Who is Jared Carter?

Welcome to Jared Carter Appreciation Day For any of you that know me, you know that I'm a huge sports radio junkie and it's an addiction that started in my childhood with 1310 The Ticket in Dallas. One of the afternoon hosts on the station is terrified of flying and has always said the only way he could put himself at ease prior to a flight was to look around the plane and assure himself before it left that he was the most famous person on board. That way, if it crashed, he'd be the headline and not one of the "and __ other passengers". So, how does this relate to Jared Carter?  Well, let me explain. One thing that has frustrated me over the years as I've tried to do Jared Carter research online (I do it a lot), is that after nearly four years at the all-time winningest program, our favorite former Scott County Cardinal still isn't even the top "Jared Carter" result on Google.  But, if that's not insulting enough, then understand that the honor actually belongs to a "poet" with only three poems.  And, they all suck. But, I refuse to believe that the poet Jared Carter is better or more accomplished than our Jared Carter.  In fact, I think our Jared Carter has to be the most accomplished Jared Carter in the entire country.  Dammit, our Jared Carter needs some respect!  So, I put it to a test last night and went on a call-out campaign to find out who is the most accomplished Jared Carter in these United States. Here is who I called and what they've done in their time on this planet: Jared Carter (Spring Hill, Florida) - hung up on me Jared Carter (Atchison, Kansas) - hung up on me Jarrod Carter (Decatur, Georgia) - told me his name was pronounced "Jurr-odd", I hung up on him Jared Carter (Versailles, Ohio) - kept asking me why I wanted to know stuff about him and how I found his information Jared Carter (Louisville, Kentucky) - actually a Kentucky fan, said "that no-talent ass clown is ruining my good name", asked if I knew Matt Jones Jared Carter (La Mesa, California) - had a very spirited conversation with me about the reunion of blink 182 but has accomplished nearly nothing in his life, probably will be my Facebook friend though Jared Carter (Waxahachie, Texas) - hung up on me Jared Carter (Holiday, Florida) - told me that he "runs his spot" Jared Carter (Muncie, Indiana) - no longer lives at that phone number, but the sweet elderly woman who answered said that she doubted he's done anything more impressive than "play ball for U of K" So, there you have it.  Jared Carter is the most accomplished Jared Carter in the entire country.  But, on a serious note, we all poke a lot of fun at Jared Carter. But, at least to me, there might be no one on the team who deserves more respect than Jared. He's battled injuries and a coaching change and, at least in my eyes, never being put in a situation where he could succeed (seriously, putting him in against a run-n-gun Houston team last year is like bringing a knife hug to a gunfight), all while still showing up and going at it every single day. I'm not in at every practice and I don't know he acts or what he does, but I do know that it takes a young man with tremendous character to know that he's never going to enter a game when it matters still show up and give it his all for four years. Part of what makes being a UK fan special is that you're invested in a community that not only places a premium on success, but forever respects those who respect it. And, if nothing else, Jared Carter has continued to show up and go at it for four years with very little reward. To me, that shows he respects the name on the front of the jersey as much as anyone. For that, he deserves your standing ovation tomorrow night.