Now that it seems to be a real possibility that Kentucky and Indiana will be playing against each other in men’s basketball again, it’s important to remember what the last road trip to Bloomington was like.
I specifically remember being challenged to a fight by an Indiana fan as soon as I stepped foot on the Assembly Hall parking lot.
Later, hundreds of fans were chanting, “you’re a fat ass” to a Kentucky player’s mother. As you’ll see in the videos below, they chanted a few other NSFW (or children) things, as well.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ve been to a lot of college basketball venues over the years and Assembly Hall during that game was a top 2 atmosphere (right up there with Allen Fieldhouse). The arena was absolutely lit with passion and energy as much as an hour before tip off.
Unfortunately, it was the bad behavior the overshadowed how great the atmosphere was…and probably a contributing factor in Kentucky’s decision to end the series.
Let’s do a video flashback…
The good:
First, the shot was an amazing moment in college basketball that season. Whether you’re a Kentucky fan or not, you should be able to admit that this was incredible:
Then, there was this, which seemed to last for an hour after the game. This is just incredible:
This was 30 minutes before tip:
And 17 minutes prior to tip:
Just before tip:
Of course, the fans were all over Kentucky all afternoon and evening (note that this was 35 minutes before the game):
The bad:
Unfortunately, a few things were across the line:
