Louisville fans wearing their colors
Shield your eyes, Kentucky fans. Don’t take offense, Musketeers.
There’s another NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament game this evening, and it has more than a few area fans excited.
In a match-up between two of college basketball’s most storied programs, the Rick Pitino-coached Cardinals from the University of Louisville play top-seeded North Carolina at 9:05 p.m. in Charlotte. The winner advances to the Final Four next week in San Antonio.
“I’ve been thinking about it ever since the game was over (Thursday) night,” said Ludlow native Josh Storer, a senior at Louisville. “I honestly think this has the makings of a championship game. That’s how good the game is going to be.”
Louisville officials counted more than 1,200 alumni in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties as of last fall. Dozens of them packed Tickets Sports Café in Covington and watched the third-seeded Cardinals cruise to victory over second-seeded Tennessee on Thursday to reach the Elite 8.
A few Louisville fans called Tickets on Friday and tried, unsuccessfully, to reserve tables for tonight’s game. A game-watching party is planned anyway at the establishment. (Get there early.)
“We have such a great group of Cardinal fans in this area,” said Karen Sherwood, who organized the gathering on behalf of the Cardinal Athletic Fund and the local alumni club. “They’re so loyal and so fun to watch games with. I think we’ll get a great turnout.”
Storer plans to round up a group of friends, some of them UK fans, to watch the game. He’ll be wearing his lucky Louisville sweat shirt, and hoping for a victory that sends the Cardinals to their ninth Final Four.
“If they win, I’ll be buying an airline ticket either Sunday or Monday,” Storer said. “I’ll be there.”