Senior Lamar Mills will be keeping a blog during his trip with the UK Football Team to the Music City Bowl. Check back for updates.
Thursday, Dec. 28
Welcome back Wildcat fans!!! Less than one day before your UK Wildcats face off with the Clemson Tigers. This will be my last entry before the game and I am glad to get to share my thoughts with UK fans for one more time.
Last night we went to Dave and Buster?s for a little friendly video arcade competition. Clemson was there so we got to spend some time together and we all had a good time. We had a NASCAR video game tournament which we won, making us 3-0 in the week?s friendly competition. We got to eat some good food and hang out with some Clemson players. After that we went downtown and I spent about 45 minutes taking one last good look at Nashville. I promptly went home and took a nice hot shower and fell asleep early.
This morning we had a coach?s luncheon with both teams, coaches, and a lot of fans. The players got to sit down and talk to the fans and loosen up a bit. It was very gratifying to see how loyal our fans are and how much they appreciate what we have accomplished in making a bowl game. Coach Brooks and Bowden were introduced and they took some questions from fans about the game and the atmosphere of the Music City Bowl. It was a good time for players, fans, and coaches to get together and spend some time with each other. They split all the players up so that there were two of us per table with fans. That gave us all the chance to mingle with our supporters and show our appreciation of their support.
I have been here for five years and I am very happy to have been apart of UK football. In the past few years, we haven?t had the best records in the world but our fans have stuck with us and shown support. Sometimes in the past the seasons seemed to linger but this season, with all the success we have had, it has really flown by. I have just had so much fun growing up through the program, watching my teammates grow up. There are only six of us left from the 2002 recruiting class and it is very gratifying watching those guys grow up. This season has really gone by quick and I have enjoyed every moment that I have spent with them. Hopefully, the seniors can go out with a bang tomorrow. It was an awesome five years that I have spent with those guys and I would not trade it for the world. We came in as kids and came out as responsible, hard-working men. We had some trying times in the program but adversity has made us better people. I cannot express how much I appreciate the time I have spent with the guys and the entire team.
Our fans are very supportive and stuck with us through some tough times. I feel like we have really turned the corner in UK football. After this year, fans can see a little insight into some of the excitement in the future of UK football with coach Brooks and some of the young playmakers we have. We appreciate the fans who have stuck with us through thick and thin. They really hung with us and we really appreciate it. We want to come out tomorrow and win and give people in Lexington and the Big Blue Nation something to cheer about.
Tomorrow at 12 p.m. CT, LP field in Nashville is going to turn into Commonwealth Stadium South. This will be our last time for the seniors to come out as UK players and lay their heart and bodies on the line for the University of Kentucky. It is going to mean so much to us for thousands of fans to pile into the stadium and support us. Hopefully we can feed off it and give those fans something to be happy about.
Thanks for your support and we will see you one last time in 2006!!!! GO CATS!!!!!
Wednesday, Dec. 27
Welcome back Wildcat fans!!! We have had an eventful time since my last entry.
So far everything has been an awesome experience here in Nashville. Both teams got to meet up with each other at the Wildhorse Saloon for the official team welcome party last night. We had some friendly competition and both teams came out and enjoyed themselves. Fortunately we won both events thanks to some strong individual efforts. We represented very well in a karaoke contest with our participants Marcus McClinton, Calvin Harrison, and Sam Maxwell. Calvin and Sam did a good job but Marcus is just an incredible singer and really took it home for us with an R. Kelly song (“I Believe I Can Fly”). Marcus is a very talented young man and he really represented us and Kentucky really well. Our team was very supportive of the guys.
The rib-eating contest was equally riveting. Our representatives (Jorge Gonzalez, Garry Williams, J.D. Craigman, Rafael Little, and Jeremy Jarmon) really got the job done and downed some ribs. Looking at some of the Clemson guys eating for them I did not know if we could take them but we really stepped it up. Jorge was the overall individual champ and he really stepped up and ate 12 ribs in just two minutes. Rafael also ate a lot, probably surprising some people because he was the smallest participant.
Wednesday morning we had the chance for another wonderful experience, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes breakfast. It was a good experience. I am glad that we all got the chance to come together and share our faith with each other. It was a good crowd filled with some strong believers and everyone seemed to really enjoy it and take a lot from the speaker, especially the featured speaker David Ring. It was a chance for us to have some good fellowship and remember that while we are playing a football game on Friday, we are more importantly Christians. Our own Mike Aitcheson (my roommate) spoke for about three minutes in a very powerful, organized message. He spoke about himself and his walk with his faith and some of his successes in life. I am glad that he represented us and I am very proud of him.
We practiced this afternoon and the seniors really enjoyed it for the last time in full pads. It was rewarding to practice for the last time, almost like a weight was lifted off our shoulders. Sometimes practice could get a little dreadful but we enjoyed our last practice and I am sure I will miss it. At the end of practice all the seniors did not have to run, instead we got to stand and watch the underclassmen run, which was something very enjoyable! In the end the underclassmen were very supportive of us and really helped us all soak up the environment.
Tonight we are going to a restaurant called Dave and Busters for some activities. It will be another good opportunity to enjoy ourselves and enjoy the city of Nashville, a really nice city to get to spend a week.
That’s all for now, stay tuned for more!!!!
Tuesday, Dec. 26
What?s up Cat fans!!!! Welcome to Nashville! Keenan Burton and I will be blogging from our spacious hotel ? The world famous Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center during our stay in Nashville.
I spent Christmas with my brother in Lexington and headed for Nashville around 4 p.m. on Christmas Day. I rode down with Dominic Lewis, Durrell White and Eric Scott. We all piled in Dominic?s car and rode down, having a good time with each other on the way. We got here around 6:30 p.m. and we were immediately in awe of our hotel.
This hotel is unbelievable, there is so much going on here. The outside of this hotel is crazy, it is just so big. I have never seen a river in a hotel, plus with all the shopping this place has. It is like four hotels put together. It is just so glamorous ? the best hotel I have ever stayed.
My roommate is defensive lineman Ventrell Jenkins. We roomed together all season and have had a blast. We have had one funny ongoing issue in our living arrangement. Ventrell likes the room temperature cold while I like the room warmer. I like to stay warm during the night while he likes to get cool at night and get under the covers and bundle up. That is just something funny that we are always kidding each other about. But, Ventrell is a cool guy. We can talk about a lot of things because our personalities mix well. We get along so well because we are just two very laid-back guys who like to have fun. I have enjoyed rooming with Ventrell all season and hopefully I haven?t driven him too crazy. If he can handle me studying till the wee hours of the morning ? with the light on – like I did this year, he is a good guy. (Note from ukathletics.com: Mills just completed his master’s degree in International Economics at the conclusion of the fall semester.)
, besides it being really, really cold. Practice is a lot like usual, except we are practicing on the Vanderbilt practice field. We took care of business during practice and made sure we are taking care of our assignments and getting ready for a tough Clemson team. We are enjoying the experience, though, and are having a good time while preparing for the game. Other then it being painfully cold, practice was good.
Tonight we are going to the Wildhorse Saloon for the official . I think there is a rib-eating contest with Clemson there. I don?t know who I would pick to represent us, but it would probably be Myron Pryor or Christian Johnson. Those two guys can eat their share and really put it away. I would rather them not get sick eating ribs before the game but it should be fun meeting up with Clemson and hopefully both teams can enjoy themselves.
That?s all for now, stay tuned for another update ?
