Last weekend, due to the graciousness of a potential client, my boss Jamie and I were treated to tickets for the Alabama-Kentucky basketball game. It was the first time I’d ever spent any real time in the state of Kentucky, so that was cool enough, but to get to go to a game in Rupp Arena just put it over the top.

Rupp Arena, for those who aren’t college basketball aficionados, is basically a mecca for the sport. Kentucky is college basketball’s winningest team. Bama only plays there once every two years. So the chance to go is a huge deal – basically a once in a blue moon opportunity.

So we got a flight to Louisville, and hotel rooms in Lexington.

It’s at this point that I both have to thank and apologize to my co-worker Paul, who was the originally intended second person on this trip. He couldn’t make it due to a previous commitment, and graciously let me go. Thanks also to Marie and Jamie for allowing me to go on my first “business trip”.

Friday afternoon was spent looking around the UK campus and Lexington itself. At night, we went to a downtown restaurant, where we had dinner with the client reps (if by any chance you read this, Brian and John – thanks again!)

During the night, there was a small accumulation of snow. Anyone from Alabama knows that if you have a camera and there is snow on the ground, it is mandatory that you take pictures (I guess to prove to yourself that the stuff exists). So Saturday morning, I made sure to do so.

The morning was spent at Keeneland Race Course, where we ate breakfast, looked around the course, and watched some horses get auctioned off. We stopped by the gift shop, where I picked up a golf ball for myself (I’ve started a collection) and a scarf for Kelly (since coming to Alabama, she’s discovered the wonder of the scarf in wintertime). We didn’t look around outside for long, as the temperature was still hovering around freezing.

Then, on to the main event! We headed downtown (Rupp is actually not on the campus proper, as it doubles as the convention center in Lexington), found parking, and headed inside.

The first interesting thing about Rupp that you notice is that it is part basketball arena, part Galleria. There is a mini-mall area, complete with food court, to explore. But we wanted to get to the good stuff, so we didn’t spend a lot of time there. Besides, it was only about 30 minutes to tip-off at that point.

We stepped inside the arena itself. The first thing that I noticed about it was that it was large, but it didn’t feel large. The seats seemed to be close to the court, even in the upper deck. This was proven later in the game, about anytime Kentucky would do something good. The fans get loud. Bama fans could learn a lesson or two from them.

John and Brian had been silent the entire time about our seat locations, only saying that one of the corporate heads had given them the tickets for the game. Well, we started down the aisle toward the court…and kept going, and going…until we stopped at the second row from the court. Right behind the Alabama bench.

The opportunity had now risen to once-in-a-lifetime.

These were not cheap tickets, to say the least. Brian and John were enjoying the experience, too; Brian was a season-ticket holder, and he said that it would be tough to go back to his old seats after this!

Of course, to make things even better (for Jamie and myself), Alabama actually won the game. And I saw myself on SportsCenter later, although you’d have to know where I was sitting to pick me out – the camera focus is on the game, after all.

So, needless to say, an unforgettable weekend. I’ll have some pictures on this posting as soon as they get back from the developer. And now pictures are online!