Big Blue Madness Madness: The John Wall Dance Region

Big Blue Madness, or rather, "Midnight Madness," is a tradition started by Joe B. Hall back in 1982. Joe B. modeled it after midnight practices Lefty Dreisell used to have in the 70's to celebrate the first day of practice. More than three decades later, it has become a staple of college basketball, with almost every major program putting on some kind of event for fans to commemorate the beginning of the season. Naturally, Kentucky's has always been one of the largest in the sport, morphing from a gathering of 8,500 fans at Memorial Coliseum into a 24,000+ sold out event that fans camp out almost an entire week to get tickets for. For the Big Blue Nation, "Madness" marks the first time fans get a glimpse of their team, and in turn, has created countless memories over the years. We made a list of the 16 best Madness moments and pitted them against each other in a bracket. Each night this week, you guys will vote for your favorites to move on to the Elite Eight, and on Friday, your votes will decide The Ultimate Madness Moment. Last night, you voted on "The MC Hammer Region," and advanced Matthew Mitchell as MC Hammer and Cal's State-of-the-Program speech from 2009. On Monday, Matthew Mitchell doing "The Dougie" and the Rupp Arena floor as a projection screen also advanced to Friday morning's Elite Eight. Tonight, we unveil "The John Wall Dance Region":

The John Wall Dance (2009) VS. Tubby Smith as Don King at "The Main Event" (1998) Keightley pops out of cake (2002) VS. Pitino rides Harley, "Born To Be Wild" (1994)

The John Wall Dance Year: 2009 Why it's great: Expectations were sky-high for Cal's first Madness. After being forced to watch Billy Gillispie try to run the program into the ground for two years, fans were in dire need of some fun. Cal swagged in with his top recruiting class, headlined by the John Wall, the next NBA superstar. Madness became a circus, complete with the players descending from the rafters, a fitting symbol of what this team means to its fans. While some of his other teammates awkwardly waved as the platformed lowered them to the stage, John Wall bathed in the spotlight, smiling and grooving to "Ice Cream Paint Job" before doing the dance that spawned several amateur raps, UK Fan of the Day photos, and even a Wikipedia entry. The dance is actually inspired by a rap video called "Do the Shizz," but John Wall made it viral. The motion is simple--all you do is flex your wrist back and forth--but it became a symbol of the flashy, fun resurgence of Kentucky basketball. Tubby Smith as Don King at "The Main Event" Year: 1998 Why it's great: The theme of the 1998 Madness was "The Main Event," and the defending National Championship team came out in wrestling costumes complete with their own pro wrestling identities. The center of Memorial Coliseum was transformed into a mock wrestling ring, and Tubby Smith stole the show as famed boxing promoter Don King, complete with the fright wig and sunglasses. The event really gave the players a chance to showcase their personalities: Wayne Turner was "The Burner," sporting a red mask and cape with "Burner" on the back; Heshimu Evans dressed as "The Bronx Bomber,"; and Michael Bradley came as "The Big Cat," topping his outfit off with a red and white "Cat in the Hat" hat. Very intimidating, Mike. Keightley pops out of cake Year: 2002 Why it's great: 2002 marked the 100-year anniversary of Kentucky basketball, and what better way to commemorate it than a giant birthday cake? The celebration got that much sweeter when beloved equipment manager Bill Keightley popped out of the giant cake to raucous laughter and applause. It may be the only time in history people preferred seeing a 76-year-old man come out of a cake instead of a sexy lady. Pitino rides Harley, "Born To Be Wild" Year: 1994 Why it's great: No matter what you think of him now, you have to admit that while he was at Kentucky, Rick Pitino was a rock star. Like John Calipari, Pitino had the charisma necessary to really own the job as UK's head coach. He was slick, stylish, and at the time, could do no wrong. So, when he drove into Memorial Coliseum dressed in leather on a Harley-Davidson to "Born To Be Wild," everyone swooned. We may hate him now, but that was a cool moment. Time to vote for your favorites to move onto the Elite Eight:

online surveys

survey software

Polls will close at noon Thursday.