My trip to Lexington: began with rain, but had a suite ending

You all know how the game went. I don’t need to recap that for you, especially a few days after it ended. So no, I will not talk about Lamar Jackson running for 186 yards against Kentucky and leading the charge for a 38-24 victory. I don’t need to tell you that the win was the 5th in a row for Louisville over Kentucky. I don’t need to talk about how dominant the defense was in the second half, and honestly most of the game. You all know all of that already, right? I don’t need to say it again. However, if you would like to take a break from this and watch the entire game again, I invite you to do so by clicking here.

Back with me now? Good. It was a pretty eventful day for me in Lexington, so I just wanted to write about it. Feel free to keep reading. But if you are just looking for a recap of how Louisville beat Kentucky 38-24 for the 5th time in a row, you won’t get that here. I won’t even mention it. Want highlights though? Here ya go…

The day started with a morning drive to Lexington. What did I listen to on the way there? Cardinal Sports Zone on 93.9 of course. I was sad to not be in studio for the first time, but this seemed like a good excuse. I was going to call in for about 30 minutes or so, but I quickly realized that the guys didn’t need me. So I just listened for most of it and then called in with about 10-15 minutes left to talk about the trip and my thoughts on the upcoming game. Speaking of, don’t forget that we are on 93.9 The Ville every Saturday morning. Our usual spot is from 10-11, but that varies sometimes so just keep in touch with us to find out for sure on that.

We get to Lexington around 10:15 and meet up with our friends Derrick and Keri Wynn, two big-time Kentucky fans. We get to Commonwealth Stadium around 11:15-11:30. I must say, after hanging out in the parking lot for a bit, and then walking into the stadium at the complete opposite end of where our seats were, it was already 14-0 by the time we got to our seats. Whoops! Guess I was being the typical UofL fan though. No harm, no foul there.

We settle in at our seats, pictured above, hit a couple big plays on offense, and things seem like they are calming down. Then a pick-6 happens. It’s 21-0. We are sitting in the rain and it is somewhat windy. This is a GREAT trip to Lexington so far. Kacy, your thoughts?

Yeah, I agree. She tried. She lasted about 15 minutes or so before I just said to head on down to the concourse and I would sit in the bleachers by myself. Bleachers, sheesh. So I watched the whole 2nd quarter in my bleacher seat by myself, trying to will the Cards to make this a game. It was obvious that this game just felt weird. We gift-wrapped 14 points for them, Lamar had started to move the ball, and there was so much time left. I had hope. But between the 21-0 start and a very bad punt, it just felt like maybe we made this trip and would leave with a loss. But being Mr. Optimistic, I just kept looking at the clock, realized we were playing Kentucky, and knew there was still hope.

The second half was a different story all around, and I don’t just mean the game. We figured it was a good idea to drop by my cousin’s work suite, which was about 50/50 with UofL/UK fans. So we spend the second half in a suite with free food and drinks, and we are dry. And well, you know how the second half went. Cards outscore the Cats 31-0. Needless to say, life was pretty suite in the second half for us at Commonwealth Stadium. I would have been fine in the wind and the rain myself, because that is just me. But this was pretty nice too.

I love leaving Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium after a win. But I tell you what, leaving Commonwealth Stadium surrounded by so much blue, mainly quiet blue, was one of the proudest moments I have had as a fan. Was it the best game or the best win I have ever witnessed in person? Absolutely not. I was at the Sugar Bowl and at every home game in 2006 to see the original “blackout” game against West Virginia and the beat-down of Miami. This wasn’t the best game or biggest win. But this was one of the sweetest, that is for sure. Coming back from down 21-0, probably keeping them out of a bowl, watching Lamar basically run the same play over and over and it constantly working…it was just a proud moment to be a Louisville fan.

Also leaving the stadium, of course there was the random “Well if we had played Towles…” Oh geez, come on. And the lady that complained about the cops letting traffic go and not us pedestrians because we were in the rain. And when they DID let us go, she had to walk through a puddle, which she complained about. I had no complaints and was in no hurry to go anywhere, but that’s just me.

Derrick and Keri were our ride after the game, but if you know me, you know that wasn’t a problem. I pretty much kept my mouth shut and let them vent any frustrations. We went to a gas station after the game and as I held the door open for a couple in their 50s or so, the lady looked at me and said “Well I guess YOU’RE happy aren’t you?” I just smiled and nicely said “Hey I didn’t say a word. I just held the door open.” She told me I was allowed to be happy and I said “Oh trust me, I am. But I know where I am at right now so I will just be happy and keep my mouth shut.” I was quickly reminded, because I somehow had already forgotten, that I was still in Lexington with a big red Louisville Cardinals sweatshirt on. Still have pride, but I am not THAT guy to be a jerk. I just smile and move on.

The rest of the day was spent at Derrick and Keri’s house, where two of their other guy friends joined us. Obviously, they were UK fans too. They made no excuses. They mainly just made fun of their own team, Dorian Baker in particular. Any other football game that we watched, when someone caught a ball, “Dorian wouldn’t do that,” or something along those lines. It wasn’t until about 9:30 that their friend David was finally like “Justin, you have to be loving this, right?” Because again, I didn’t talk trash. I just smiled and said “Yes, yes I am.” It was around 11:30 pm before I finally heard anything from them about Katina Po***l, so that was a victory for me. I am surprised they held out that long.

So no groundbreaking stories. If you have even made it this far in the story, I certainly appreciate it. I just wanted to talk about my day in Lexington. From the bad weather, to going to the suite and seeing the Cards comeback in epic fashion. It was certainly a game I will never forget and one that I am very glad I went to. My only other trip to Lexington for UofL-UK football was in 2005 when Elvis Dumervil had 6 sacks and Louisville won 31-24. Two trips. Two memorable games. Two wins for the Cards.

Five in a row. Let’s keep this trend going. As always, Go Cards!