams and it truly shows.

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My viewpoint has been significantly modified as I have now experienced the

meaning of a true fan and a whole new side to what it means to be passionate and loving

for a sport. Sports fans are insane, they shave their heads, get crazy tattoos with their

teams logo on it, they yell too loud and they paint their bodies with their team’s colors, but

they are insane for the right reasons. They are insane because they love their city and they

love their team. Sports fanatics idolize their favorite teams and players. People often have a

common misconception when they see fans meeting athletes; they think the fans are acting

ridiculous and childish. However, that is not the case. Idolization can make a person do

some crazy things, and it only further goes to show that people are a true fan. Popular

culture has wrongfully portrayed sports fans as psychotic viewers. Fans are much, much

more than that. Fans are intriguing, and passionate. Fans are sports.

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Works Cited

Bennett, K., Jones-Timoney, A., & Kiser, K. (2013, October 18). Let the Madness Begin. Retrieved October 3, 2014, from

http://uknow.uky.edu/content/let-madness-begin-0

Bizman, A., & Yinon, Y. (2002). Engaging in Distancing Tactics AmongSport Fans: Effects on Self-Esteem and Emotional Responses. The Journal of Social Psychology, 142(3), 381-392.

Branscombe, N., & Wann, D. (1991). The Positive Social And Self Concept Consequences Of Sports Team Identification. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 15(2), 115-127.

Lexington, KY local and state news by the Lexington Herald-Leader | Kentucky.com. (2014, September 19). Retrieved October 3, 2014, from http://www.kentucky.com/2014/09/19/3437389/kentuckys-big-blue-madness-campout.html

Nickev. (2011, October 14). The greatness and importance of Big Blue Madness. Retrieved October 3, 2014, from

http://kentucky.straitpinkie.com/the-greatness-and-importance-of-big- blue- madness/

Spam. (n.d.). BIG BLUE MADNESS. Retrieved October 3, 2014, fromhttp://spams-ukwildcatbasketball.com/madness.html