I began to type this post, and had to delete the first paragraph and start over. I was opening the post with negativity and talking about what I expect the stadium to be like on Saturday afternoon. But that will do no good and make no difference. No need to be negative. I will just talk about why Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium should be FULL on Saturday afternoon.
And let me go ahead and get these excuses out on the table for everyone (all of these are in a whiny voice):
1) It’s a noon game. It’s hard to make kickoff because I am still tailgating.
2) We play Memphis. The are 3-6 this season.
3) It will be cold (high of 42, low of 20).
4) Louisville basketball plays at 2:00.
5) We play Memphis.
6) Since we lost to UCF and they keep finding ways to win, what’s the point? Wasted season!
7) Our offense is boring.
8) We play Memphis.
And let me top all of that off by saying: WHO CARES?!?!
You get out there and fill the stadium for these seniors who came to Louisville when it wasn’t the cool thing to do. Remember where this program was when they got here? This group of players have helped put the Cards back on the map in the college football world. It is highly unlikely that the ACC wants a school like Louisville if the football program is down. These seniors helped build the foundation of not just a “good team” for a couple of seasons, but a “program” that will be good for many years.
The seniors that redshirted at one time in their career are in their 5th season. So they definitely came to UofL when it didn’t look like there was a good reason to be here. You combine those guys with the guys that committed to come play for Charlie Strong, a first year head coach who was taking over a 4-8 football team, and you have a group of players that deserve to run out of that tunnel on Saturday to a packed house for one last home game.
“The only thing we’re looking for is we need our crowd here,” Charlie Strong said. “They have an opportunity to go to four straight bowl games and have 34 wins under their belt, but you think about what this program, three years prior to them getting here, didn’t go to any bowl games, now they’re going to get a chance to go to four.”
It could also be Teddy Bridgewater’s last home game. But like Strong has said, nothing has been decided for sure, so I won’t even go into that and what he has meant to the program. Supporting the seniors should be reason enough.
I really hope the fans prove me wrong on the image I expect to see when I get to my seat on Saturday. I would love for the stadium to be packed. If you know someone that can’t use their tickets, help them get rid of them. Post something on Facebook or Twitter and try to get them used. If you are tailgating, be that person to make sure the group leaves in time to get there early. On your way to the stadium, encourage other groups of tailgaters to get into the stadium.
If it weren’t for these coaches and this group of players, who knows where we would be as a program? Probably stuck without a conference next season. The least we can do is have our butts in the seats when they run out of that tunnel one last time.
And if you need a reminder of who is leading our program and what it would mean to him for us to be there for his guys, remember this?
Honestly I have no idea if that video even fits in here, but I looked it up and watched it again and loved it all over again, so it had to make the cut, right?
Go Cards! Beat Memphis State!
JR
