[cardfaninpittsburgh]

Thanks for having this conversation, btw, and not just blasting me for being 'negative.'

legitimate programs are the floridas, ohio states, uscs, tennessees, penn states, michigans of the world. programs where one bad season doesn't kill the buzz surrounding their team...in fact, may even increase the buzz. a program whose fans show up before kick off, fill their stadium for every game, no matter what. where local media covers the team all year, not just during the season or sporadically during the off season, regardless of how the team did the previous year...for example, see the LA Times coverage of USC and UCLA football since the end of the season...a program that the best local kids will go to without seriously considering other schools. a program that is, not just thinks it is, a serious contender for at least a bsc bowl every year; not that is thrilled when it finally makes it to one.

i don't deny, and have much enjoyed, louisville's improved lot over the years. bush and brohm and others have been fantastic for the program and i'm very grateful to them. the fan base is larger than in the past. there are probably 30,000 fans you can count on to show up @ least by half time @ every home game no matter what and who travel well to bowl games. obviously smith and petrino increased the national profile of the program. pjcs is nice and is going to be even nicer in the next few years; not to mention the vast improvement of other football facilities.

but, they simply are what they are. one or two great / above average years does not a program make.