If the Big East football coaches were on target in predicting that Louisville would finish seventh in the conference this year, UofL football fans don’t have much to look forward to this season. That’s upsetting to a fan base that traveled 40,000 fans to the Orange Bowl in Miami for the school’s first BCS win less than two years ago.

Some hotheads have already resumed their calls for Steve Kragthorpe’s scalp after one game. Some air heads are even blaming Tom Jurich, vice president of athletics. Such is the nature of all too many sports fans spoiled by a little success.

But it’s difficult to ignore the fact that UofL was playing with only seven starters from a year ago against a veteran-laden Kentucky defense. Delusional fans assumed that Hunter Cantwell, who saw only two quarters of play last season, would magically lead the Cards to a win. Yeah, and with a group of wide receivers who had never caught a pass in a college game. Some of those “receivers” still haven’t hauled one in.

The problem some fans are having is recognizing that you can’t defeat another team just because you hate their guts. This observer doesn’t know whether Kragthorpe is up to the task for returning UofL football to the top 10.  Tom Jurich seems to think so, and we trust Tom Jurich.

Returning to respectability will take time, talent, experience and patience, all of which appear to be in short supply after the most recent loss.

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By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.

3 thoughts on “Catch As Catch Can”
  1. I’ll give it another game or two before drawing any conclusions, not knowing the game as well as Tom Jurich.

  2. Wow, they must have injected the krapthorpe koolaid straight to your brain, because everyone that actually watched the game on saturday can see that krapthorpe has NO CLUE how to coach. Did you see the way Ron English tore into krapthorpe, as if Ron was the head coach and krap was the underling? No one respects krap, because he can’t coach. In fact, his major contribution to the program is synonymous with his name: a great big crap all over it. Wake up: krapthorpe is over his head, he has no clue, and he’s holding on for dear life. we are close to reaching ron cooper-esque levels again, and the longer people call for krapthorpe to get “another” chance, the longer we’ll stay there.

  3. Thank you!! This is the most sensible blog entry I’ve read. So many others are nothing but emotional rages. What I think is so interesting is everyone’s belief that Petrino could not have possibly left us in this condition. People fail to realize that Petrino was in his first head coaching position here. He enjoyed a nice balance of talent brought in by John L., but left us fans, and Kragthorpe, in dire straights. So, with undying loyalty, and sensibility, I appreciate your blog.

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