HELP! My Son has turned into a Louisville Fan

Houses are divided across the Commonwealth as the Bluegrass State prepares for another clash between the Cats and the Cards in the Governor’s Cup. As a Louisville native, this has been a reality I’ve lived with my entire life. This year it features a new wrinkle.

My 3-year-old son has staked his claim in the rivalry. He likes the Cardinal Birds.

By now you’re probably thinking, “How could he let this happen? Not only is he a Kentucky fan, he’s the KSR guy that drives Louisville fans nuts!”

Let me explain.

Fortunately, my father raised me the right way. Even though my mother was a longtime Cards’ fan who watched her nephews play, and now coach, the Louisville Cardinals, my father guided me in the right direction as soon as he possibly could.

A proud alumnus of the University of Kentucky, “GO WILDCATS!” was a staple in the Roush house. When perusing through our home videos through the 1990s camcorder, any opportunity I got to scream “GO WILDCATS!” into the camera was taken.

Not only was there positive reinforcement, there was also negative association with the University of Louisville. Whenever we spotted a logo, they were referred to as the “sissy Cardinal Birds.” It also got him into trouble. During one trip to the local grocery, a young Nick, about the same age as my current son, tapped my Dad on the back and said, “Look! A sissy Cardinal bird.” As my Dad tells the story, the man wearing the sissy Cardinal Bird shirt was 6-foot-4, 250 pounds. Fortunately, the altercation did not escalate.

Anti Louisville Brainwashing Techniques Fail

Fast forward 30 years and history repeated itself. My wife is not just an alumnus, but a former UofL volleyball star. Naturally, I followed my father’s lead and taught my son to say “GO WILDCATS!” as soon as he knew how to say “Mama.”

Now a Papaw, my father has carried on the tradition. When playing on the Fisher-Price basketball goal or tossing a football around the playroom, my son was the “strong Wildcats” who always beat his Papaw, “the sissy Cardinal Birds.” Last week in school the little one learned that “sissy” is not a nice thing to call someone. I digress.

On college football Saturdays I am either in Lexington or following the Kentucky Wildcats on the road. While my son is at home, he’s watching the Cardinal birds or his mother’s home state school, the Buckeyes. Without facing any peer pressure put on him by his mother, my 3-year-old has voluntarily decided to cheer for the Buckeyes and Cardinal Birds.

I fear it is a lost cause. The Roush brainwashing tricks have failed. Is my son a Cardinal Bird forever? Big Blue Nation, you are my last hope. Please, if you have any suggestions on how I can steer my son away from a future with a line beard and a bag Crown Royal, help me become a better parent. The Roush house appears divided with no end in sight.