THE PRICE OF JOY: University of Kentucky Fined a Quarter of a Million Dollars for Too Much Celebrating

I was there in November of 1986. Well...I wasn't THERE there. But I was in front of a television and it was awesome.

A QUICK UK/FLORIDA FOOTBALL HISTORY LESSON

That was the last time, before Saturday, that Kentucky's football team beat Florida in Lexington. And yes, I find it interesting that they ended a Florida streak that was more DIFFICULT to end three years (2018) before this one.

That was the road win over the Gators in Gainesville that got the SEC's attention and was part of an exciting 10-3 season for the 'Cats, capped off by a New Year's Day bowl victory over Penn State.

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A GREAT AND EXCITING SATURDAY WIN

Kentucky beating FOOTBALL schools in...FOOTBALL? Yes, it happens and it happened again Saturday when unranked UK welcomed Florida into Kroger Field, took an early 7-0 deficit, then finished the game on a 20-6 run--and what a finish.

The Gators had EIGHT tries within spitting distance of getting a touchdown in the final minutes then seconds, only to come up against a pretty impressive Kentucky defense and then just flat out come up short for their first loss in Lexington in 35 years.

And what Kentucky fan will EVER forget this Trevin Wallace 78-yard touchdown following a blocked Florida field goal?

THE BOOM IS LOWERED ON UK

That's as exciting as it gets. Surely Wallace became an instant UK legend at that moment. And after the 20-13 Wildcat victory, fans celebrated by doing something the Southeastern Conference strictly forbids--they stormed the field.

And just like that, the University of Kentucky has been assessed a $250,000 fine. If you're wondering about the steepness of that number, it's because this is Kentucky's third such infraction. Back in 2018, they were hit with a $100,000 fine after upsetting No. 14 Mississippi State.

In short, this needs to stop happening. The SEC has no tolerance for this celebratory behavior and you can't just keep coughing up six-figure fines.

This Saturday, the Wildcats welcome LSU to Kroger Field and while the Tigers are having a down year, fans might still be tempted to do the same thing if a win over a traditional gridiron blue blood were to happen a second consecutive weekend.