FanPost

Post IV-- Top Ten Louisville Rivals Investigation: #4 Poll

The University of Cincinnati is, mediumwhelmingly (60%), the #1 choice for the #3 Louisville Top Rivals Spot.  Congrats Bearcats.  We're coming for our Keg and Charlie Strong is leading us.  Still wondering what a good name for the #2 Rivalry with West Virginia would be.  It's hard to beat "Keg of Nails."  So, we move on to the #4 spot.  Contestants include:

Syracuse University

This is a budding rivalry. --guyngreen

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via assets.sbnation.com

Like few other Louisville rivalries, Louisville has recently been dominating it.  The best Syracuse Basketball team we've seen for years fell not once, but twice, to the Cardinals this past season.  Most recently, Kyle Kuric shut down Freedom Hall against a #1 ranked Syracuse in a fashion few could have imagined or predicted.  This game was the highlight of the 09-10 season.


Of course, along with the basketball rivalry, we always want to mention that Jim Boeheim was Rick Pitino's mentor.  However, Rick, apparently has Jim's number because Louisville hasn't lost to Syracuse in Basketball since 2006, the NIT season. 

I thought the Cards would never lose to the 'Cuse in football until they pulled off a shocker in 2007.  At the time, I didn't realize it was the beginning of a long decline in Louisville Football history.  That was the last game Cardinal Football played ranked, 18th.  Needless to say, after two stellar seasons and a crushing Kentucky loss this was the last thing we wanted.  Since, Louisville and Syracuse have been battling for second to last.  These games have been competitive battles and fun to watch.

by Mike Rutherford on in Football Comment 21 comments

Ten quick thoughts from the masterpiece that was Saturday's victory:

1. That may have been the least exciting BCS conference football game ever played, but it still did feel really good to win. The players deserved it and it was also nice to thrust a knife into the collective heart of a Syracuse fan base that had been rejuvenated a bit by a new head coach. That was for the last two years.

2. Kragthorpe is still so gone.

3. Josh Chichester is really tall and can catch the football. It's unbelievable that it took 21 games to properly utilize these pair of facts.

4. I was surprised that Chris Campa wasn't named a starter at the beginning of the season and am even more surprised now that it's become apparent that he's the BIGGEST BAD ASS IN ALL OF FOOTBALL.

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CCers on Syracuse: 

I’ll mention Marquette and Syracuse as contenders for #4 despite the fact that there is no football rivalry with Marquette, and the football rivalry with Syracuse has only been a race to avoid cellar-dweller status during the not-nearly-brief-enough tenure of Him Who Shall Not Be Named. We just don’t have that many football rivals – we’ve moved on from such historical nemeses as Southern Miss, and we don’t really register (yet) on the radar of a Florida State or Miami. by rickmbari

Second the Syracuse nomination! Here’s to hoping that Charlie Strong can break that nasty trend. Let it be duly noted that the UofL/Syracuse home game two years ago has been the only game in my ten years of season tickets I have ever left early. The only reason I left was because I was suffering from a horrible migraine. I’m not sure what the migraine trigger was that day: being out in the sun or the pathetic game…by tarabelle17
How long does it take to develop a rivalry based on losing in the wrong sport? Which is to say, will anything ever come of Syracuse-Louisville? Just curious what you guys think. by drothgery
I actually see this a budding rivalry Especially with SU ‘stealing’ some of our FB and BB recruits the past year or two. Steal all the ones you can, because they aren’t really making a difference for SU. by guyngreen
Potential for rivalry is definitely there in both sports by UL is my hot hot sex I think Syracuse and UCONN could be an OK rivalry if all three of our football teams improve but its just not there for me yet.  by UL is my hot hot sex

 

I think it started when the then laughing stock of Big East Football, The Orange, beat the still ranked Cards in football in 2007. That was a big game for them. This year, that was the only BE game in football we won. 2009— Basketball, BE Tourney Finals. 2010— 2 huge wins for Louisville over highly ranked ‘Cuse. I think there is at least some sort of rivalry going because we keep playing big games. I don’t know if it falls in the top 5, but I’d definitely put it in the top 10.  by REALISTICCARDSFAN --quoting myself again

Marquette University

Marquette at first glance seems like a weak contender to make Louisville's top rivalry's list.  Yeah, they're in the same conference.  Yeah, they're both pretty good at basketball, but that's about it.  Marquette doesn't even have a football team.  So what's the big deal? 

