Season ticket sales for the upcoming University of Louisville football season are reportedly down 6,000 from last year. This is regrettable but not surprising, given all the grumbling surrounding the program.

A significant portion of the non-renewals has to include avid fans who want to send a message to Vice President of Athletics Tom Jurich expressing their displeasure about the disappointing descent of the program under Coach Steve Kragthorpe over the last two seasons.

The number also includes a large number of Johnny-come-lately types, those who jumped on the bandwagon during the years leading up to the historic Orange Bowl victory.

[quote]

And there are undoubtedly many individuals and families whose disposable incomes have been affected by a sour economy.

One suspects, however, that many from the above categories come from those who continually roam the concourses during games, those who show up late for game starts, and those who hit the exits early in spite of what is happening on the field.

On the other hand, the 27,000 ticket holders who will be at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium include people who know that U of L football will have its ups and downs. They may have serious doubts that Steve Kragthorpe is up to the job. However, they will be there for the program as they have been in the past, knowing their support is essential for future success.

They also are willing to tolerate the current coach, hoping Kragthorpe will defy the odds, hoping that he is a better manager of the game than he has demonstrated heretofore. They refuse to throw in the towel before a season has even begun.

They recognize that the long-term future of the program is defined in the steel framework of the expanding stadium. The construction is a guarantee that Tom Jurich will make the right decision at the right time to make good on his commitment to a much stronger future for the program.

Share this

By Charlie Springer

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

7 thoughts on “Tom Jurich And The Louisville Football Promise”
  1. three down seasons is not destruction? Charlie get your head out of tom’s ass

  2. I get it, a lot of people hate Steve Kragthorpe because of all the losses. He’s not exactly my best friend. But I’m not going to make it any more difficult for a U of L coach, especially with a new season around the corner. Hating doesn’t help the situation.

  3. I for one have never berated the PROGRAM. But I can and will separate from it the HEAD COACH whom I believe to be totally ineffective . I belive the negative remarks I hear and read are not directed at UofL and are not directed at the football team and its players, but are directed solely at one individual. This is a very important distinction which I think you do not fully appreciate.

  4. I fully expect this to be a down season. Three bad seasons doesn’t equate to total destruction. No one on this site has blamed the fan base for anything. Constructive criticism of the management makes sense but constantly berating the program you claim to love is counterproductive.

  5. Yup, Chaz, you’re a real saint. Honestly, the holier-than-thou thing is really starting to grind. Krags sucks, Jurich destroyed the football program by hiring him, the problem is w/ the coach and not the fans (it’s actually disgusting how you’ve swallowed the party line that everything is fan’s fault), and we will be lucky to win 3 games this year.

  6. In all honesty Charlie, the more you write about loyalty, support, rooting on the Cards no matter what, well lets just say the more my frustrations come out. I really feel as if there is absolutely little to be excited about the upcoming football season. As a UofL fan I watch entire games, rarely walk the concourse, always showed up on time, and only twice that I can remember in my entire life left a game before the clock was at zero. But the more I read articles like this one, it makes me think that this is a desperate time. “Just for root for your team, don’t worry about the coach, Jurich will make the right decision, etc.” I’ve said this before and will say it again, being a fan is like investing in that team, I’ve investing thousands of dollars in the Cards, not to mention time as well. As a frustrated, well disappointed investor I have the right to not root for this joke of a coach, to not invest anymore of my time or money into this stock until I feel it is running the right course. I don’t need to here from the fans who doubt my loyalty, and my passion because I am frustrated. I firmly believe that Kragthorpe will not succeed here, I don’t think he is the kind of coach who can succeed here. My feelings are validated with every loss, with every fired staff member, with every player departure, with every JuCo recruited. The issue I have as always is Kragthorpe supporters have no logical reason to back him other than a belief in Jurich to do the right thing, or the more time theory. If UofL finishes with more loses than it did last year and Kragthorpe keeps his job, well I will say this now, and you can chastise me all you want, but Jurich will be making a very, very poor chioce.

Comments are closed.