Why a UK grad switched to UofL

I know a preacher’s wife who unabashedly proclaims, “I hate Louisville.”  What do you say to that?

Take into consideration that she is from “out there” in the state.  Why the hate?  Let me give my perspective:

I grew up not in this state, only moving here when I turned 13.  For a Southern teenage girl, there was no interest in football or basketball,  just rock and roll, Annette Funicello, American Bandstand.

Flash forward – college in Lexington (not the University of Kentucky, by the way).  If I paid any attention at all, it was to my dad rooting for UK’s Cotton Nash or Ronnie Lyons.

Flash forward – post-graduate degree from UK (hey, they offered the major I wanted).  I married the observer, a University of Louisville fanatic, scandalizing the family, risking shunning.   Well, maybe not that extreme.

This was early in Coach Crum’s years at UofL, and for a couple of years, we are a House Divided, until I realized that this UCLA guy just might have something going for him. I crossed over. And therein lies the rub, as they say.  As Crum’s teams began hanging banners in Freedom Hall, dominating, UK fans became increasingly resentful. Football team beats SEC team in Fiesta Bowl.

Ouch.  Upstarts, they whined.  No tradition, they harped.

Then there was that original 1983 Dream Game we attended when UofL stole their thunder.  Unacceptable.  Infuriating.

• Reason No. 1 as I see it: Cards’ successes continued.  Pride in the city’s team swelled.  No longer a need for local fans to look east for glory.

• Reason No. 2:  Howard Schnellenberger.  A Louisvillian, gasp, played for the Wildcats.  Had the audacity to come “home” to coach the Cardinals in football.  No class.  Betrayal.

• Reason No. 3:  Cats’ fans greatly embarrassed by their basketball team’s disgraceful fall as well as the famine of athletic glories for several years.  Unbearable.  Painful.

• No. 4:  Rick Pitino.  His in-your-face return to the Bluegrass to coach at UofL.  Benedict Arnold.  Betrayal.  Treachery.

The 2000s proceed and both schools’ teams enjoy successes in volumes.  Well, at least in basketball.  Again, to BBN, Little Brother.  Anathema. Heresy.

Thus, the “I Hate Louisville” pronouncements and tee shirts and message board posts, ad infinitum.  (Yes, I know there are “I Hate UK” shirts out there, but this is my viewpoint, so deal with it.)

Media hyped the frenzy to the boiling point which exploded in 2012’s Final Four.  And what better site than New Orleans, a town that knows a thing or two about partying.   A win for them then, a win for us in 2013, a great year to be a Cardinal.  Stomach-acid producing.

Begs the question:  Why can’t we all just get along?  Because it’s a rivalry.  No one will give an inch.  To the winner goes the spoils.  Got any more cliches?  How about this one:  May the better team win.

Go Cards!