Commercial opens an old wound for Kentucky fans

WASHINGTON – No. 1 seed Kentucky is not reveling in its NCAA tournament rank, but rather taking offense to a UPS commercial running during the tournament.

It seems March Madness fans take their teams as seriously as players and coaches.

The commercial features the shot the Wildcats can’t seem to forget. It happened 21 years ago during the 1992 East Regional Final game that launched Duke into the Final Four over Kentucky 104-103.

In it, now-famous NBA star Grant Hill passes the ball from the baseline to the opposite side of the court, right into the hands of Duke forward Chrisitan Laettner. Laettner catches it, turns and drains the ball for the win.

The UPS commercial focuses on Hill’s pass which the company uses as an analogy for it’s expedited shipping process.

Fans, led by Kentucky state senator Ernie Harris, are demanding the company remove its ad from the tournament.

“I think it would be wise for them to pull the ad,” Sen. Harris told the Louisville Courier-Journal. Harris knows what he’s talking about when it comes to school pride…and UPS. He graduated from Kentucky and piloted UPS planes. He’s also the chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.

Despite Kentucky fans protest, UPS says it has no intention to pull the advertisement.

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(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

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