The scene was wild.
The camera flittered from one corner of the room to the next, never quite in focus but still able to show glimpses of pure joy. Players sang. Music blared. Coach Mark Stoops threw down some dance moves.
The setting was the UK locker room right after the Cats’ 16-10 victory over South Carolina.
It’s what the visitor’s locker room looks like when an SEC football team gets a win on the road.
And whether that’s a win where the victors scored 2 points or 10 points or 100 points — the thrill is the same. The celebration is the same. If you need proof, it was all caught on multiple players’ cell phones for all the world to see. That’s how we know what it all looks like.
No one should care if the winners were actually minus-3 in the turnover battle. Or if they only scored one touchdown the entire game. No one should care about barely throwing for 100 yards or barely beating the spread.
This is a road victory in the SEC. And this UK football squad is now 4-0.
So it’s time to party.
Are the Wildcats perfect? Far from it. But outside of Tuscaloosa, or maybe Athens, Ga., who’s even close to perfect? (We could also possibly look at those Ducks in Eugene, Oreg., too).
But that’s not many teams. Actually, there were far more ranked teams that struggled this weekend than didn’t. And to be 4-0 means you don’t have to apologize for anything — not who you played, and especially not how you played. Evidently, the Wildcats did something that was good enough to win, and that says enough to me.
Still, there are those out there who for some reason cannot find happiness, no matter the circumstances. These people will wonder why the final score was not a bigger margin against teams like Chattanooga or Missouri. They will criticize the talent and the coaching and the motivation.
My response: Who cares?
I’ll take any football victory by 1 point and be happy. It’s just how I’m wired. And I want this UK fanbase to feel the same way. No one should be unhappy with this program. I know we judge Wildcat football a bit differently now, but it’s still September and the Cats are just two wins away from another bowl. That will be the sixth straight such trip — an unheard of accomplishment when Mark Stoops first came to Lexington in 2013.
Don’t look now, but a lot of the winning that is taking place across the country — winning by good programs in good leagues — is winning ugly. It’s winning close games. It’s winning when the chips are really, really down. Flip on the NFL and watch: So many games look just like the grinder that was UK vs. the Gamecocks.
It was a beautiful thing, in a way. And it sets up Kentucky for an amazing, exciting celebration of a week, where dreams can still come true. Florida will bring an all-new set of challenges. But those worries are for another day. For now, UK has done all they needed to do, winning four games to set up a very meaningful contest against the Gators on Saturday.
Let us enjoy this week. The future is uncertain, yes, but now is the time to drink (responsibly) and be merry. No apologies.
A win is a win. And everyone knows that when the win is over, you get to celebrate.
It’s becoming something Kentucky is very good at.
