What bothers one most about the upcoming game between the University of Louisville and Kentucky is that UK is a mediocre program and, for most part, always has been. That and the fact that U of L is the underdog.
Add to that that Kentucky has won four straight games in the series. More than a little irritating, emblematic of just how far Louisville football tumbled during the Steve Kragthorpe era. Even if three of four losses were by less than seven points (the worst was 27-2 during his second year). This is Kentucky, after all, a perennial lap dog in the Southeastern Conference.
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Don’t get me wrong. Good to have UK on the schedule because of the in-state rivalry, one of the best attended games at either location. The game also raises awareness of football throughout the state, especially when it’s the first game of the season. But it’s not a game that attracts much attention nationally, just another score scrolling across the bottom of the TV screen.
If it weren’t for their success in the sport, the fascination of UK fans with basketball would be somewhat baffling. Football is the unchallenged ruler of college athletics in America, the sport that sets universities apart as major powers on the college scene, i.e., Texas, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Alabama, Oklahoma.
Basketball is the lesser entity. Don’t do well in football and a school gets labeled as a basketball school, a secondary, uncomplimentary, almost apologetic, description for many fans.
Of course, U of L fans are almost as rabid about basketball. But it wasn’t too long ago that Louisville was among the nation’s top 10 football programs two or three years in a row. That’s part of the reason that losing Bobby Petrino hurt so badly. The school was that close to achieving equal prominence for football and basketball. It was less than a decade ago, remember, that some members of the media were still referring to U of L as a mid-major school. Debatable whether that went away because Louisville entered the Big East or because of its success in football.
We digress because the years under Petrino enabled U of L to achieve new levels of respect for the school. Remember estimates of 30,000 to 40,000 fans going to Miami for that BCS game? We had a taste of that, we want it again. Tom Jurich has amped up the football stadium to 55,000 seats, knowing that football is the driver on the national scene, as well as in the conference expansion and realignment process.
Kentucky, the administration at least, seems to be content with its reputation as a basketball school. Why else would only 24,499 people show up for the UK-Western Kentucky football game just a few miles over the state line in Tennessee? They don’t express much enthusiasm about football except when it comes to beating Louisville, which has been happening too often lately.
Louisville football currently is the bottom, looking up, rebuilding again, and as Charlie Strong says, “We have a long, long way to go.” That’s because Strong, Jurich and all the fans who recognize the value of a great football program have their sights on being a national contender again. Petrino set the bar, and anything less is disappointing.
That’s why being an underdog to Kentucky in football is unacceptable.
More recently UK beat 2010 SEC East Champ, #10 South Carolina last year. Sure, they were without Marcus Lattimore for most of the second half of game but UK was without #1 tailback Derrick Locke for the entire game. S. Carolina finished ranked #22.
UK lost to 2010 National Champ Auburn by 3 points on a last second field goal.
That the Cats have a long way to go. No one is denying that. Better recruiting, consistent play week in and week out. An SEC East or SEC Championship Campaign…it’s a worthy goal.
2007 is way back for you huh? UK beat #1 LSU in 2007. LSU won 2007 National championship. How many wins against ranked opponents does U of L have in it’s juggernaut history?
Sorry, we don’t pay that much attention to UK football. LSU must have overlooked them, taking the day off. That’s not a good idea against any team.
Yeah, yeah…but let’s get to the really important stuff. How will FIU and T.Y. Hilton do against the O’Leary Cows of UCF?
Once again, football is of no importance at UK. A perennial bottom feeder in a great conference. Maybe Calipari needs to take over the gridiron duties…
During the golden years did U of L football ever beat the number one team in the nation? A team that went on to be national champions?
You are going way, way back for that one, the years of the leather helmets. Those were the days.
You’re an underdog because except when UK was on probation they’ve always been better. You’ve lost 4 in a row to UK. You’re 9-14 against them all-time.
Guess what, UL’s winning % vs SEC teams is even worse than UK’s.
There is a much bigger disparity in football attendance vs basketball attendance at UK than their is at UL. UK averages over 60,000 in football. UL will be lucky to average 40,000 this year. That upper deck was completely empty vs FIU.
You were never actually a top 10 football power. You beat up on a horrible Big East. None of those teams would’ve challenged for an SEC title. UC took over where you left off, but they had the misfortune of playing Florida in their BCS Bowl instead of a pitiful Wake team. How’d that turn out?
“Kentucky, the administration at least, seems to be content with its reputation as a basketball school. Why else would only 24,499 people show up for the UK-Western Kentucky football game just a few miles over the state line in Tennessee?”
Umm, how about because it was played at 9:00 on a Thursday night in Nashville against a poor opponent? I realize that UL is used to playing games on weeknights, but c’mon. “Just a few miles over the state line.” What a hoot.
Since you were pulling numbers out of thin air, I’m happy to enlighten you on the attendance figures. U of L is currently averaging 46,793 fans per game against the two least attractive opponents on the home schedule.
As for the four losses in a row, you’re pretty fortunate that Kragthorpe made it a little easier for your heroes. He still came within a touchdown twice of beating UK even then.
It’s quite humorous you’re trying to posit that UL and their fanbase prefer football to basketball. However, it’s probably a smart tactic to take since we completely own your ass in basketball and always will. (28-14, soon to be 29-14 all-time)
Keep downplaying basketball. We all know football is simply something to occupy our time until the REAL season starts.
