LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Kentucky fans were undoubtedly licking their wounds after the team’s early exit from the NCAA tournament.
UK lost to Oakland in the first round of the tourney, 80-76.
“Ya'll, be sure to check on your Kentucky friends, they ain't alright,” Rick Paynter said in a social media video.
Paynter, who co-owns The Kentucky Shop, said the game was hard to watch, especially as a longtime member of BBN.
“A real UK fan, not a bandwagon, I think you take the heartache and the loss with the good, but at the same time, we’ve had so much heartache and loss lately, it’s just…can we end the suffering at some point?”
Kentucky’s first-round loss to Oakland gives the Cats a record of 1- 4 in their last five NCAA tourney games.
“It's been a let down the last few years, to say the least,” said Sam Spears, a bartender at Timmy Two Time’s.
An employee of The Kentucky Shop, UK student Gracen Layman said, “Everyone’s trying to lighten it up with jokes, but I don't think that’s gonna help.”
Kentucky’s early exit impacts more than brackets and bets. Businesses bank on the influx of patrons, whether they be watching the game over a burger and beer at Timmy Two Time’s or wearing a “Catsville” t-shirt from The Kentucky Shop.
“Right now, we're talking about ‘March Sadness’ and the depression,” said Paynter. “We've had a March Sadness shirt for the last four years since 2020 that started with the cancellation of the tournament, and now it means something completely different. It’s one way of celebrating the bad, I guess.”
Paynter’s March Sadness shirt can be purchased here.
Tim Mars, the owner of Timmy Two Times, isn’t as optimistic about his sales.
“We're down by 4 and there's a few seconds left. The bar is completely full and there's not a seat available in the house, and there's just this utter pressure of anger and sadness coming from the group,” described Mars. “And my thought, I even said this out loud, was, 'Well there goes my alcohol sales for the rest of March.’”
Had the Cats advanced to the championship, Mars anticipated an added $10 - $15,000 in revenue.
Paynter and Mars agree, everything is better when the Cats are winning.
“There's electricity in the air when the Cats are on fire, and this town becomes a different town altogether, and I really think that does fuel the economy behind it,” said Paynter.
