The two guys in the barbershop were yukking it up about the University of Louisville football schedule, the owner saying UofL should win every game by two or three touchdowns.
“I’m going to start a ‘Fire Charlie Strong’ web site,” he states. “If Louisville loses one game, Strong should be fired. No question. That’s the easiest schedule in the country. Kentucky is the toughest team they play.”
Typical fan talk, people giving little credit to other teams and the aspirations of their coaches and players. The all-knowing couch potatoes making huge assumptions weeks before the first football has been snapped. The kind of chatter that typifies the attitudes of the smartest sports fans around, and there are far too many of them.
It should be noted that the owner is Wildcat fan, attempting to get under the observer’s skin. He obviously doesn’t have a clue about the likes of UConn, Rutgers and Cincinnati, which gave the Cardinals all they could handle last season. If the empty stands at Commonwealth Stadium were any indication, most UK fans skipped the 2012 football season altogether.
UConn, in fact, defeated UofL at home, injuring Teddy Bridgewater in a narrow loss. Then came UofL’s humiliation at the hands of Syracuse. A narrow escape at Rutgers resulted in a share of the Big East title.
The win over Florida in the Sugar Bowl, one of the biggest wins in the history of the program, made it easy to forget what could have been a disastrous end of the regular season. Charlie Strong had a few weeks to get his team sky high for that game, and Florida wasn’t prepared to be shocked.
The beginning of another season will bring with it all the challenges inherent in the game, the mental ups and downs, the pressures of being a top ten ranked program with a target on its back, the rivalry games, the adrenalin driven and upset-minded underdogs, the inevitable injuries, along with weather deviations — any of which could affect the outcome of a game, and overall success.
Going undefeated, possibly competing for a national championship, will be a monumental challenge. The hunch here is that four or five games into the season, the schedule won’t look quite as easy as it does now. Things have a way of happening. The guys at the barber shop know that, and at least one of them is probably counting on it.
U of K will be lucky to win three games this year. The comment that U of K is U of L toughest opponent this year is a joke. WKU will destroy ky opening game in Nashville. Louisville is and will be one of the top 3 or 4 teams in the country for 2013. U of L will go undefeated and average 50 points per game. Oh and by the way U of L will repeat as NCAA champs. Thank you very much!