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The biggest winner all week was Kentucky basketball, and don't look at me like that. I know the score from Tuesday night, when unranked South Carolina beat the No. 1 Wildcats. That was Kentucky's first game in the No. 1 spot, and it was Kentucky's first loss of the season. The Wildcats will not be perfect this season.
Although, if you ask me, they already are.
And don't look at me like that. Like I said, I know what happened Tuesday at Columbia, S.C.: South Carolina 68, Kentucky 62.
But I know the score. The bigger score. And the biggest winner all week was Kentucky, which raised more than $1 million for Haiti. It's $1 million and counting, by the way. Kentucky isn't finished raising money for Haiti in the wake of a devastating earthquake.
Put that number in perspective. The American Red Cross, the gold standard in this country when it comes to helping others in their time of need, was among the first international groups to pledge money for Haiti. And how much did the Red Cross pledge? Exactly $1 million.
Kentucky basketball tried to send more money to Haiti than the American Red Cross.
That's not a swipe, in any sort of way, at the American Red Cross, which has since upped its donation to $10 million. It's applause for Kentucky basketball, and also for Kentucky's basketball fans. They are one and the same, this team and this fan base -- more than any team-and-fans in any sport in this country. The only symbiotic sporting relationship that comes close is the connection between the Green Bay Packers and their fans, but that's an imperfect analogy. The people of Wisconsin love their Packers, but they also have the Brewers in baseball and the Bucks in basketball, to go with a handful of colleges. They love a lot of teams in Wisconsin, although again, their love for the Packers is so powerful that it's the only one worth comparing to the connection between Kentucky basketball and the state of Kentucky. (And I hear you retching, Louisville fans. You're allowed to hate this story. Even if you know every single word of it is true.)
So while I'm applauding Kentucky basketball, I'm also going to applaud Kentucky basketball fans. It's too simplistic to say Kentucky basketball has raised more than $1 million (and counting) for Haiti without saying who wrote most of the checks: Kentucky basketball fans. This $1 million wasn't a money order from the Kentucky athletic department to Haiti. This was a whole lot of $5, $10 and $25 donations from the good people of Kentucky, a state that has been hit as hard as any by our country's economic struggles.
I'm not here to tell you the people of Kentucky have it worse than other people in other states. I'm just here to tell you that the people of Kentucky dug deep last week for almost $1 million for Haiti, which makes this a story that crosses basketball and even racial lines. According to the U.S. census, the state of Kentucky is about 7.7 percent black. Almost 95 percent of Haitians are descendants from Africa. What does the typical Kentuckian have in common with the typical Haitian? Very, very little. But they gave, did those people in Kentucky.
They gave more than China, which pledged $1 million for Haiti. They gave half as much as Germany, which pledged $2.17 million. Britain sent $10 million. Japan sent $5 million.
Kentucky basketball fans sent $1 million, and counting.
This remarkable story about Kentucky basketball, off the court, started with the same thing that has kick-started Kentucky basketball on the court: the vision of John Calipari. After the earthquake he organized a "Hoops for Haiti" telethon and urged UK fans to help, using his Twitter account -- which has more than 1 million followers -- to mobilize the masses.
Calipari then promised to get together a group of wealthy donors, himself included, that would meet whatever the rest of the Kentucky fan base produced. The first wave of callers donated more than $500,000. So the second wave, a group called "Cal's Pals for Haiti," matched it. That second, smaller group will be recognized at halftime Saturday of the Arkansas-Kentucky game at Rupp Arena. But the applause they receive will be applause for an entire fan base.
And if you're feeling good at this moment about Kentucky basketball fans, please allow yourself to feel good about the Kentucky basketball coach. Calipari isn't well-liked by people outside of the Kentucky fan base. We all know that. Memphis and Massachusetts reached the Final Four under him, and both schools symbolically vacated those appearances after reports of NCAA violations. That's the history, and you know the history, and because of that history, a lot of people -- a lot of you -- don't like John Calipari. I get that.
Me, I like Calipari. Always have. I have no idea if he knew that an agent had seduced his star player, Marcus Camby, back when Camby was a junior at UMass in 1996. And I have no idea if he knew that his star recruit, Derrick Rose of Chicago, had found an objectionable way in Detroit to post the SAT score necessary to be eligible as a freshman at Memphis.
But I know this:
An earthquake devastated Haiti on Jan. 12, and within five days Calipari had used the power and the passion of Kentucky basketball to raise more than $1 million for victims, with more on the way as Calipari is auctioning off a dinner with himself and Ashley Judd to the highest bidder. President Obama felt the need to call Calipari and thank him, and Kentucky basketball fans, for their help. Maybe you can tell, but I still can't believe this story. The Kentucky basketball community gave $1 million! That's as much as all of India. It's more than Sweden ($850,000). Nothing against those countries, either. Good for them. Every bit helps.
Kentucky lost to unranked South Carolina on Tuesday night, but I've never been more impressed with the Wildcats.
