Why would the coaches of KY's biggest rivals show up for the funeral of an equipment manager? Out of respect. They respect tradition. Bill Keightley was on KY's basketball bench for 48 years. My Dad used to say "if you do the same thing long enough you'll eventually get good at it." Rick Pitino and Billy Donovan along with thousands of others plus all who watched on TV and the internet, showed up for this "common man's" funeral because of the way he lived his life. His funeral here in Lexington drew more attention than the funeral of a governor. Each person I have heard speak publicly of Mr Wildcat said "I thought I was his best friend until I talked to someone else who said the same thing." There's the lesson; the challenge for all of us. Watching all of the media coverage of his death was interesting to me. We KY fans lived vicariously through Mr. Wildcat. Each game we would see a "common man" sitting on KY's bench. For us, he was living the dream. Little did we know just how many people he touched each day of his life in a very simple way. He treated others better than he would want to be treated himself. Long live the common man!
"I'm just a common man, I drive a common van, my dog ain't got no pedigree." Country singer -John Conlee
2 comments:
i am new to the tradition of kentucky basketball. justin always says it's "hard to describe"... it seems to be more of a way of life, than just entertainment. i am learning to really appreciate it.
watching parts of mr. bill's memorial service last night was pretty incredible. which, to a normal person, seems silly, if you think about it...
but to a kentucky basketball fan, that's putting it lightly. this man made a real impact on people's lives. because he loved his job and he enjoyed life. over and over again, last night, the speakers talked about wanting to live like mr. bill did. pretty cool. left an impression on me.
I, like Kacey, am somewhat new to the Kentucky tradition. When I watched Ky basketball with Mike one of the first people he pointed out to me was "Mr. Wildcat". And the first thought I had was, "Man, that's great duty, watching the game from his vantage point." Little did I know about the impact this "common man" had.
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