Cards Praise the Intensity of their Rivalry with UK

The Kentucky-Louisville rivalry did not disappoint Louisville coach Pat Kelsey or guard Terrence Edwards. (Vicky Graff Photo)

Even before he got his first taste of the Kentucky-Louisville rivalry in person, first-year Louisville coach Pat Kelsey had said he thought this was one of the best rivalries in American sports.

Nothing about Saturday’s game won 93-85 by Kentucky made him change his mind.

“We have to do our part and win some to continue to make it a rivalry,” Kelsey said after Louisville lost for the ninth time in the last 11 games.  “Obviously, we came up short tonight. I mean, it’s hard to truly describe. And I think that all of you out here who are Kentuckians, you guys understand, but nationally, especially in our city of Louisville, and here in Lexington as well, how much this rivalry means.”

Kelsey knows not only are there houses divided by the rivalry, but he has been reminded often about this game since he followed Kenny Payne as Louisville’s coach.

“Every single day, every time I get gas, every time I go get something to eat in the community. You know, ‘Hey coach, how you doing? You going to beat Kentucky this year?’ So I get it, I get it,” Kelsey said.

“And what a great thing it was. It was awesome. You have to sometimes get above the trees and have a little bit of perspective of what you’re doing and where you’re at. And I try to stay present every single day, keep blinders on and work on helping our team become the best they can be. But I’m going to be honest with you, when I walked out of there today, the pageantry of the Louisville and Kentucky rivalry hit me.

“I looked around, and I saw the atmosphere, and this is before the jump ball went up. I did take a minute to truly appreciate how special it was. But like I said, whatever it is, 365 days till the next time we play again, and I’m going to be reminded about four million times when that game is coming up, and we’ll be looking forward to it.” 

Louisville guard Terrence Edwards was just as impressed as his coach even though the Cards lost

“I wish I could do it again. That’s the greatest atmosphere I’ve ever played in as far as coming into a game. I was just extra excited and everybody was too,” Edwards said. “I’m wearing this Louisville across our chest, we don’t take it for granted. We knew this game was huge, we came in, tried to answer a couple runs, came up short, but it’s like no other.

“Guys in the hotel when you come out, you see the L’s down and stuff like that, that really makes you want to win the game but it was a great atmosphere.”