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My Naughty Volvo Alma Mater Weekend

BySteve Springer

Jan 7, 2011

My Naughty Volvo Alma Mater Weekend was as spectacularly naughty as anticipated.  For starters, it doesn’t get any better than driving a luxury automobile.   Well, maybe driving that car around my hometown for a weekend.  Okay, scratch that.  Driving a squeaky clean, jet black, 300 horsepower, all-wheel drive, naughty Volvo S60 around Louisville, the best city in the world, accompanied by my beautiful better half, staying two nights in the nicest hotel in the city, the world famous Brown Hotel, and going to the best steakhouse this side of Churchill Downs.  All courtesy of Volvo.

Oh wait.  Did I mention that they included two tickets to one of the fiercest rivalries in college basketball?  And that those were two seats that would have probably brought at least $500 to $1000 dollars in the brand new KFC YUM! Center, home of my lifelong favorite Big East team, the Louisville Cardinals?  Oh yeah baby!

Volvo generously offered to provide transportation from our home to Louisville but because we were bringing a one year old and an eight year old with her wheelchair, we graciously declined for the convenience of our minivan.

We did, however, accept their offer to accommodate for the special needs of our sick daughter by providing us an extra room at The Brown so that my in-laws could watch the kids and keep her in close proximity to us for the weekend.  So we packed up the family-mobile to trade it in (temporarily) for a wicked chariot and set off, jamming all the way getting in a naughty kind of mindset.

After arriving in The Ville and getting settled, I was drooling all over myself entertaining the idea of sinking into the leather seats of the naughty S60.  I just couldn’t resist the urge to sneak over to the Volvo dealership where I would be picking up the S60 the next day and get a peek.

It was a cold and rainy night. Little did I know that was an omen foreshadowing the naughtiness that was about to occur:

All was well the next day.  I successfully evaded the long arm of the law and got to pick up the S60 and it was ever the super scintillating sensation that I thought it would be.  After a meet and greet with the administration there, they relinquished the keys and the sports car to me and my naughty partner in crime and we were off.

We hit the town and took in as many sites and places as we could, hugging the turns with a voracious suspension and throw-you-back-in-the-seat acceleration that made me feel as if I were driving the perfect machine.  Power.  Handling. Asthetic pleasantries.  Technological advances that are almost too good to be true in an automobile.  The naughty S60 has it all.

We hit some of the most famous landmarks in Louisville.  You know, all the transition scenes that ESPN shows when covering a Louisville Big East basketball contest.  Churchill Downs, of course.  My wife got chased off of climbing the Barbaro statue.  Fourth Street Live-parking in front of the entrance and blocking the street so that we could snap a pic.    The Giant Louisville Slugger-watching my wife try to get a good angle of me, the S60, and the giant bat by lying on the freezing concrete in her little black miniskirt.

After a night on the town, the best way to end the night was to hit the bar at the hotel before crashing.  While there, I got to meet a former Volvo exec and a producer from Fox Sports that was in town and make a valuable connection for future digital influencing endeavors.  Then back to the room for a kid free night of fun.

Game day!  And darn CBS.  They scheduled the game for a noon tipoff.  Don’t they have any compassion for a guy that parties with his beautiful wife the night before the game?  That left little to no time for any tailgating experiences but we made the best of it socializing and giving Volvo some plugs.  Snapped some pics with some flamboyant fans. Really enjoyed the interview with this guy who had obviously started the pregame festivities pretty early:

We distributed free Volvo bottles and even hooked up with the CBS affiliate for a quick interview before the game.  And you know I plugged the S60 and UofL Card Game.

The actual game experience was bittersweet.  The seats were awesome.  The atmosphere was hyped.  The whole experience seemed to go by so fast it wasn’t even fair.  The outcome ended up in a loss — a bad one that put a damper on things.

Until I got back behind the wheel of the S60 again, that is.  Usually, the ride home after an L sucks bad.  You’ve got that sinking feeling like your dog ran away or somebody keyed your car.  I have to admit, though, that once I slipped back into the naughty-mobile, the game’s outcome became less prevalent on my psyche.  I was back in my chariot, with my Cleopatra at my side and ready to beat some blue-clad folks in their pick-ups from light to light.

The whole Naughty Alma Mater weekend experience was an incredibly memorable treat that will last a lifetime.  And the whole premise of everything revolved around one of the most fascinating, thrilling, and sleek machines I have ever laid my hands on.  At one point, I looked over and told my wife that I was going to stop by one of the automotive enthusiast stores in the area and get a pair of driving gloves.  That would have been about the only thing that was missing.  The car made me want to drive and drive and drive and the return drive to the dealership the last day was another one of those bittersweet moments.  Having to part ways with the naughty S60 was painful.  Driving it gave me those butterflies that you only experience every now and then, like you had when you were a kid when you went to sleep on Christmas Eve.  I can’t wait to experience it again…

Check out the slide show, as well:

[Show thumbnails]

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By Steve Springer

Steve Springer is a lifelong University of Louisville fan and was Volvo's "Biggest Fan of the Big East" in 2011. He's a sportswriter for the Murray Ledger & Times, in addition to teaching physical education. He graduated from Eastern High School, earned a Master's degree from the University of Louisville and his BS degree at Murray State University. His Twitter handle is @racercard.

