Players should focus on game, not the crowd

The very short opening sentence in Jennifer Smith’s ballgame coverage said it all: “The party started too soon.”

As one who witnessed the last time Kentucky beat Florida and who has suffered many last-quarter disasters over 63 years of cheering our Big Blue football team, I still have hopes of an invitation to a real bowl game. My loyalty will continue as long as I can afford it and my respect for the efforts of all the teams and coaches will continue.

However, I have witnessed on several occasions our players showing more concern about the crowd than the opposing team. Supporters don’t need the players to become part-time cheerleaders. A little over nine minutes left in the Florida game, after making the second field goal that should have been one of the two missed touchdowns, which left the score at 27-14, UK defensive players began to dance, celebrate and motion to the crowd to stand up and cheer. My seatmate remarked, “There’s that bad omen again, the players are celebrating way too early.”

Please, Coach Stoops, emind your players to pay attention to the game and the crowd will follow. Keep up the good work.

This story was originally published September 25, 2017 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Players should focus on game, not the crowd."