You have a point. But I think there is still an avenue leading to nail-biting games even without the deep enmity. Pitino's Kentucky games against Indiana, especially the first few, at the time pitted two of the biggest blue bloods against each other. The tension and stakes for those games was incredibly high, which made those games incredibly satisfying especially when we won.
There are plenty today who will try to paint everything with the brush that Indiana has the worst fans in the history of the universe and always have and we always hated every fiber of their being and vice versa and that's what the whole rivalry was built on. But that's really not the case. Indiana's fanbase was dichotomous in that sense. They certainly had their share of scumbags. But they also had a large and passionate following who had the genuine deep love of the game that came from being the authentic blue bloods they were back then, and the last program to go undefeated. Their love of the game made them learn and love and understand the subtleties of the game. And they respected Kentucky fans because they saw in us fellow members of that same very exclusive club. In those day I used to hear lots of stories of Indiana fans being very respectful to Kentucky fans when we played them in their gym, and also when they came to our gym.
That didn't continue, alas, as their success slowly and steadily dried up and they became basically a warning to other programs. But it was there once. One of the most notable features of that night in 2011 when they treated us so horribly under Tom Crean was that it was so different than what had come before. Especially so different than the old days.
Many have this cheap sense of nobility that allows their hatred to destroy their own personal world like a wildfire. They talk and act like they would be tickled pink if they could go back in time and turn every single IU W into an L.
What a sad way to suck the joy out of life. In reality Pitino's wins against IU in those days were priceless because they were so difficult to get, and part of what makes both the Kentucky basketball program and its fans so rare and blessed.
If Kentucky and Louisville both get to where each is so good that either won beating the other means achieving a world-rocking feat, then we could again approach all those games with a huge amount of anticipation and nervousness and take a titanic amount of joy out of them, especially in wins. No deep hatred of their fanbase needed. I would love to see that. And I would love to see Kelsey be the one guiding them to holding up their end of that bargain. I agree he seems like a great guy. I already liked him, but him saying this past week that he would vote Mark Pope Coach of The Year kind of sealed it for me.
