Unpopular Opinion: The UK vs. UofL Rivalry is Better When the Cards are Good

College sports have one major advantage over the professional ranks: the rivalries. Yes, there are rivalries in pro sports too but they are few and far between the hatred and passion that college rivalries bring out. Of course, for Kentucky, no rival is greater than the University of Louisville. The little brother. And that moniker has never been more prevalent than in the last six or seven years. Mark Stoops’ football program has won five out of the last six meetings with the Cards as their program stalled under Bobby Petrino and Scott Satterfield. John Calipari has won 12 of 15 meetings against UofL in his tenure, including 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament. Obviously, Louisville may have never been worse as a basketball program.

But here is an unpopular opinion I think: I want Louisville’s programs to be as good as possible while not being as good as us. Let’s get something straight though: I am not actively rooting for UofL during their games. I take no joy in their victories and I will still take great joy in their losses. But during a rivalry, the adage that a rising tide lifts all boats is accurate. When UofL is good (and we are too) then the rivalry is at its best. Is the basketball rivalry at its best right now? Of course not. I haven’t looked forward to a UK-UofL basketball game in many years. The football rivalry has been non-existent for four years now, with blowouts each of those years.

THE BROHM EFFECT

I think Jeff Brohm has largely gotten UofL to 5-0 this year with smoke and mirrors. They very easily could be 2-3 or 3-2 with close games against Georgia Tech, Indiana, and NC State. All of those teams are in the bottom half of their conferences. Nonetheless, the schedule looks fairly light and UofL will probably have a nice record coming into this year’s game.

I’m all for it! During the Stoops era, UK has five wins over Louisville, but only one of them would probably considered ”memorable” in the long term. That was beating Lamar Jackson in 2016. Why? BECAUSE UofL WAS GOOD! Beating the Cards by 30 when their program is weak is nice in the short term but ultimately proves nothing. We know they suck. They know they suck. And the Louisville rivalry has sucked as a result. You gain nothing in the rivalry. But beating them when they are good puts an emotional wound in them that lasts forever. That’s what I want in a rivalry. Make it hurt as bad as possible. And that only happens if they are good too.

Big picture is Brohm will make their program better. He hates Kentucky too with his UofL ties. These are all positives for me. Does it make it more likely they could beat UK every now and then? Of course it does. But it also raises the potential of really winning some important games.

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CAN KENNY PAYNE GET LOUISVILLE BACK?

Doesn’t seem so. The momentum toward getting Louisville back to even a mediocre basketball program seems non-existent. But even more than football, I don’t want to play a bum basketball program. When was the last time we played a game that mattered against the Cards? Are you telling me that you enjoy the rivalry NOW over 2012-2015? Well, guess what? For the rivalry to get back there, UofL has to get good again. There is no possibility of this rivalry being fun again without UofL getting significantly better. Why should I root for UofL to go 0-20 in the ACC when it makes our game pointless? I’d much rather them be 13-0 when they play us versus 0-13.

KEEP THE BIG PICTURE IN MIND

I know it feels almost sinful to want Louisville to be better. But I implore everybody to have the bigger picture in mind. UofL sucking actually hurts us. It not only hurts the overall rivalry but it hurts our strength of schedule in both sports. We need UofL to be good in football so we at least have one quality out-of-conference opponent. Remember, this program thinks it might have a chance to make a 12-team playoff; that game could be a factor. In basketball, you have to play and win good out-of-conference opponents to help your seed. UofL has had no impact on our seed for years.

I’ve laughed plenty at UofL’s pathetic programs for the last few years. That’s been nice. Now it’s time for this rivalry to get back to being bitter. To being competitive. To being memorable. UK has carried its weight. It’s time for Louisville to do its part and get better.

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