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61 thoughts on “My Naughty Volvo Alma Mater Weekend”

  1. I’ve got to say that I love your dedication to the cause. Even though I may get tired of hearing about the Volvo, I do wish you luck and I have been voting for you. I’m pretty sure if I was in the market for a new car, you may have a chance of getting me into a new “naughty” Volvo. Good luck Steve.

    1. Thanks for the support Matthew. I really could use it. I’m trailing the St. John’s guy currently by a couple K.

  2. WTF is so naughty about this??? You stupid people come up with the most stupid titles for anything. Besides if you want naughty, try ´Mercedes Benz.

    1. Well thanks for the interest John! If you have been paying attention lately and not just dropping by dropping hateful thoughts you would know what’s up with this. I’m sure its the former and you have just forgotten so here’s a refresher. Volvo has redesigned their S60 and have given it the “naughty” theme this time around. They are sponsoring a contest for the Biggest Fan of the Big East of which I am the representative for the University of Louisville and they put me up in the Brown Hotel and gave me 2 tix to the game and asked me to blog about the experience.

      They even let me drive the 300hp AWD S60 for the weekened! It was first class all around, just like the car. In my opinion the S60 is every bit as much car as comparable Benzes but not with the lofty price tag. And the safety features make the S60 much safer than any German car, so the S60 is the way to go. Go take one for a test drive and see for yourself! Thanks for giving me the chance to explain the contest again! Try to keep up! 🙂

      1. I have to agree with John on this one. I have actually stopped reading this site because I felt like I was in a Volvo commercial. Good luck and all, but give it up and post about sports on here.

        2. Post about sports on here? Are you serious? If you actually go back and look through previous pages you will see anywhere from five, to ten, to even twenty posts in between Volvo mentions. And how’s this for commercialism: maybe if you go check one out down at Volvo of Louisville you will see what all the fuss is about. 🙂

  3. Sorry to be so late in reviewing your Naughty weekend. As you state, the only downer was the L to UK. You did a great job reviewing your experiences with a great school’s event in a great city with a great car. As a life-long Louisvillian and UofL grad who drives a Volvo, I can relate! The only photo opportunity I would have added would have been an Ohio River shot with or without the Belle of Louisville (it’s why the city is here, you know)…but that’s for next time when you’re presented with your Naughtymobile for good!

    VOTE FOR STEVE: As they say out in the state, vote early and vote often (legally, in this case)!

  4. Great article Steve! I was glad to read that you and your better half had such a great time. The new stadium looks amazing. You included great descriptive details; I felt like I was among the participants of this great weekend! You definitely have a gift for sports journalism. I look forward to the next article!

  6. Steve’s mastery of the language makes him a compelling spokesman for Volvo as well as The Big East and U of L.

  8. Sounds like a great weekend. If you win the contest do you win the car? If so we need to keep pitching for votes for you. Good luck keep voting and Go Cards!

  28. BOSS car! Gotta check one out myself.
    The game–not so much, but we’ll get it together eventually. Just hope there’s enough in the bag when it’s all together. Good luck in the contest!

    1. Thanks Mr S. They sure seemed to get it together last night. But a lot of that probably has to do with the Pirates being minus Jeremy Hazzell and an 80% Herb Pope.

    1. We did have a great time. I felt like a high-schooler all over again cruising around the city in a sharp ride.

      Thanks for the support!

  33. Wow! It sounds like so much fun. Your descriptions have made me want to try out a Volvo, especially since you felt compelled to buy driving gloves!! Thanks for sharing your pictures and experience.

  41. I had no idea Volvo made such an extreme car until I have heard all of your excitement the past couple of months. Hmmmmm……… Great Article! No one in the world deserved a weekend away more than you. Can’t wait to see you both in town driving the new Naughty S60!

    1. They are not just the family station wagon company. This new S60 I would say is the top of the line car in its class. Better than a Lexus or Beemer in my opinion. Thanks for the support.

    2. They’re not just the family station wagon company. They have some really top of the line vehicles nowadays. I would take the S60 over any Lexus or Beemer.

      Thanks for the support.

  44. Hey!!! LoVe that Volvo (naughty naughty) Get ready for a road trip…I wanna ride!!!!!!!!!!!

  47. I can’t begin to explain how cold that concrete was. It was almost as cold as the Barabaro statue.

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