She has what most would consider a great job as VBRO director of U.S. public relations. Melanie Fish gets to travel and entertain special guests like she did at the VBRO Citrus Bowl in Orlando last week when Kentucky beat Penn State 27-24.
However, she had a much rougher few days in the last week than what she could have ever expected.
First, she got decked by Kentucky receiver Lynn Bowden midway of the third quarter after Bowden was pushed by a Penn State defender, leaped over a barrier about five yards off the field and crashed into the 5-2 Fish. He knocked her backwards and down.
However, just a few days later while on a ski trip to Colorado that had previously been planned — and probably before her bumps and bruised totally healed — she got blindsided by an “out of control” snowboarder while she was skiing and broke her collarbone.
“What are the chances I’d get blindsided by an out-of-control snowboarder who broke my collarbone?,” she said. “I’m now heading home to Austin (Texas) to shop for a suit made of bubble wrap.”
Who could blame her?
On the plus side, she did get her ESPN SportsCenter moment thanks to the hit she took from Bowden — who later in the same quarter on the opposite sideline wiped out WKYT-TV videographer Steve Moss and Lexington Herald-Leader photographer Alex Slitz.
“I am a tough cookie even at 5-2,” Fish laughed and said. “I like to think I was standing firm when he hit me in my lower legs. I went backwards and then slammed into the ground. I really didn’t see much. Then I heard his voice, ‘Mam, mam, are you okay?’ I remember thinking he was nice but wished he would quit calling me mam because I am not that old. Things went black for a moment and then I told him I was okay so he could go back and play. I’ll admit now I was a little woozy. But the next day is when I realized what is was really like to get hit by a Division I player.”
She was still a bit woozy when Bowden took out the two UK media members. However, she said there was no doubt she got hit harder than they did.
“Just compare the bruises, and he did fumble the ball when he hit me,” Fish pointed out. “I had a lot of people tell me they thought I might be dead after he hit me. After seeing the video, I understand why. I guess I was just small enough and limp enough that it didn’t hurt more than it did. Every time someone sends me another angle or version of the hit, there’s nothing I can do but laugh.”
She’s already thinking about coming to a Kentucky football game next season. During her PR duties at the bowl, she made contact with a lot of UK fans, coaches, players and athletics staff before really making contact with Bowden.
“I live in Texas Longhorn country, but now that I have played in a Kentucky game, I feel like a Wildcat,” Fish laughed and said. “I think I’ve been convinced that I need to come to a game at Kentucky next season, so hopefully that will happen.”
She did make sure to let Bowden know she was okay after the game. She stayed on the sideline and was on the field during UK’s postgame celebration when she spotted Bowden.
“He gave me a hug and wanted to know for sure I was okay,” she said. “We talked a bit and then I told him to get on with the celebration because that’s what it was all about for him.
“My job is to make magical memories and I wanted him to enjoy his. I usually do not go to the extremes that I did to get on TV. I got my SportsCenter moment, and I never want another one. I survived and I am sure I will remember this for a long, long time.”