Kentucky Wildcats player pulls a Joe Namath ahead of Sweet 16 matchup with the Tennessee Vols
Joe Namath isn't the only athlete that's done it, but he's probably the most famous one to do it. And a Kentucky Wildcats basketball player is following in his footsteps ahead of a matchup against the Tennessee Vols in the Sweet 16. Guaranteeing victory. It's what Namath did in 1969 before the New York Jets […]
Joe Namath isn't the only athlete that's done it, but he's probably the most famous one to do it. And a Kentucky Wildcats basketball player is following in his footsteps ahead of a matchup against the Tennessee Vols in the Sweet 16.
Guaranteeing victory. It's what Namath did in 1969 before the New York Jets played the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.
Namath, of course, delivered on his promise, leading the Jets to a 16-7 win against the heavily favored Colts.
Not every guarantee, however, works out as planned.
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Anthony Stevens, for example, guaranteed that the Steelers would beat the New England Patriots during the 2007 regular season (at that time, the Patriots were 12-0).
New England, motivated by Stevens' promise, ended up beating the Steelers by 21 points.
Kentucky Wildcats guard Lamont Butler guarantees a win against the Tennessee Vols in the Sweet 16
Kentucky guard Lamont Butler channeled his inner-Joe Namath on Sunday, after the Wildcats' win against Illinois, telling reporters that UK is going to win their game against Tennessee in the Sweet 16.
"We had a lot of good teams that we played (in the SEC during the regular season), but we stayed resilient, stayed together, and it showed today," said Butler. “Everybody was playing with love and passion for one another and we can’t focus about anything but the next game. We just have a lot of love and we’re going to win that game.”
You certainly can't blame Butler for being confident — especially considering that Kentucky beat Tennessee twice during the regular season.
But guaranteeing a win probably isn't wise. Butler just gave Tennessee plenty of bulletin board material to stew on for the next few days before the two teams meet on Friday evening.
The Vols are already playing inspired basketball in the NCAA Tournament. Butler's promise should only serve to fuel Tennessee's hunger for a national championship.
