December 5, 1983
A blast from the past. While checking out Sports Illustrated today, I came across the SI Vault with a feature on Twin Tower Sam Bowie and their destruction of Louisville.
It was the first game in the renewed regular season rivalry. Louisville had taken Kentucky out in the 1983 NCAA Tournament to kickstart the rivalry again. The way the players talked trash and how the players, coaches, and fans literally hated one another was really refreshing.
There was not even a compromise on where the announcement would take place:
Two years ago, when a preseason publication wished to pose Kentucky and Louisville players together on the steps of the Capitol in Frankfort, Crum was more than willing but Hall refused to cooperate. This summer, after the schools finally agreed to play, Louisville Athletic Director Bill Olsen proposed that the announcement be made at the governor's office. His Kentucky counterpart, A.D. Cliff Hagan, refused. When Olsen recommended Shelbyville as a neutral site, Hagan wanted to know if that town was closer to Lexington or Louisville. The result was that Olsen consulted the AAA auto club and determined the exact halfway point—which turned out to be a cow pasture off U.S. 60.
Great stuff and a great read on an uneventful Wednesday night. Oh yeah, the Cats took 36 free throws and Louisville only took 5. You gotta love a renewed rivalry, no?
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