I went to New York City for the first time in December 2009 to see John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats play UConn in the SEC/Big East Invitational. I drove there from Lexington through a snowstorm in the Appalachian Mountains, which made the one-way drive somewhere north of 20 hours without stops. We piled three people into a two-star hotel room. I ate a punch at the game. John Wall scored 25 points in a Kentucky win. It was awesome. I fell in love with New York City on that trip.
Since then, I’ve been back close to 30 times in 15 years. I was even all set to get married in downtown Manhattan in 2020. …