SI knows what the big deal is:

New Rivals: Marquette-Louisville

Close encounters highlights this battle of the birds

By Luke Winn November 20, 2007

PROTAGONISTS: Tom Crean, Rick Pitino, Reece Gaines, Francisco Garcia, Dameon Mason, Jerry Smith

HOW WE GOT HERE: These are unnatural enemies. Marquette is a Jesuit school in a Midwestern brewtown. Louisville is a state school in a Southern horse-racing mecca. They are joined by the Big East, and before that, Conference USA, but separated by a six-hour drive and the obsession of Louisville fans with Kentucky. Yet what has transpired this decade -- too many classic finishes, too much peripheral drama -- has given rise to a rivalry of the highest order.

 

If you can recall, the last game left a bitter taste in the Louisville fan's mouth. 

Things I Hate

Seriously guys, it's not like you just beat a top 25 team or   anything.

More photos " Jeffrey Phelps - AP

Seriously guys, it's not like you just beat a top 25 team or anything.

Here are some things that I hate.  Some of them have to do with college basketball:


  Marquette

   ESPNU announcers who love Marquette

  Rick Pitino's substitution patterns and starting line-up tinkering

  Samardo Samuels's inability to successfully manage a double team.

  Marquette

That's right Buzz Williams wore some atrocious light blue jacket and then proceeded to dance around in reaction to beating Louisville.  Their players, yes the players that I generally won't say negatives about because they're just kids playing basketball, also reacted to the win like they had just won the lottery.  I can't remember all of these games but these stories make my blood boil.  Unreal: 

After a missed Nate Johnson free-throw that kept Louisville's lead at 70-68, MU's Jarrod Lovette grabbed the rebound and gave the ball to guard Marcus West who quickly pushed the ball up to the other end of the floor. With time winding down, West passed to Lovette at the top of the key and he found freshman Brian Wardle on the left wing who drilled the game-winning three at the buzzer.

Sunglasses wearing Marquette head coach Mike Deane then proceeded to dance around the court and flip the bird (this is still hotly debated) to the home Louisville crowd. Outraged Louisville fans hurled drinks at Deane who continued to dance and taunt the crowd.

But least we not forget, Jerry Smith's One Shining Moment, and perhaps the greatest ending to a game of all time (Jerry nails 3, rips off shirt, knock's over a friend of Crean's wife, then Pitino slaps an assistant--hard): 

 

But can this be a top 5 rivalry without football?

CCers on Marquette:

It's probably time to throw Marquette onto the next poll. I’m going Memphis here out of a sense of history, and because I hate to give WV the satisfaction of being that high on our list, when we wouldn’t be nearly that high on theirs.by sarasota-card

marquette is a rival, but not a top 4 rival. 5th at best fighting with notre dame. it’s a rivalry based on closely matched up teams, some insane overtime games and one asshole of a coach. its also a rivalry based on one sport, men’s basketball, instead of spread out over a couple of sports.by jcarti01

Marquette and Notre Dame have been great rivals in basketball. I think the Marquette rivalry is on a different level than Notre Dame though due to the Reece Gaines/Jerry Smith connection and the amount of dramatic finishes over the last 20 years....I wouldn’t necessarily agree that we have more than 3 or 4 true rivals right now but if I were forced to make a Top 10, I suppose those teams would have to be included.

My 2010 List:
1. UK
2. WVU
3a. Cincinnati
3b. Marquette
5. Memphis

by UL is my hot hot sex

I would have liked to have seen Marquette included here, I wouldn’t have voted for them, but I think we can all acknowledge that they deserve mention.West Virginia is on the rise, right now I’d put them below Cinci (my vote) but ask me again in a couple years. by yawnz

I think UConn, at least for me, is a more hated rival than either Cincy or Marquette. ... by cardinNO

Marquettte ? Hot for a few yrs with Dean thru IU asshole, but fading  by frankpos

Marquette makes some sense because there is a little more history, but they don’t play football which brings it down a notch...Maddie in Portland, Oregon by kentuckybred

