(Note: this is only being written so he doesn't eliminate my "spot")
If anyone else hasn't noticed, for the first time in this football series, the argument has shifted to which team has better fans. First of all, that's a stupid thing to argue. Each team has great fans (me) and each team has terrible fans (everyone else). Let's just say that Louisville's recent successes on the gridiron have brought on some Johnny-come-lately's. It happens. You're now sure to get all those Catholic defects from ND. Secondly, what's the matter with us? The first time that both sides have potentially great teams and we argue who cheers better. But hey, this is a rivalry. Let's just argue and fight.
Next, I must salute the one man who I have seen first-hand as a truly die-hard UL fan. I'm sure that many of you exist in this same caliber as the man affectionately called Chuck-Jesus (soft 'J') or Chuck-Wagon, but I haven't lived with you. Chuck is the guy that when watching a UK game, will openly tell you he's happy that they're losing. Chuck will walk in grinning when EKU makes a comeback and has put me on a one-way train to Soiled-pantsvilleb (that happened...well, not the pee). Chuck is also the man who has never seen a UL game he didn't like. I went to two such events with him; both with tickets to games that we weren't at. The first was a football game at Papa John's, circa 2002. The Cards were pre-Petrino and not great this season, and since it was like a Tuesday the crowd showed their negligence. I remember on the way up asking if we were going to try and bring some bourbon in and Charles responded with a telling (and lame) retort of, "I don't need alcohol to get excited for this." He was right. Cincinnati proved to be a decent opponent, and this only made the fans care less. Not Chuck. He was in the student section, only one standing, screaming and yelling the whole time. People looked at us several times as he was surely disrupting their conversations, but he kept on. UL won that day; thanks in large part to "the wagon."
The other event I attended with Charles was a basketball game later that year. The Cards, again with a struggling team, were begging for fan support. Freedom Hall is much more rowdy than most give it credit for, and the fans were receptive to the up-and-coming b-ball squad. Again, the Cards fell behind (I think it was Cincy again) and the fans became restless. Charles, quipping numerous times that the refs were bad "for both teams," remained motivated and led the Cards to thrilling win on a late three from everyone's favorite English student, Francisco Garcia. The next day Charles was awarded the "Beau Zach Smith Award," given to the person who gracefully (though unexpectedly) led Cards fans through adversity with unending spirit.
I hope many of you have read what's written above (and if you haven't, that's fine too because a lot of it is made up) because it shows that I respect some UL fans who have been through the worst. So now that you kind of think I'm rational, let me piss you right off again. Louisville has won NOTHING. Sure they've done some things that are extremely admirable and quickly with a program of their size, and they should be very proud. They have done things with their football program that UK will never do. They have been to a BCS bowl; they've won their conference. But folks, they haven't WON anything--and they never will. (If you haven't picked it up yet I'm talking about a National Championship.) They particularly haven't won the respect that they think they deserve. Well, they don't deserve it as much as they think.
I know this is going to kill you but I know you've thought at least once, but the downward spiral has begun. Sure it's been two games; sure Coach Krag is just getting his feet under him; but I watched my beloved Wildcats do this after Pitino, it will never be the way it was with Petrino (that should be on a greeting card to distraught UL fans). That's not to say that you won't blast UK for the next 50 years--you may. But you will never achieve the amount of success you did with BP, and you know it--you're just afraid to say it. You see it. You can tell the fire isn't there with Kragthorpe; you can tell they aren't as automatic on offense (even with the ridiculous production); you can tell the players just don't have the same flair. It's all there; but in many ways, it's all gone.
The reality is if UL was able to keep Petrino forever they still wouldn't have won anything. You can't run with the big boys. You think you can, but you can't. I think that is what is so frustrating to UK fans (myself included). We know what it takes to run with those guys; not from experience, at all, but simply from competition against them. I can recall so many games convincing myself that Yeast and Couch were going to pull us through to a stunning upset of Florida--we lose by 20. No problem. I realize that's a bad comparison but it's just a whole different ballgame at the top. If anyone of you watched the LSU game Saturday and truly think that the Cards would come within 20 points of them you need to get your head examined.
UL has a really good team. I do think UK can beat them but I realize that over the last several years we haven't been close to as good. Through two games this year I truly think we're better than UL. It's hard to shake off the past though, and the history of this series is weighted heavily towards the Pizza Box.
Overall, UL fans, you should be very proud of what your program has done and what they can still do (but won't). Just realize that, in the end, you haven't done as much as you think.
"L" no you haven't.
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1 comment:
Man crush? Check!
I respect you for respecting me, but when it comes to UofL and the Big East, you're just plain wrong. Since 1990, the Big East is 18-13 against the SEC. In 2005, the mighty SEC champion (Auburn) lost to the Big East champion (WVU) in their own backyard in the Sugar Bowl. Last year, the Big East was 14-7 and the SEC 13-9 against teams from BCS conferences. The Big East was 5-0 in bowl games while the SEC was 6-3.
The SEC is scared to death to play UofL. Mr. Tom Jurich has approached every team in the SEC and every team has turned him down (UK the exception, of course). Here's what the SEC does - play an extremely weak out of conference schedule, overhype the depth and quality of their own conference, and then just beat each other up in conference.
Unfortunately, the media buys into the ill-advised hype. And I quote SI.com this week: "The SEC boasts just a 3-3 BCS record at this point. But South Carolina's win at Georgia showed the scary depth of the SEC East." Are you kidding me? What the hell does a terrible South Carolina team (slipped by Wofford last year) beating a middle-of-the-road Georgia team (beat Colorado, Ole Miss, Vandy, and Miss. St. by a combined 11 points last year) really mean in the second week of the season? "Scary depth"? How about the fact that the SEC plays only 66% of the teams in its conference every year?
Nobody in the so-called power conferences (or the media) wants to admit it, but there's more parity than ever in college football. If you were able to strip the names off of jerseys, you'd see a lot more objective analysis and respect for lesser known schools. I acknowledge that UofL is not a traditional powerhouse. Hell, before Schnelly, they seriously thought of cutting the program. But it'd be tough to find more than 10 teams who have been better in the past 10 years.
Evan, you forgot one very important component when you said "it will never be the way it was with Petrino." We may not have Petrino, but we have Jurich. As long as he's here, we will never slip.
I hate baseball and just caught a part of Baseball Tonight. Who the hell is this former player that can't complete half a sentence? Even with my limited, but distinguished, softball experience, I could spit something out better than this guy. Wow, bring back that butt-slappin' Harold Reynolds.
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