It’s become a slogan of sorts for Kentucky head coach John Calipari, and as simple as it may be, it couldn’t be more spot on.”You people are crazy,” he says.He’s right, they know it, and most importantly, they love it and are proud of it.Whether Kentucky is playing in the Bahamas, an opposing Southeastern Conference gym, the West Coast, a tournament venue or Rupp Arena, the venue is sold out and the electricity is at a fever pitch.Known as one of the most passionate and loyal fan bases in all of sports, collegiate or professional, Big Blue Nation is loud, big and, well, crazy.”You walk into our arena at home, the upper deck in the corners are filled 40 minutes before the game,” Coach Cal said Monday on a teleconference with the other three Final Four head coaches. “What, are you crazy? Why are you here right now? The radio show has 8,000 or 9,000 people that stay after. Our radio show would rank in the top 30 in attendance of games. The other thing is you go on the road, they’re chanting. You’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh, they’ve taken over the arena.’ Like, they do that.”Perhaps nowhere was that more apparent than the SEC Tournament in Nashville this year. Swarms of Big Blue flooded to the Music City, painting the town blue and turning Bridgestone Arena into Rupp Arena South. In fact, even in the days before Kentucky played – thanks to a double bye – there were some games were it was estimated the majority of fans present were Wildcat supporters who couldn’t get tickets to the UK games, but simply wanted to be a part of it all.”I think they’re crazy, but I’ve said it before,” Calipari said. “They’re nuts. But it makes them what they are and they’re passionate about letting everybody know, ‘I’m a Kentucky fan.’ “Indeed they are, and that fact isn’t lost on Coach Cal, who had his squad play the SEC Tournament for the fans as a way to show his appreciation for their support.”Our fans, they make an effort to get here,” Calipari said prior to the conference tournament. “It’s not easy, and they do it. That’s why I’m saying, ‘Let’s play for them. Let them enjoy you for the last time they can see you in person.’ Because, again, it’s going to be hard for that core group (of fans) to get to the NCAA Tournament.”The end result made the SEC Tournament neutral only by technicality, as the Cats rolled to victory by winning each game by at least 15 points. After every big play, run or moment, Bridgestone Arena became deafening with cheers of “Go Big Blue.” During one sequence in the championship against Arkansas, Razorback cheerleaders who were on the court to help pump up their fans could only look at each other and laugh as the Wildcat chants completely drowned them out.A similar effect is present at conference road games, where especially when UK has a comfortable lead in the closing minutes, UK fans can be heard over the home crowd.”It gets you juiced,” Willie Cauley-Stein said about Big Blue Nation starting an audible chant in the closing minutes of a 22-point win at a sold-out Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Jan. 17. “You know they’re going everywhere you go. You can go all the way to California and we’re going to have probably half the fans there because they’re crazy, and I love them all. That’s why it’s so fun playing here.””Best fans in America, and that’s a statement I really believe in,” Devin Booker said after the same game. “I’ve seen a lot of fan bases. I’ve been everywhere. Just like (Cauley-Stein) said, half of our fans on away games, you see the blue in there when we first get in. They get in before all the other fans. Like I said, just (the) best fans in America.”Though all the tricks of the trade aren’t known in terms of how UK fans are getting these tickets, one known method is done through disguise.In today’s day and age, many opposing fans will choose not to sell their tickets to UK fans because they don’t want their own fan base to be outnumbered at home – or at a neutral-site venue such as the Final Four in Indianapolis. So what do UK fans do? Naturally, they buy opposing team gear and put that on as a disguise.”They know not to wear blue when they’re trying to get tickets,” Coach Cal said. “They have to wear red, orange, another color. People don’t want to sell them their tickets. They figure out ways of getting in. They don’t tell, because it’s a secret. They don’t tell anybody. No one knows. How in the world are they getting these tickets?”The origin of this madness started, Coach Cal says, back in the early years of the UK basketball program, when legendary head coach Adolph Rupp took on any opponent, at any location, at any time. The fans thus took great pride in all of the wins and championships that were filling the trophy cases and record books.”He came in and established a program out of nothing,” Calipari said of Rupp.At times, UK fans have gotten a bad rap from outsiders who say they can be too passionate and sometimes unrealistic. Coach Cal doesn’t completely see it that way, though.”If I have to deal with their expectations, I would be under the desk in a fetal position,” Coach Cal said. “So I don’t worry.”Everybody says, ‘Well, you got to win a national title.’ No, you got to be significant. They want you in the conversation. I’ve been here now six years. ‘You got to win it or…’ No. They’d like you to win it now, they’ll be depressed if you don’t for maybe a month. But they want (to be) in the conversation. They want (to be) in the conversation in recruiting. They want (to be) in the conversation when you’re talking one of the best teams. If they thought you should win it every year, we’d have 125 national titles. Doesn’t happen. And they know that.”At Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis this weekend, UK fans will hope their beloved Cats can bring home their ninth national title, inching them to within two of UCLA for the most in college basketball history – yet another accolade they would love to tout, and would certainly put a smile on their face.”Just enjoy all this because that’s what we all should be doing,” Coach Cal said on his weekly call-in show Monday evening. “Because when this is over, it’s over, and only memories. Right now we’re living it, so enjoy yourself, have a ball. This team deserves your great karma and prayers and all that you’re sending their way. Believe me, they feel all that stuff.”