How Bad Does It Suck To Be a Louisville Fan?

I have to give a little credit where credit is due. Louisville fans are some persistent sons-of-guns. In these trying economic times, where the job market is iffy, the stock market is schizophrenic, and useful politicans are as scarce as hens' teeth, it's refreshing to know that we can always count on a Cards fan to be in denial about how bad their world sucks.

If a football team that barely finishes above .500 in the Big East isn't bad enough, the fact that the team has lost 4 straight to their in-state rivals surely adds some salt to the wounds. Now, add a philandering coach who put the entire University through a public relations mess last summer, and the jokes get even easier to make. For some extra spice to the recipe, throw in the stereotypical Cardinal fan, with the "ghetto white-boy" style, compact car that isn't worth as much as the rims it sits on, and uncanny ability to strike the stupidest pose possible for every photo-op. We've got a good suck-stew going now. But we still haven't added the secret ingredient.


An average Louisville fan's favorite!

Yesterday, Edgar Sosa said these words: "You hear all these stories about the fans and how Big Blue Nation is a bunch of rude guys, but it’s nice out here. I don’t get treated any different because I went to Louisville. The people treat me great here, and it’s fun."*

That sound you hear is Rick Pitino's pride rolling over in its grave. Sosa also managed a sly jab at Pitino, purposefully or not, when he said, "I love playing for Coach Cal. He's given me a lot of opportunity and a lot of freedom to show my game, and I'm excited." Even though Sosa's remarks as a whole were given with thought to UL, it still has to sting given that he says them in regard to a man who seemingly wakes up every day trying to find new ways to piss Pitino off.


"Stay to the left, the men's room will be on your right."

So what does a Louisville fan make of all this? The team is on the lopsided losing end of the basketball series, including the last two, and now a former hero of the UK-UL series goes and sleeps with the enemy? Sosa made a good point when he said "You have those fans that understand that game and know that this is a great opportunity for myself and everyone on this team." In other, there are about six Cards fans who support Edgar Sosa in his endeavor.

I can see how this would piss someone off, though. If I got my ass handed to me by some guy on a regular basis, then my son ended up liking him more, I would be mad. Thankfully, football season is about to start, so the Cardinal nation trailer park can get some relief knowing it will soon be Joker Phillips putting a foot in their asses, and not John Calipari for awhile.

But wil this affect the rivalry? As much as I hated Sosa when he played at Louisville, I have to admit his comments make me warm up to him a bit (I still say that was a lucky shot he hit to win the game in 2009). Thankfully, Peyton Siva and Mike Mara are still on the team, so I can mock everything about that Godforsaken place and not feel a bit guilty.


"We just need to win 2 against Gillispie, then we can be irrelevant again."

Let me be one of the first to welcome Edgar to the fold. Sure, he didn't have enough sense/offers coming out of high school to pick a classier place to go, but we all make mistakes.


*Brett Dawson's interview with Edgar Sosa can be found here:
http://kentucky.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1251192

Follow @chris_minton on Twitter for a little UK talk, and lots of random thoughts and crude words.