Kentucky fans in Tampa welcome return of ‘tournament basketball’
Cheryl and Tracy Jackson drove 11 hours from their home in Russellville, Ky., to attend this year’s Southeastern Conference men’s basketball tournament.
“It rained on us from Springfield, Tenn., to Lake City, Fla.,” Tracy said at halftime of Wednesday’s first-round game between Missouri and Ole Miss.
Cheryl said they had been coming to the SEC Tournament since Tubby Smith was Kentucky’s coach.
For Jimbo Schaffer, attending the SEC Tournament is something of a rite of passage for his children. When they turn 5 years old, they qualify for the trip.
His eldest daughter is now a college freshman, a young daughter a junior in high school. Because they play volleyball, they did not come to Tampa.
But son, Brody, whose 14th birthday is Friday, did.
“I love it,’ Brody said. “It’s cool.”
Jimbo welcomed the return of the customary SEC Tournament feel after the coronavirus disrupted the event the last two years.
“I’m thankful life is getting back to normal,” he said. “To me, there’s nothing like tournament basketball. I love coming to these little games, too.”
Jimbo spoke at halftime of Wednesday’s first-round game between Vanderbilt and Georgia.
Tyler Sauceman, a fifth grade math teacher from Athens, Tenn., said he had been a Kentucky fan “since I was knee high.”
Because he lives in Tennessee, he does not get the “luxury” of attending games in Rupp Arena.
Sauceman noted that Nashville is much more convenient as a site for the SEC Tournament. “All of Broadway is there to celebrate” the event, he said.
But Sauceman welcomed the change of pace that comes with the SEC Tournament being played in Tampa this year.
He got a taste of basketball in Nashville last weekend with the women’s SEC Tournament. He said he thought the women’s championship game victory over No. 1 South Carolina was perhaps more thrilling than any game to be played in Tampa.
The UK fans spoke of this year’s men’s team being capable of big accomplishments.
“What I like is they can beat you with many different styles,” Sauceman said.
Of course, the presence of Kentucky fans bathes any site the team plays in blue. That has been the tradition at the SEC Tournament.
Kim Silvey, a nurse from Lexington, fit the part at Wednesday’s games by wearing a T-shirt bearing the words “Kentucky vs. all y’all.”
When she asked about the message her T-shirt conveyed, she said, “We’ll take on anybody at any time.”
She acknowledged that the T-shirt could also be seen as admitting a bit of paranoia about everyone outside the Big Blue Nation being against Kentucky. “There’s that, too,” she said.
At this year’s SEC Tournament, Auburn fans are expected to be a sizable counterweight to Kentucky fans in terms of size and volume in Amalie Arena.
As Coach Bruce Pearl has noted, Auburn fans made an impression in several away games this season.
“I said we’re starting to travel like Auburn football,” Pearl was quoted as saying in January by the AuburnTigers.com website. “What a difference that makes.”
Auburn won the SEC regular-season championship.
When he previously coached for Tennessee, Pearl spoke of generating Kentucky-like fan support.
After Auburn won at Ole Miss in mid-January, guard K.D. Johnson said, “To me, they’re the No. 1 fans in the world. I love them.”
Cheryl Jackson said she and her husband interacted with Auburn fans at a Tampa restaurant. “Everybody was really friendly,” she said.
Her husband, Tracy, welcomed the Auburn fan presence. “I’d rather have more fans,” he said. “I think that just makes it more fun.”
Jimbo Schaffer said that he and his son were staying in the same Tampa hotel as teams and fans for Vanderbilt, LSU, Georgia and Auburn. He said he has worn UK attire without incident.
Silvey, who spoke of the Kentucky team being capable of winning the national championship, took a sense of pride in the expected turnout of Auburn fans.
“They just want to be us,” she said before adding, “they can’t be us. Because there’s nothing better than the Big Blue Nation.”
Friday
Kentucky vs. Vanderbilt
What: SEC Tournament quarterfinal
Where: Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.
When: About 8:30 p.m.
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Kentucky 25-6, Vanderbilt 17-15
Series: Kentucky leads 153-47.
Last meeting: Kentucky won 77-70 on Feb. 2, 2022, in Rupp Arena.
SEC Tournament
When: Wednesday through Sunday
Where: Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.
UK’s first game: Friday at about 8:30 p.m. vs. Alabama or Vanderbilt (SEC Network)
SEC Tournament scores, schedule
At Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla.
Wednesday
No. 12 Missouri 72, No. 13 Ole Miss 60
No. 11 Vanderbilt 86, No. 14 Georgia 51
Thursday
No. 8 Texas A&M 83, No. 9 Florida 80, OT
No. 5 LSU 76, No. 12 Missouri 68
No. 10 Mississippi State 73, No. 7 South Carolina 51
No. 11 Vanderbilt 82, No. 6 Alabama 76
Friday
Noon: No. 1 Auburn (27-4) vs. No. 8 Texas A&M (21-11)
About 2:30 p.m.: No. 4 Arkansas (24-7) vs. No. 5 LSU (22-10)
6 p.m.: No. 2 Tennessee (23-7) vs. No. 10 Mississippi State (18-14)
About 8:30 p.m.: No. 3 Kentucky (25-6) vs. No. 11 Vanderbilt (17-15)
Saturday
1 p.m.: First semifinal
About 3:30 p.m.: Second semifinal
Sunday
1 p.m.: Championship game
TV
▪ Second round and Friday night’s quarterfinals (SEC Network)
▪ Friday’s afternoon quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game (ESPN)
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 10:43 AM.