See what I mean about the basketball?
Be honest for a second: What sport does the UL fanbase care more about overall?
I understand it’s difficult to argue anything rationally considering the product you’re trying to defend, but c’mon…
The post indicates that U of L fans have the same preference. I love basketball but football is the mover in college sports.
The author seems to have a short memory of college football. UL had two periods of, what can loosely be described as, accomplished football. A total of 5 or 6 years of good teams does not, in the minds of fans and media people, make a powerhouse. And, to suggest basketball has little, to no, status compared to football is nonsense to the extreme. Basketball is an international sport whereas football is worshiped in places like Texas, Alabama and all those other cornbread states.
Cornbread states?
For the less able to extrapolate, low brow states. You know those states; football #1, NASCAR #2, Bud Lite #3, all else #s 4 thru 100.
Boiled peanuts. You forgot the boiled peanuts.
Whoever wrote this is one sorry butthurt piece-o-garbage. UK has been battling for SEC position for half a decade and their a lap dog? I guess it’s easy to be mad at UK when UL sucks at everything.
Beating UofL occasionally in only basketball and football doesn’t make your school an all-around better athletic program. Fact of the matter is, UK and UofL are about the same in both basketball and football, right now, but UofL destroys UK in just about every other sport. Sucks to suck.
“But it wasn’t too long ago that Louisville was among the nation’s top 10 football programs two or three years in a row”………………..Sorry, being good for a couple of years out of the entire time you’ve been playing does not equal being a top 10 football program. Programs have tradition and continued success over long periods of time. Northwestern fits your definition because they had a three year period where they competed for Big 10 titles.
Kentucky is a bottom feeder in football and there is no argument about that. We play in a conference that always has 5-6 out of the top 20 teams in the country. We cannot compete with the big boys and we (UK) never will without cheating. (And even when we cheat, we don’t compete). However, if you get outside of Jefferson County and ask anyone else in the country their opinion of Louisville football, they will LAUGH at you. They’re not laughing with you, they’re laughing AT you.
Especially if they’re UK fans, right, so knowledgeable about football.
Wow…good comeback. You got me there.
C’mon now, Mr. Springer, let’s be realistic. What is the best road victory in University of Louisville’s self-proclaimed “storied” football history? Southern Miss? Syracuse? What is the biggest home win? Against a down FSU team on a Thursday night with the added aid of a torrential downpour? Does that about cover it?
In addition, if you’d like to get technical about it (why start now?) I have yet to see any football NC awarded to UL in any capacity from any organization. Laugh at you will at UK’s post facto Sagarin 1950 national title for defeating #1 Oklahoma (a real fb school) in the Sugar Bowl, but I see nothing that UL has accomplished that could compare.
Your article reeks of an ill-tendered vineyard.
I’m pretty sure Florida State was ranked No. 4 in the country when U of L beat them. No mention of a storied football history in the post but we did enjoy many weeks in the top 10 during the first decade of the current century. Sour grapes for UK? That’s funny.
FSU lost 5 games in 2002. They may have been pre-season #4, but they didn’t finish anywhere close to that. They also lost to NCST that year.
Uk was ranked in the top 10 in 2007. Albeit by default and only a week-long stint, it still happened. Blind squirrels find nuts. Nuts were aplenty for UL with UK on probation and the entire state on lockdown recruiting wise. Petrino isn’t walking thru that door.
… but, City-Wide Clint might just be walking out, if you know what I mean?
It’s laughable for someone to say that UK has a better football history by bringing in a championship from 1950. Let’s live in the present, shall we? UK has based their 6-year-straight bowl seasons off the UofL game because they are not, nor will they ever be, good enough to do well in the SEC. It’s also pretty pathetic that UK fans cling to the SEC when faced with the reality that they really aren’t very good. Have fun losing four games in a row and not going to a bowl this year.
This year the teams are pretty close in the match up. I would give UK a slight cede because of the experience they have on Defense. They have 2-3 NFL players on that side of the ball. Plus at home you get the edge by 2-3 points. So the 7-8 point favorite is not out of line. The lines are set to get betting to occur on both sides as well. As for bashing UK. The SEC is much tougher then the big east. UK is not going leave the SEC as they make more money on football then basketball each year and they are a founding school in the SEC.
John Calipari has grabbed the trumpet and is calling the BIG BLUE faithful to Commonwealth Stadium for tomorrow night’s game. Seems there are a few tickets left. This one used to be a sold out affair for years. I can remember a portly old gent dressed in solid blue offering me $100 a ticket a few years back as Sonja and I sauntered toward Commonwealth.
Maybe advertise a John Wall dance at halftime?
The score in Kragthorpe’s second year was actually 27-2.
Gotta get to Dr. Bizer’s soon, Thanks gocards.
As a UK fan, I would love to see U of L in the SEC so you get a taste for the real football world week after week after week. Then we’ll see how you’re aspirations are adjusted. It wouldn’t take very long.
For all the UK fans who use the crutch that the SEC is so tough on them, well, then get out of the SEC!! Do like your soccer, and join C-USA. Then, in football, you might win a championship every 10 years or so. In basketball, it would be about the same competition level as the SEC, so you’d probably finish 1st or 2nd ever year. DO it, or quit crying.