Louisville vs Kentucky. David vs Goliath. Pitino vs Calipari. Mentor vs Student. Red vs Blue. Big East vs the SEC. Anthony Davis’ Unibrow vs Peyton Siva’s Meticulous Goatee. Adidas vs Nike. #1 vs #2 (coaches’ salaries, that is). Juggernaut revenue streams (In 2011 alone, Louisville generated a staggering $40.9 million from basketball related events in the 2010-2011 season. Up nearly 40% from the previous year and $12 million more than Duke, who finished second at $28.9 million.)
Put all this together, and there is a ton of emotion, pride, tension, and money tied up in these two programs – their Brands. Both Louisville and Kentucky are 2 of only 3 teams (joining Syracuse) that averaged more than 20,000 fans per home game last season. There are millions of articles, posts, tweets, & messages being thrown out there right now from everyone at the big networks to So-and-So in the Commonwealth arguing with his brother, who happens to root for the other team. These are amazingly rabid fan bases. Dedicated, loyal, some clinically insane.
There is so much intensity and passion in Kentucky right now, and this rivalry is a contrast of the Hatfields and McCoys.
I went to The University of Louisville. I am one of those rabid fans wearing red. I was an athlete, running track & cross country for the Cardinals, and I was there when Denny Crum stepped down and Pitino rode in on a white horse. I’m biased, and want UofL to win. I also grew up a huge UK fan, wanting to be Travis Ford. I loved Kentucky Basketball. I dreamt about playing at Kentucky, until the Good Lord had other plans for me and my lack of stature. My brothers root for Kentucky. My Father roots for Kentucky. (Coincidently, he also went to both schools).
Kentucky is clearly the better team. The more talented team. Gary Payton tweeted the other day that Kentucky is an NBA team. And he’s right. That’s what Calipari is good at: getting young All-Americans to come to Kentucky and play to win, and play to win the lottery as an NBA star after a season at UK. And it works. Louisville has passion, intensity, drive, and honestly, has exceeded even their own expectations. Rick Pitino in a press conference yesterday stated that he told his team before playing their first game in the NCAA tournament a few weeks ago that they would be in the Final Four. He just asked one thing: “When we get there, don’t be satisfied with that.” “Did I know that that would happen, absolutely not. But we had to believe it, or it would have never happened,” he said.
Pitino and Calipari do not like each other. It’s no secret. Each of them is their own brand. A very successful brand. And they each bring their style to their team, their state, their fans, and all that encircle these basketball operations, even nationally.
I love the intersection of Design and Sports. I love the uniforms. The brands. The athletes. The power of it all. Everything about them. I’ve written about it several times. Here. Here. And Here. And I could go on and on about specifics like their uniforms, with Louisville in the electric Infrared that Adidas has endorsed along with Baylor’s neon citron. But I won’t.
Instead, I’ll simply relish the impact and magnitude of this game. Personally. And think of how big this game really is. The brands behind this matchup. The comparisons. The similarities. And after it’s all said and done, when I’m either elated or broken as a fan, I’ll realize the true impact of this game – this single game – and how much bigger than myself, these coaches, these players, these fans – it all really is.
