Every so often, much too often, you hear the notion floated that the ratio of University of Louisville fans to University of Kentucky followers in the Louisville area is evenly divided, about 50-50 between the two schools. Rick Pitino has even heard said same.
Not so. Not even close, according to the results of a Courier-Journal Bluegrass Poll released in February 2005. The poll should have settled the issue once and for all. But UK fans and some media types, who either don’t read the front page, are research-challenged , or count on the forgetfulness of the general public, persist in advancing .
Predictably. That’s why this writer kept a copy of the results, to ensure that folks are aware of the facts. The poll indicated:
— Fans of U of L basketball outnumbered UK fans by 53.7% to 33.3% in the Louisville area.
— U of L football fans weighed in at 61.3%, as compared to 20.8% for UK pigskin followers.
The Courier-Journal poll did not take into consideration the bandwagon jumping factor, which includes people whose loyalty often wavers, depending on how well a team is faring during a particular season. Some will jump from a losing team to a winning team in a heartbeat. But even with a plus or minus error factor of 5%, Louisville wins the local favorite debate hands down.
Keep this information handy. The issue will resurface.
Louisville is definitely a Card town. There is a UK presence, but the majority of fans in that city attach with the University of Louisville. Hopefully, UK and UL have a good hoops game this year. We need a strong Big East non-conference victory against them.
I always reference this survey because it’s truly astounding how many times Kentucky fans will say that “there are more of us than you in your own city.”
The world these people live in has amazed me for 23 years.