The 22 Best Kentucky Sports Moments from the last 22 Years

by:Nick Roush•02/24/22•

RoushKSR

Hello, Big Blue Nation. Ready to get mad about a list of historic Kentucky sporting events? I thought so. Allow me.

This Tuesday, 2/22/22 to be precise, was the 42nd anniversary of the Miracle on Ice. To celebrate the occasion, Dave Dameshek put together a list of the 42 greatest moments in American sports history since Al Michael asked the world, “Do you believe in Miracles?” One hell of an undertaking, I think you’ll agree with many of his selections.

In honor of Dameshek’s efforts, it’s time for me to direct my attention to the best sports moments for the Big Blue Nation. Instead of digging back 42 years, I’ll keep it simple. Here are the 22 best sporting moments for Kentucky fans since 2000.

22. 2003: Jared Lorenzen’s ‘One Hell of a Game’

Jared Lorenzen’s penultimate performance in Lexington was the stuff of legend. He threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns, while running for three more scores. The Hefty Lefty rallied UK from a two touchdown deficit in the third quarter to force overtime against Arkansas. There would be seven extra periods before the exhausted Cats ultimately fell 71-63 to the Razorbacks. Symbolic of J-Lo’s career, it was always a dazzling spectacle, yet they seemed to always come up just short of greatness (even in that outstanding seven-win 2002 season).

21. 2021: Blocked Kick Six Beats Florida

The last of the ugly Kentucky football streaks remaining, Mark Stoops finally gave Kentucky fans a big payout at home, treating the sell-out crowd to a 20-13 win over the defending SEC East Champs. Josh Paschal’s Blocked Kick Six to Trevin Wallace is a play that will live in UK lore forever.

20. 2020: UK Volleyball National Championship

After a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Craig Skinner’s Cats gave Kentucky fans something to be excited about with an exhilarating run to a title. The first in school history was also the first volleyball National Championship by an SEC school.

19: 2003: Kentucky Suffocates No. 1 Florida

Matt Bonner and Matt Walsh were two of the most despised Kentucky basketball villains of the 21st century’s first decade. They walked into a buzzsaw as the newly crowned No. 1 team in America, falling 70-55 to Tubby Smith’s SuffoCats, the first team to ever complete a perfect SEC regular season and win the conference tournament. Sadly, Keith Bogans’ sprained ankle in the Sweet 16 and a Dwyane Wade triple-double in the Elite Eight overshadowed an incredible season by the Wildcats. The defense suffocated opponents with cast of fan favorites — Fitch, Daniels, Hawkins — complementing one of the best scorers in school history.

(Speaking of Florida, Kentucky won the rematch by two at the O’Dome. Fitch and Bogans did the Gator Bait chomp after the win, then Bogans punted a stuffed-animal Gator into the student section. Unfortunately I cannot find footage of the event on the World Wide Web, but this image on Big Blue History is all the confirmation I need.)

18. 2006: Music City Bowl Upset

Kentucky was a 10-point underdog to Clemson, but the BBN packed Nashville for the first Cat Walk of the modern era. The crowd at LP Field erupted when Trevard Lindley made a one-handed interception in the end zone, setting the tone for Andre Woodson to throw for three touchdowns and 300 yards. Rich Brooks’ 28-20 victory was UK’s first bowl win since 1984 and the first of three straight seasons with a postseason win.

17. 2004: Patrick Sparks Sinks Three FTs to Beat UofL

Few losses to Kentucky anger Louisville fans more than this one. Almost 20 years later you can still see the steam rolling out of their ears when they tell you, “HE WALKED!” Sparks had 25 points, including the final three free throws, to erase a 16-point halftime deficit (tied for the longest in school history with the Mardi Gras Miracle) and win 60-58 in front of the largest crowd in Freedom Hall history. The following video was one of the state’s first viral videos, shared on forwarded e-mail chains across the Commonwealth.

16. 2016: Malik Monk’s 47 in Las Vegas

When Malik Monk got hot, nobody could touch him. North Carolina’s Justin Jackson had 34 points, Joel Berry had 23, yet they were completely over-shadowed by Monk. Roy Williams threw everything he could to slow him down, yet Monk still buried the go-ahead three with 16.7 on the clock to give Kentucky a 103-100 victory. Unfortunately, Luke Maye had the last laugh a few months later in Memphis.

15. 2011: Matt Roark Shocks Tennessee

Drew Franklin got the scoop of the millennium and it did not spoil Randy Sanders’ surprise. With a roster full of injured quarterbacks, wide receiver Matt Roark ran the option in a 10-7 stunning victory, keeping the Vols out of the postseason and snapping a 26-year losing streak to Tennessee. The call from Tom Leach cannot be topped.

“Ding dong, the streak is dead! Kentucky has rocky topped Tennessee!”

14. 2010 Boogie’s SEC Tournament Tip-In

Boogie slammed Jared Swopshire and told the Mississippi State students, “Call me!” Neither of those moments were as exciting as his tip-in to force overtime in the 2010 SEC Tournament. A few players later admitted they thought the shot won the game. Thankfully, that celebration was not too premature as UK eventually won 75-74 in overtime.

