Saying Goodbye to the Nutter Center: My Two Fondest Moments

This game called life is funny. As I grow older, the more often I think back to specific memories that were not monumental by any stretch of the imagination; just special to me. As UK is celebrating its new 100,000-square foot, $45 million dollar training facility, I thought I’d share two distinct and personal memories from the EJ Nutter Center.  

The Day Before Kentucky vs. Indiana 1989

I’m not going to bore you -- and me -- with details of Kentucky’s opening season win over the Hoosiers. After 27 years, it really doesn’t matter. However, a moment from the day prior to the IU game remains an unforgettable remembrance. During that era, on the day before home games the team would have a light practice at the Nutter Facility before boarding busses and a trip to the hotel. After Friday’s workout, the facility cleared as players were going back to the dorm to adorn Coach Claiborne’s mandatory coat and tie game-day attire. I didn’t depart the facility with the masses. You see, the next day marked my first start as a Kentucky quarterback. I walked back onto the practice field to mentally go back over blitz pick-ups, audibles, and such. I was obviously anxious. Then, it happened. While walking off the practice field I caught a glimpse of my dad. He’d traveled to Lexington a day early. I guess he and I were both a little nervous. As if he sensed my uneasiness, he walked towards me, I walked towards him. Big Fred looked straight into my eyes and said, “Son, I’m proud of you, now go and make the mountains proud.” A man of few words, just like that he walked away. Thinking back, as a dad myself, I can now understand his helpless feeling knowing that, within 24 hours, I was going to fail or succeed on my own. Regardless, on that day it was obvious that my old man was proud of me. As I attempted to process what had just happened, I remember walking through the Nutter Center doors and the discrete contrast from the early September heat to air conditioned coolness. As I strolled down the hall thinking about what my dad had just said, the Rolling Stones song, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” began to blast over the sound system. This may seem insignificant, but to me, the moment I shared with my dad and that song will forever remain special in my heart. I love that song. I miss my dad.

My Second Dad Departs

Rumors were swirling. The team was notified to report to the EJ Nutter Center for a mandatory offseason meeting. Cameras and talking heads were outside the facility. Attendance was mandatory, no exceptions. As trained, Jerry Claiborne’s team arrived 10 minutes early. Standing in the team meeting room was a somber coach. None of us had ever seen him like that. He was a man that I had idolized. Heck, all of us did. Our coach had tears in his eyes. Reality was setting in: Coach Claiborne was retiring. Due to overwhelming emotion, our Rock couldn’t muster a sentence without breaking down. As tears rolled down his face, he informed us that he and Miss Faye were retiring. I felt as if I’d been gut punched by Butterbean. I didn’t sign up for this. I gave up a shot at professional baseball mainly because I didn’t want to let this man down. He had sat in my living room and promised my mom that I’d get a quality education and attend church. He couldn’t leave me now. As badly as I didn’t want it to be true, it was. After posting a 6-5 season in 1989, Jerry Claiborne retired. 85 plus very large humans openly wept. A testament to his impact on players' lives, even those that he had suspended or kicked off the team were in attendance. Just as Jerry Claiborne would have demanded, we lined up in an orderly fashion. One by one we hugged our coach, thanked him, and said our goodbyes. My time at UK was never the same. Years later, we accompanied our coach onto the field as he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He died soon after. I miss my coach.   So, as we bid farewell to the EJ Nutter Training Facility, I will forever remember these two moments. Every time I hear that Rolling Stones song or think back to the Friday before my first start I smile, I cry, and I praise. Life is funny like that.