The Kentucky Wildcats took down the Louisville Cardinals 93-85 in a rivalry that, in many ways, feels renewed. The featured all the things a Kentucky vs. Louisville game should feature; a battle, chippy-ness, trash talking, and most importantly a Kentucky win. The reactions to the game were strong from both sides, and one of the favorite things about this rivalry is to read and witness the Louisville tears from another loss to their in-state rivals, the Wildcats.
There were some that responded rationally:
It's nice to see the little brother wasn't too upset about the loss and is now sitting with a 6-5 record on the season. There were others who simply moved back to football as quickly as they could.
It was announced during the game that quarterback Miller Moss from USC was transferring to Louisville. As for the second comment, Louisville fans know they aren't in the College Football Playoff, right? Or are they already moving along to the next season?
There were others that went right into coping mode, rationalizing, and living in fantasy land.
The hard part with a post like this is Louisville is so used to losing in these games that almost all Louisville fans were happy it was close and competitive, or they loved the fight in the team. Some even commented on how the Cardinals would have won if they were healthy. It's not as much tears as it is little brother syndrome. The biggest fight you see online from Louisville fans is whether or not Brandon Garrison is the enemy now or not.
That's the only time Cardinals fans seemed to have a vehement reaction. The fans knew they were going to lose, planned to lose, and already had pre-scripted narratives ready to go when they ultimately did lose. Kentucky continues to dominate this rivalry, and while Pat Kelsey seems to have the Cardinals headed in the right direction, Pope has the target set even higher.