Cardinals proved that they belong in the big time, but it’s been a long trip there
November 3, 2006
I made this point in my blog on yesterday, that 10 years ago, Louisville football was nothing more than a fundraiser for the basketball program, which at the time was making its transition to Conference USA, where they would continue their rivalry with the University of Memphis, who at the time had about the same lack of success in football as the Cardinals, yet the Cardinals had gone to the 1994 Liberty Bowl and played Michigan State (a game that I attended as a child).
The idea that Louisville would become a football school then was considered a pipe dream, describing the only two things the school was known for in football was that a quarterback by the name of Johnny Unitas played for the in the 1950’s and Lee Corso was a coach for the Cardinals in the late 60’s and 70’s.
With that being said, last night’s West Virginia-Louisville game was everything that the people of the Falls City could dream for.
Electric atomsphere thanks in part to the thousands of black shirts that filled Papa John Stadium.
An endless number of former U of L football players, many of which couldn’t believe how far the program had come from when the football season in the Falls City was just something to do between the end of basketball season and the beginning of yet another Louisville basketball season.
Of course, the way that Louisville played last night, connecting for passes and punishing the Mountaineers with their 4-3 defense, has made fans in the Falls City to put off thinking about basketball and possibly book their rooms for Glendale in January.
Even Rick Pitino, who was interviewed on ESPN last night, found a reason to back the Red and White.
Which is what everybody is doing these days.
As the fans stormed the field in Louisville, the one thing that I thought about was the showdown next week at Rutgers, which will feature the Cardinals’ passing attack against Rutgers’ stifiling defense.
And which Louisville team will show up to play next weekend.
The team that struggled against Cincinnati or the team that took West Virginia to the woodshed?
Stay tuned.
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