Don has been living in Tybee Island for 24 years but the Lexington native remains a Big Blue fan. (Larry Vaught Photo)
Getting away to Tybee Island with part of my family seemed like the perfect place to enjoy July 4th and certainly, the fireworks on the beach did not disappoint. I like having a lighthouse on the beach here and getting to watch fireworks just made Sunday all that much better.
However, even on vacation, I got a lot of reminders about what makes UK basketball and football special.
First, it was seeing Cora and David Rulon again. They own Tybee Island Bike Rentals. I met them last year when we rented bikes and David asked about my son’s UK hat. He told me then his friend, Steve Fitzgerald, had a son playing football at UK. That turned out to be Abule Abadi-Fitzgerald, a senior defensive lineman this year.
Actually, I got to talk to them a few weeks ago when they worked as marshals at the PGA Championship but it was great seeing them to talk UK football again — and also get bikes to ride (I enjoyed about a 10-mile ride on the beach and streets Monday).
Eric Watson is not a Kentucky fan. Instead, he’s a Georgia fan and had on his Bulldog hat Saturday as he was fishing in the ocean. He’s from Milledgeville, Ga., but brings his family to Tybee Beach each July 4th.
He needed a bit of help when he hooked a small shark about 20 feet off the shore and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to help. Got to admit, it was fun and once he found out I was from Kentucky he let me know Georgia was going to be hard to handle in football this year.
Then Monday I stopped at the BP for a few things and standing behind the counter was a man proudly wearing his UK hat. Turns on Don was originally from Lexington and even though he’s been living here 24 years, he’s as big a Kentucky fan now as ever.
“I even get the special sports package just so I can watch Kentucky football and basketball,” he said.
What was even better is that his co-worker was from Connecticut and was a huge Huskies fan and told me how they go back and forth all the time about basketball.
