The passion and excitement surrounding Kentucky basketball is in full effect every home game at the University of Kentucky as over 23,000 fans pack Rupp Arena. Last Tuesday the Florida Gators came to town take on the #1 Kentucky Wildcats. Rupp is the epitome of the term home field advantage. The Cats entered the game riding a 48-game home winning streak. As cheerleaders, we have many traditions that help get the crowd excited as we look to cheer the team on to a win each and every game.

FLAGS

At the beginning of each half we lead the team on the court with 10 different flags. Two guys have big UK flags and eight girls run out flags that spell K-E-N-T-U-C-K-Y. Those of us who do not have a flag tumble out while the pep band plays the fight song.

PLAYER INTRODUCTION

During player introductions the lights go out and a highlight video plays. Fans chant “We are U-K,” to the chorus of Zombie Nation by Kernkraft 400. Once we hear the song switch to Paris by Jay-  Z and Kanye West we get set to do our stunts. We do a toss lib, toss stretch and a toss extension. We ripple our pop downs and then run to get set for C-A-T-S around the gym.

C-A-T-S AROUND THE GYM

Next we spread out at each of the four sides of the court. Two girls on every side stand in shoulder stands holding signs that instruct the crowd to spell out a specific letter in C-A-T-S. The side near the student section starts with C and then the spell out begins clockwise (C-A-T-S) until we hear the buzzer.

FREE THROWS

We hold up our right hand before the player shoots and bring it down once the shot is made. During the first half we do tucks for made free throws between the first and second attempt. Girls and guys alternate.

SIDELINES

We are constantly calling sidelines. My favorite part of the game is when the all 23,000+ people yell “GO BIG BLUE!” together. It gets LOUD.

TIMEOUTS

During 30 second time outs we do a toss or walk-in stunt facing the student section. For full timeouts, we always tumble out and typically have a stunt sequence followed by standing or running tumbling. We also have a few tradition-based timeouts where we use signs to lead the crowd.

HEY SONG

During this time out the band plays the “Hey song.” Five of us guys run in from the side and slide on our stomachs to form the letter C with our bodies on the first hey. We then stand up and form an A on the next hey. Then we stand up and do a standing tuck and jump to form a T. Lastly, we spin on the floor to reposition ourselves to make an S. The girls also have C-A-T-S signs on opposite ends of the court to help the crowd follow along.

WILDCAT PYRAMID

The full timeout after four minutes is always the Wildcat pyramid. During this timeout we put the mascot in an extension, with two shoulder stands and shoulder sits on opposite sides that connect to form our Wildcat pyramid. We also have an enormous UK flag that two guys bring out behind it. We then turn the pyramid and flag a complete 360 and the fans stand to their feet as the pyramid makes its way around the arena.

The Cats pulled out a convincing 78-58 win over the Gators for their 49^th consecutive win at home. It is the longest active home winning streak in the country. After the game we line up to sing My Old Kentucky home before we pack up and head home. I hope you enjoyed learning about gameday with the UK Cheerleaders. Go Big Blue!