13. 2007: Stevie Got Loose

Stevie Johnson’s game-winning touchdown against No. 10 Louisville is one of the loudest moments in Commonwealth Stadium/Kroger Field history. Say the phrase “Stevie Got Loose” to any Kentucky fan, and they’ll know exactly where they were in that moment.

12. 2022: Wan’Dale’s Citrus Bowl Heroics

For almost the entire second half, it looked like the short-handed Wildcats were going to run out of gas in Orlando. After a few short yardage stops, Wan’Dale Robinson took over on the final drive. He gained 79 of the Wildcats’ final 80 yards to set up the Chris Rodriguez go-ahead touchdown that gave Kentucky a 20-17 win and its second 10-win season in four years.

11. 2019: Lynn Bowden’s Belk Bowl Walk Off

Lynn Bowden is Kentucky’s Paul Bunyan. Fifty years from now your grand-kids will not believe you when you tell stories about the wide receiver turned quarterback that punched a dude in the face, then ran all over the Bud Foster retirement party, and ended the game by throwing a go-ahead touchdown pass with only seconds on the clock. An unbelievable athlete, Bowden’s run in 2019 can never be replicated.

10. 2009: Jodie Meeks Scores 54

Dan Issel holds a couple seemingly untouchable UK records. The all-time leading scorer had three of the top five scoring games in school history, until Jodie Meeks set a new high-water mark by scoring 54 against Tennessee, the highlight of the short-lived Billy Gillispie era. Meeks hit 10-of-15 threes and all 14 free throw attempts to set the school record.

9. 2011: Brandon Knight Knocks Out Ohio State

The haters and losers were piling on John Calipari. His first Kentucky team was upset in the Elite Eight and his second struggled to close out mediocre SEC teams on the road. Facing the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, Brandon Knight’s experience in those close losses provided valuable lessons that he used to score the go-ahead 15-footer with 5 seconds left. The haters were silent when the fourth-seeded Wildcats knocked out North Carolina the following week to send UK back to the Final Four for the first time since 1998.

8. 2007: Down Goes No. 1 LSU in 3OTs

The spotlight was on Lexington and the Wildcats delivered. Despite facing multiple double digit deficits, Kentucky never backed down. Stevie Johnson was incredible, once again, catching 7 passes for 134 yards and the game-winning touchdown in the third overtime. Braxton Kelly met Charles Scott at the line of scrimmage on fourth and short, setting off a field storming for the ages.

7. 2016: Lamar Fumbles

Kentucky was a 28-point underdog. Lamar Jackson did the Heisman pose. Then he fumbled. Then Austin MacGinnis drilled a 47-yard field goal to give Kentucky a 41-38 win over Louisville. A family friend and notable curmudgeon told me after the game, “In all my life, I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s the greatest win ever.” He is no longer a curmudgeon. Thanks, Lamar.

6. 2019: Record Breaking Citrus Bowl

The 2018 season played out like a movie script in its final act. Josh Allen could have opted-out of the Citrus Bowl. Instead he became a program trendsetter by playing and dominating Penn State. He blocked a field goal and had three sacks, paving the way for Benny Snell to set the school’s all-time rushing record with a touchdown that delivered the dagger in a 27-24 New Year’s Day victory, capping off Kentucky’s first 10-win football season in 41 years.

5. 2015: 38-0

Tyler Ulis’ bloody eye vs. Louisville and the 31-6 halftime lead over UCLA were just a few of the memorable moments from a season so dominant, ESPN created a 30-minute special: “Can anyone beat Kentucky?” Sadly, the answer to that question was “yes.”

4. 2009: The John Wall Dance

The moment that started the Madness. Not only did John Calipari resurrect the Kentucky basketball program, he made the Wildcats the sport’s coolest team. The dance inspired a song and a shot still served at every Lexington college bar. Not two years after the John Wall Dance, Jay-Z’s opening line to the No. 1 song in America was a reference to a fine he got for hanging out with the Wildcats. John Wall was a superstar, maybe the biggest to ever set foot on Kentucky’s campus.

3. 2018: Florida Streak is Snapped

The losing streak to Florida was a weight on the shoulders of the entire program. In order to take the program to unprecedented heights, Mark Stoops first had to end the 31-game losing streak. The story of the emotional victory in The Swamp can be told in one photo.

2. 2014: Aaron Harrison’s Great Story

Aaron Harrison is responsible for three of the five best moments in my life, right after the birth of my son and marrying my wife. She does not find it humorous, and neither do I. I’m 100% serious. A magical run that cannot be replicated, the loss to UConn in the Championship actually might have been a good thing in the long run. If UK wins that game, there’s probably a mass exodus, one that includes John Calipari. Instead, the Harrison Twins announced their return and everybody came with them, setting the table for 38 straight wins.

“This is the point where he always hits it — AARON HARRISON! BEYOND BELIEF!“

1. 2012: Anthony Davis Crowns Kentucky

The BBN got to see one of the most dominant players to ever wear Kentucky blue and white bring a National Championship back home to Lexington. The Cats beat Indiana, Louisville and Kansas on the road to No. 8. It doesn’t get much better than that.