“Wildcat” Wally Clark, an annual presence in the line for Big Blue Madness tickets, is a no-show this year.
Health problems forced Clark, 59, to stay at his Lexington home, meaning his streak of campouts at the University of Kentucky’s Memorial Coliseum ends at 18 years.
“I miss it bad,” Clark said on Thursday. “I’ve had all kinds of people calling me (asking) ‘Why aren’t you here?’ ”
Clark, who once camped outside Memorial Coliseum for 39 days to ensure he would be first in line for Madness tickets, said he fell down a flight of stairs earlier this year. He had been in and out of hospitals three times before doctors diagnosed a problem with diabetes and gout.
Having suffered a relapse earlier this week, Clark was resigned to not attending Big Blue Madness.
“No,” he said. “I haven’t been able to go to football either. You have no idea how much I miss it. I miss it a lot.”
Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald- Leader has covered Kentucky basketball since the 1981-82 season. That time includes five coaches, five Final Fours, four athletic directors, two interim athletic directors and many memories. Before coming to Lexington, Tipton worked eight years for the Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch. He covered Marshall’s basketball team for two seasons before coming to the Herald-Leader.