However, I’ll mention Marquette and Syracuse as contenders for #4 despite the fact that there is no football rivalry with Marquette, and the football rivalry with Syracuse has only been a race to avoid cellar-dweller status during the not-nearly-brief-enough tenure of Him Who Shall Not Be Named. We just don’t have that many football rivals – we’ve moved on from such historical nemeses as Southern Miss, and we don’t really register (yet) on the radar of a Florida State or Miami. by rickmbari

As a Louisville fan dating back to the Wes Unseld era, I support adding Marquette. I remember going to play Marquette first when Denny was in his very early years coaching and Al McGuire was still the Marquette coach. From the start, these were two basketball programs that were very evenly matched and trying to prove they deserve to be considered on par with the UCLAs and other elite college programs that had dominated the 60s and before. Something about Marquette and their style of play and their “attitude” going all the way back to Al McGuire made them one of those teams I most wanted to beat and least wanted to lose to, even if we never got to play them in football. by fansince66

University of Connecticut

I haven't heard a whole lot of press on the Louisville-Connecticut Rivalry.  However, this past basketball season watching a struggling UConn lose twice to the Cards put a smile on my face.

Back to Storrs, Connecticut. Time out. 29 seconds on the clock. Everyone inside Gampel Pavilion knew Edgar wanted to take the last shot. Pitino knew that Edgar needed to take the last shot. For himself. For his team. For the win. And perhaps most importantly, for confidence heading into March. 29 seconds left. "I'll make it," says Edgar.

Sosa feeds off the pressure, the fans, the moment, the oft overstated bravado that is a New York City point guard. Yes, Peyton Siva is primed for a great career at Louisville. But today, this week, this March...it's Edgar's time. Throw out the efficiency stats. Forgive the missed free throws. Ignore the criticism. A Louisville team that plays well this March is a team that's led by a confident Edgar. A Good Edgar. An "I'll Make It" Edgar.

I did a quick Google search to see what's out there.  This jogged my memory, not only is there a rivalry here between football and basketball, there is also a rivalry here in women's basketball:

Q.  Can you just address how Louisville UConn rivalry has matured in the last two years, two Big East finals now and a national championship?  And maybe also how after this game how maybe you guys will take this rivalry to even a higher level now that you're playing in a national final?
 
COACH AURIEMMA:  Yeah, it's always interesting for us in the last 10 years or so, however long, it was going to be Connecticut and Notre Dame for the rest of the Big East history.  And then it was Connecticut and Rutgers for the rest of the Big East history.
Now it's Connecticut/Louisville.  It just seems to me that if you consider yourself the best team or the best, more importantly, the best basketball program in a conference, then it's just natural that as other programs get better you're going to have to deal with that.
And in this case, again, because of Angel McCoughtry and Candyce Bingham, specifically, and generally the way they recruited and the way they've built their program, who knows what's going to happen in the future.  Who knows where they'll be next year.  I just hope we're still around to still talk about who our big rivals are.

I don't know a lot about women's basketball, but I do know that both teams were in the final four last year, and UConn won. 

Besides this, I also remember in the Cards two most recent dominant seasons the Huskies were unbeatable.

The other memory that UConn brings to mind, in a rivalry sense, is the 2007 football game.

UConn scored its first points on a Larry Taylor's controversial 74-yard punt return. With the Huskies down 7-0 with 13 minutes left in the third quarter, Taylor settled under a 45-yard punt and appeared to call for a fair catch at the Connecticut 26.

Replays showed Taylor putting up his right hand, and Louisville players stopped their pursuit as soon as he caught the ball. But Taylor sprinted left, then down the sideline and the referees didn't stop the play.

Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe called a timeout before the extra point in an effort to get the officials to take another look, but after a consultation, they said a fair-catch signal isn't reviewable.

Fair Catches are now reviewable.  I still can't believe this call.  Worst part about this was that UConn won the game 21-17, and the Cards were 1 conference game short of being bowl eligible. 

