Midnight Madness

[Joe Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

Hi list:

I clipped the following from an article today by Kevin McNamara of the
Providence Journal. Pretty surreal...

****

Kentucky has all but mastered the art of holding Midnight Madness. The
Wildcats always lure the biggest recruiting prizes in the land to
Lexington for the start of practice. The event is easily the most
anticipated in the country. How else could you explain an Indiana man
who started lining up at the school's Memorial Coliseum a month before
the big night?

Once the doors open, the 9,000-seat Coliseum fills to capacity. One
year, when the movie Batman was in vogue, Wildcats seniors Walter
McCarty and Tony Delk swung down from the rafters on vine-like wires,
dressed as Batman and Robin. Rick Pitino drove in on a blue Harley
Davidson, chasing the Joker off the court. The Joker was none other than
Fall River's Ken ``Jersey Red'' Ford.

``Midnight Madness at Kentucky is an event,'' Ford said. ``The recruits
fly into Blue Grass Airport, overlooking Calumet Farm. They stay at the
Wildcat Lodge. They are mobbed for autographs. They give the kids a
Kentucky jersey with their name on it and a sign that says, `The
Commonwealth of Kentucky welcomes you.'