I will be attending a conference in Louisville next week and am really excited as we have tickets to the basketball game on Friday night and the football game vs Pitt on Saturday. I'm obviously going to buy some sweet red Cardinals gear to wear to both games, but I have a couple of questions about getting the best possible experience.

I'm a high school football coach from Saskatchewan, Canada and these will be my first 2 NCAA games. I've never been to a true tailgate experience, so I'm really excited to check it out. Can anyone give me any suggestions about when to show up, where to go when we get to the stadium, what things to worry about, etc. Also, I'm looking forward to drinking some beer...is there anywhere that sells beer before the game or would I have to bring some to the parking lot. Sorry if that's a dumb question :)

After the game, where would a good place to go be? Are there sports bars around the stadium that people go to after a game?

I'm staying downtown by the convention center, so we'll likely wander over to the YUM Center early on Friday night for the basketball opener. Are there any particular pre-game festivities that we should check out or bars around the arena that people go to before the game? It looks like there are several places on 4th St. Live that may be cool to check out.

I'd really appreciate any help you can give...I'm a beer drinking Canadian looking to get the most of my Cardinals experience. Thanks in advance.