Here that sound?

[cardfaninpittsburgh]

It's the crickets over @ U of L's spring football practice.
Was opening day rained out? Or is there where Louisville is now? Back to being a basketball school with football being something to do to kill time during the fall before Oct. 15?
Local paper. No stories. No pics. No interviews.
U of L's own website. No stories. No pics. No interviews.
Fan sites, message boards, etc. No stories. No pics. One thread about current players.

Remember this when the Cards are 7-5 and we're arguing over whether or not Louisville deserves a bowl bid. Or, after Kragthorpe's gone and the day comes again that the Cards are 10-2 or 11-1 or even possibly 12-0 and we're arguing over whether or not they deserve consideration for the BCS championship game.

This program, which I love and root for like crazy so don't break out the stupid you're not a real fan bullshit, is second tier. Accepting that on March 20, will make things a lot easier to swallow in November.

[HarveyGlass]

It depends on what you mean by 'second tier'. Second to basketball? Second in fan support, second in media coverage, tradition, facilities? Second compared to other schools? What?
When the team was in the top ten three consecutive years it wasn't second tier anything. One bad year and people aren't as excited, did you expect otherwise?

I don't understand your point.

[cardfaninpittsburgh]

Originally Posted by HarveyGlass

It depends on what you mean by 'second tier'. Second to basketball? Second in fan support, second in media coverage, tradition, facilities? Second compared to other schools? What?
When the team was a top ten team three consecutive years it wasn't second tier anything. One bad year and people aren't as excited, did you expect otherwise?

I don't understand your point.

second to basketball? yes
second in fan support? yes
second in media coverge? no. because the cards will play any time espn asks them to. unless, of course, it means going on the road and playing genuine competition.
second in tradition? what tradition?
facilities? only in size of stadium
second compared to other schools? yes

did i expect otherwise? no. and that's the point. if cardinal football was a legitimate top program ONE bad year wouldn't do to interest what last year did to this program.

[HarveyGlass]

What is a legitimate program to you?

Do you want the football team to get more coverage than basketball? Would that make basketball second tier? Do you have to be first tier to win championships? Do championships make you first tier?

[HarveyGlass]

If you want to have goofy contests with fans of other schools about which stadium is bigger or who had more fans at their spring game, knock yourself out. You're right, UofL is going to lose those battles. In fact, they would lose most of those battles with UK. I don't think that makes UK a first tier, legitimate program.

To me, what makes a team legit is the players and coaches it puts on the field. In the midst of an 11-win BCS bowl-winning season, who in their right mind would say that team wasn't first tier?
There are always going to be people who are going to put down the team and claim they aren't 'legitimate' for whatever reason, no matter what the record or achievements, or x-number of consecutive years of success. Most of the time they are fans of other teams.

[HarveyGlass]

No offense or anything CFIP, it just bugs me that it would even be implied that what Brohm, Bush, Douglas, and all those guys did wasn't legit. It's a slap at those people who have been building the program to what it is today, which is about twenty tiers above where the program was 25 years ago.

[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.

[HarveyGlass]

Fair enough, they're not at that level. Personally, I hope they don't get to that level because I don't think that can happen without seriously putting hoops second. There just aren't enough resources and fans to have a program with two sports at that level.
Look at Florida, they won back-to-back titles in hoops and nobody cared. They are still a football school. But winning those titles has made UF a first-tier, powerhouse basketball program. Definitely a program that the UofL's, UK's, UNC's, and UCLA's respect and take seriously.
History and arena size and media attention doesn't mean a whole lot to me.

[bling49]

Originally Posted by cardfaninpittsburgh

It's the crickets over @ U of L's spring football practice.
Was opening day rained out?

They have an indoor facility right next to the outdoor practice field so I doubt it was rained out.

[nmcardsfan]

I think that the football side of "Louisville" is two things A) something that is a recent success and B) something that brought in MANY UK basketball fans (I cannot STAND those house divided plates, flags etc...), as well as bandwagon fans which they got all caught up in.

Far as the accomplishments they had-hey hats off to them. The greats we had on the team may never be replaced.

The football team lacks one major ingredient of those schools you mentioned above: HISTORY. Hell, even Notre Dame and their abysmal season last year packed the house, had fans waiting and partying up until game time. And how long have they had a loyal fanbase?

Im looking forward to watching the Cards take the field, but honestly they have always taken backseat to the basketball team-at least for me personally..