Louisville's main claim to sporting superiority lies in its fanatical support of amateur sports. Louisvillians remain split in an ongoing civil war between University of Louisville and University of Kentucky supporters. This rivalry is heightened twice each year, with the annual football and basketball games. What makes this rivalry even more exciting is the fact that in both sports this
has historically been an evenly matched game in recent years (though U of L had the upper hand in football for several years, that streak was ended in dramatic fashion this year). All over the city are signs of this rivalry, with banners waving either U of L or UK flags in front yards, cars driving by with flags, or the custom license plates, marked either IAM4UL or IAM4UK. I could write an entire post on this rivalry, but I will just sum it up by saying that most national sources rank U of L vs. UK as the top non-conference rivalry in college basketball, and sometimes it only ranks below Duke/UNC as the top overall rivalry, and this hatred carries over to virtually every other sport. UK ranks among the elite college basketball programs of all time, right up there with Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, and UCLA. U of L is generally considered a tier below (historically speaking) but still among the elite.One cannot enter Louisville and leave again without hearing about high school sports. Just like the UL/UK rivalry, high school football and basketball are ways of life in Kentucky, with several major rivalries taking top honors in the city. A trifecta of schools annually dominate the high school football rankings; Trinity, St. X, and Male High School are perennial state champions in the top division of Kentucky football, with the Trinity/St. X football game annually threatening to fill up Papa John's Cardinal Stadium (where U of L plays football). More people show up for this annual high school football game than most Major League Baseball games. And Kentucky (like Indiana) being the basketball-crazed state it is, high school basketball gets as much local media coverage as many professional sports in major markets.
The market for professional sports is slim in Kentucky, but there are places to go to feed that craving. Most notably, Louisville is home to the AAA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, the
Louisville Bats. The Bats play ball downtown in the picturesque Slugger Field. This stadium is a gem in downtown Louisville, where many a Thursday night can be spent buying $1 beers and watching future stars make names for themselves. Of course, every other night of the week offers its own spectacle, including Ford Fantastic Fireworks and Jake the Diamond Dog. These are the things that I love about living in Louisville, and why I claim it is a city looking for an identity. It advertises itself as a big city (the 16th largest in America, according to some signs) but advertisements such as those for Bats Baseball ("the name of our game is "FUN) have that small-town feel I have always associated with Minor League Baseball, thanks to movies like Bull Durham.The Louisville Fire are another "professional" team in Louisville...our local Arena Football squad. They play ball throughout the spring and summer in Broadbent Arena, and draw a decent crowd. If anyone has been to an arena football game, there is no denying the fun atmosphere, as it has an entirely different feel than any NFL or College Football Game. The Fire do well due to the fact that they market entirely to families, and make their atmosphere fitting for such a crowd.
These are not the only ways to get your fix of sports in Louisville. One of the great organizations in the state of Kentucky is the Greater Louisville Sports Commission. This is what I believe to be an underappreciated group of people who help bring big sporting events to the city. One of the notable recent developments credited to the Sports Commission is the five-year deal they inked to bring an Ironman Triathlon to Louisville. Not many cities can boast hosting an Ironman, and this event will have an annual impact on the World Ironman Championships, as qualifiers can come directly from the Louisville Ironman.
In the fall, Louisville will host the Ryder Cup at Valhalla Country Club. This is a MAJOR international event and will really put Louisville on the map in the sporting world. Golf fans from all over the world will come to Louisville to view this spectacle. This, along with the Kentucky Derby (of course I had to hit on that) will put the focus of the sporting world directly on this city.
I'm sure I could go on and on about the Louisville sports scene, but I don't want to make this too long. However, I will finish with a couple of other necessary points. I've already mentioned the running scene in Louisville, and called it among the best in the country, but it had to be mentioned in this article. Louisville is home of Ohio Valley Wrestling, which used to be a feeder to WWE, but is now an independent promotion. However, probably half of WWE's current roster at one point was wrestling in OVW. Louisville is set to host the 2008 AAA Baseball All-Star Game. And finally, Louisville is home to the Louisville Slugger plant, which at one point produced nearly every bat used in Major League Baseball, and is still the name associated with baseball bats nationwide.
I wonder if St. Louis sports can match up to this??
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