Tom Heiser, who writes a University of Louisville fan blog for the Courier-Journal, said on Wednesday that the Cardinals’ recent mediocrity is not the only thing that has caused the intensity of the Louisville-Kentucky football rivalry to wither.
You may recall that when the schools began playing football each year in 1994 (after an 80-year break), the game was scheduled as the season opener for both teams, creating a tangible excitement for fans of both teams during the summer months.
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This continued until 2006, when UK Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart insisted that the contract for Kentucky to continue playing the Cardinals not require the game to be the UK season opener in those years that the Wildcats were scheduled to be the host team.
Tom continues:
The decision to move the game to fit into UK's lackluster non-SEC schedule as either its second or third game is more and more coming to look like a colossal blunder, one we'd hope Barnhart would correct since it's not written into the state constitution or imparted to him by a burning bush.
As the opening game, it's an integral part of Labor Day weekend festivities. Even for those around the nation untouched by the rancor of the rivalry, it is a foretaste of the full menu of college football to come.
The energy and excitement of the rivalry is unmatched as the kickoff game. Even anticipating a Kentucky win, there always exists an air of the unknown for each fan base. Card fans, With a game under each team's belt this season, we're aware of the warts, we're shorn of any surprise in terms strengths and weaknesses. Kentucky looks like the clear favorite; U of L fans hold out hope, but the showing in game one is reason for concern.
This applies as well to UK. During U of L's recent four-year hegemony, the teams squared off in game one. Only once in my recollection did UK not put up much of a fight: U of L's 28-0 thrashing of the Cats in 2005. Both games in Commonweath Stadium were grueling donnybrooks. Kentucky's win in 2007, for all the excitement for Cat fans at watching Woodson connect with Johnson to crush the spirits of the Cardinal faithful, was lost in a whirl of mounting criticism of Coach Kragthorpe and the realization that UK was on the verge of a 4-0 start.
Isn't it time to finally castigate Mitch Barnhart for tamping down the ardor of the fans? And to question why Big Blue fans sit by so placidly and wait for whatever week the game lands on?
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