Kentucky once again is one of the hottest fandoms out there. But could Wildcat fans be a little underrated based off this year’s FanSided 250?
Among all the colleges, Kentucky has always been known for having some of the hottest fandoms out there. Hence why they always have a spot in the annual FanSided 250 rankings. This year is no different, with the Wildcats ranked No. 126 overall. Considering that it includes hundreds of different categories of anything that involves some sort of following, that’s not a bad spot.
However, the issue comes with the schools ranked ahead of Kentucky. In the college division, the Wildcats fandom was ranked No. 10. It’s expected that the reigning national college football champion Clemson Tigers are No. 1 and Alabama being No. 2. But the Crimson Tide is one of four SEC teams ahead of Kentucky. LSU (4), Auburn (8) and Georgia (9) all got the nod over the Wildcats, which should be a tough pill to swallow for their fans.
It’s important to acknowledge that those fan bases have had plenty to enjoy in the past year. Georgia made the college football playoffs and brought in the No. 2 ranked basketball recruit in Anthony Edwards. Auburn made their first-ever Final Four and recently defeated hated rival Alabama. And LSU is enjoying an incredible football season with a likely Heisman winner in Joe Burrow, while also making the Sweet Sixteen on the hardwood floor.
FanSided 250
Fansided250 Logo
Where does your fandom rank?
See 2019 Rankings
That certainly doesn’t mean that Kentucky accomplished nothing. Coming off of the program’s first 10-win season in over 40 years, the Wildcats won seven games despite not having their starting quarterback all year. And in basketball, they made another trip to the Elite Eight before falling to Auburn in a heartbreaker.
It also should be noted that next to Bama football, no fandom gets tested more than Kentucky Basketball. Opposing fan bases want to see them fail all the time and will rejoice whenever they lose, evident by the reaction to the Evansville upset.
A case can be made that some of the other fandoms are “hotter” right now than Kentucky but the Wildcats every day make their presence known – win or lose. A year from now, don’t be surprised to see Kentucky take a big jump ahead of some of these other SEC schools in the next FanSided 250.