2012 NCAA Tournament: How an ESPN Commercial Doomed IU to Be Routed by UK Friday

Do you remember December 10, 2011? The Kentucky Wildcats do. They are reminded virtually every time they turn on ESPN. Their collective memory of that fateful night is jogged by a Watch ESPN commercial, showing off the versatility of their NCAA Basketball coverage on laptops, iPads, and iPhones.

Unfortunately for Hoosier Nation, the commercial also shows off IU pushing the ball up the court and Christian Watford hitting a game winning three pointer at the buzzer to tarnish UK’s then undefeated record.

The loss alone would be enough for motivation. I take that back, not just the loss but the subsequent rushing of the court as Hoosier fans mobbed the floor so quickly that Darius Miller was still on the ground after contesting the game-winning shot, and the other Kentucky players were caught up in the middle of it (at 0:38 you can clearly see a UK manager screaming at IU fans and struggling to get UK star Anthony Davis off the floor).

Can you imagine how much it would suck to be in the middle of a celebration you wanted no part of? No? How about being constantly reminded of it every time you watch your favorite channel? Kentucky players do. The memory of that loss is tattooed into their memories, and the ink feels fresh every time ESPN airs that commercial (which, by the way, is all the time).

That’s the funny thing about motivation—you can never have too much of it. It’s not like confidence, which can brim over into cockiness; it’s like talent, the more the better. And Kentucky has both in spades for this rematch.

Think I’m overplaying the motivation? Let’s ask the players. After securing the rematch with IU, Terrence Jones said, “They can show that commercial every break from now until the game…just give us motivation.” As it well should for Jones, who had one of the worst games of his career with only four points and six turnovers.

Indiana native Marquis Teague commented, “That was a rough day for us. We kind of don’t like seeing it on the commercial.” ‘Kind of’ is kind of an understatement. Teague was harassed throughout the first game as the hometown kid who shunned the flagship program of his state for greener pastures with rival Kentucky. If there is anyone with something to prove Friday, it’s Teague.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist stated, “I hate that commercial…we’re going to get them back.” And that’s the chance they will have Friday night. The chance to avenge their only regular season loss. The chance to hear UK in ‘Catlanta’ roar “GO BIG BLUE” instead of being swept up in a sea of red shirts and self-disgust like in the regular season.Maybe Kentucky coach John Calipari (who has since downplayed the revenge aspect), said it best:

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“I want to thank ESPN. They’ve done one of the greatest services for my program by having that advertisement that keeps showing Indiana beating us. Every time my team watches ESPN, they see it. They just shake their heads. It makes them mad. Thank you, ESPN.

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Think they need any more motivation to go with that talent? I don’t. I think ESPN has sealed the fate of the Hoosiers. The day they released that commercial and the day the brackets were announced to have IU in the same region as UK marked a convergence of events that culminate Friday night in the Georgia Dome. That culmination will quickly turn into domination.

It’s hard to think of a team that has ever wanted to beat another team so badly. Sure there are plenty of rivalry games, revenge games, and Sweet Sixteen games; but rarely are there all three. When you add to the equation that UK has an unparalleled level of motivation from the ubiquitous Watch ESPN commercial, you get the Kentucky Wildcats versus the Indiana Hoosiers Friday night.

But this time, there won’t be any red on the court after the game. Instead, there will just be a scoreboard that reads UK 88, IU 72, and an army of blue-clad fans roaring “GO BIG BLUE” long into the night in ‘Catlanta.’