CCers on Connecticut:

i would go cincy 2 wvu 3 and uconn (yes uconn) 4.by jcarti01

Love to hate strongly dislike UConn and it’s coaches.by SullyCard Rivalry

I think Syracuse and UCONN could be an OK rivalry if all three of our football teams improve but its just not there for me yet.  I wouldn’t necessarily agree that we have more than 3 or 4 true rivals right now but if I were forced to make a Top 10, I suppose those teams would have to be included.

My 2010 List:
1. UK
2. WVU
3a. Cincinnati
3b. Marquette
5. Memphis

by UL is my hot hot sex

I think UConn, at least for me, is a more hated rival than either Cincy or Marquette. I have even found my self rooting for Cincy of late – Cincy coach is a member of the Pitino tree, the Cincy fball team helped maintain BE fball relavancy.  UConn on the other hand makes my skin crawl – I still wretch at the thought of the fair catch… plus the arrogance of their bball team irritates me, I mean how can they presume such arrogance when they aren’t even the best program at their school? by cardinNO

I'll take that as a UConn Nomination for the #3 spot. That fair catch really pissed me off too. As soon as it happened I said a rivalry should spawn from it. That and them beating us basketball in 2007 or 2008 during their team spirit week.by REALISTICCARDSFAN... Yes I just quoted myself.
Lol. I bet this year the women’s team could beat the men’s at UConn. That would be an awesome game.by CardinalDude

University of Memphis

It's rough to say that Memphis is still our rival because Memphis has not played Louisville in basketball since 2005.  But, take a brief moment to relive that game as Mike Described it before it went down in the elite 8 of the Best Louisville Game of the Decade Tournament:  

1. It was against Memphis.

2. We hate Memphis

3. The game was played in Memphis in front of a crowd of mostly Tiger fans.

4. It was the last Conference USA game we would ever play

5. It was the league title game.

6. The only chance Memphis had to make the NCAA Tournament was to win that game.

7. Darius Washington had spent the entire game pounding his chest and sticking out his tongue.

8. Washington looked over to Calipari and mouthed "it's over" after he was fouled by Garcia.

9. There is absolutely no worse way to lose a game than by missing two out of three free throws with your team down two and no time on the clock.

And rewatch the last few second to remind yourself how annoying Memphis fans are:

Memphis played Louisville in football in 2008, but Memphis has not beat Lousville in Football since 2003.  However, I'm sure it would still kill most of us to see the Cards fall to the Tigers on October 9th.  Is football every other year enough to still call this our #2 rivalry?  Does the rivalry mean more to them than us?  Sheraton Hotel thought the rivalry was still strong during the 2007-2008 basketball season.

CCers on Memphis:

I think the Memphis rivalry has really lost steam in the last few years. I think very few current students or recent graduates would list Memphis as a rival, and if they remember the Black Out Game they definitely wouldn’t put them above WVU. Interestingly, if you ask a Memphis fan, I think they would say that U of L was their number one rivalry.  by Dais

I'm betting most fans < 30 yrs old vote WVU over Memphis as bigger rival  by UL is my hot hot sex

Memphis, on the other hand, is a pure hate thing for me. I wouldn’t do them the honor of calling them a rival; they have nothing that we need. Sure, I’d hate to see the Cards lose to them. I really hated seeing us lose to Western Carolina, but that doesn’t make them a top rival! Memphis fans may consider Louisville their biggest rivals, but that’s because they have to respect us. I don’t respect Memphis and I don’t consider them our rivals.  by rickmbari

Memphis would probably be #4 for me after UK, WVU, UC… by Card Kid

i think with rivalries, there cannot be a long period of time where we do NOT play them. so that knocks memphis out of that list. football has been nothing recent and basketball has been dead for 5 years now. i would go cincy 2 wvu 3 and uconn (yes uconn) 4.  by jcarti01

We actually played Memphis recently in FB   Back in 2008 (actually a close game), and play this this year at home.  I assume you meant to say that we haven’t played them since we were on an even playing field. Unfortunately, ____ made our team almost beaten by Memphis in ’08, so the field was almost even again.  by guyngreen

 

Louisville's Top 10 Rivals

1. University of Kentucky

2. West Virginia University

3.  University of Cincinnati

4.  ?

Obviously, which ever Schools don't get the #4 spot will be automatically nominated for the #5 spot.  I'm taking additional nominations for the #5 spot now.  Make your nominations and vote for the next week--ish.