My friend Leslee works for an eventing team. A really, really good eventing team, that is. In the past, her boss has medaled at the World Equestrian Games and the Olympics. It's been a fun and unique experience to watch Leslee post her boss's success via social media this summer-- photos from qualifying rounds on Instagram, updates via Facebook. I know very little about equestrian disciplines, but through the magic of the internet, I've found myself becoming a huge Karen O'Connor fan.

via AP

This week, I was having dinner with my parents when I mentioned this fact. My mother was suitably impressed, noting that she'd never known anyone who had a direct track to the Olympics. Without thinking, I flippantly said "well, we all know Anthony Davis."

It was a joke, but it kind of wasn't. It's The Brow (TM). As Kentucky fans, we spent a year inviting Anthony Davis, MKG and company into our homes. We obsessed about their every move and we cheered when they dominated the NBA Draft. This once-in-a-lifetime team gave us so many amazing moments on their road to a National Championship. Davis may be a Chicago native who only spent a year living in the Bluegrass State, but he's forever a part of the Big Blue Nation. (Yes, the one-and-dones are full-fledged members of the BBN, and thanks to this crazy guy in Texas, I can now stand on precedent in my quest to name my first-born "DeMarcus.") Anthony Davis is, as Coach Cal would say, La Familia. He's forever a Kentuckian.

It's an awesome feeling to cheer on your home country during the Olympic games. These amazing athletes instill an incomparable sense of patriotism and pride in their fans. Perhaps my connection to Ms. O'Connor is a little tenuous, as is my "his mom is a Phi Mu and so am I!" connection to Michael Phelps. But, I certainly feel a kinship every time Anthony Davis performs one of his famous madman blocks on the international stage. And I'll be cheering extra-loud for Lafayette alumnus Tyson Gay in the track and field events. I'm even putting rivalry aside to root for U of L basketball alumna Angel McCoughtry. Kentucky has a lot of great connections in London this summer. It's great to be part of such a winning team!