It was a close game - a basketball game fan's dream game for sure, with plenty of lead changes. It ended up being a 3 point win for Louisville. Yet, almost immediately, there were disgruntled fans talking about the way the game was "stolen" from them, accusing the refs of being one-sided against UK. (This would seem hard to prove considering UL ended the game with 3 or 4 of the top players with 4 fouls each, while UK's top players only had 3 fouls.) I think if you review the game, you'll see that BOTH teams were fouling without being called, and it wasn't one sided at all. For instance, one of the turning points of the game (or could have been) is when Russ Smith was charged with a foul on a UK player shooting a 3, got a free throw, resulting in 4 points for UK. Review of the video shows the UL player never touched him. UL fans accused the UK team and coach of underhanded actions as well by switching a player to shoot a free throw, not that it really helped. The sub missed one of the shots..
You could go through the game and see any number of ways UK hurt themselves (again, both teams) For one, think about every missed shot, every missed free throw, every time they fouled the other team and gave them 2 free points. THAT is what won/lost the game. As close as the final score was, just making HALF of the missed shots would've changed the winner of the game and made it a 20 point game. UK only shot 47% at the free throw line, missing more than went in. The importance of basics such as this is important to all teams, in all games, not just yesterday's.
There can only be one winner in a game - only poor sports would whine when they lose and blame others. While it's possible for an error in a last minute call to decide the game, it's rare, despite fan protests, that games are ever "stolen" and intentionally slanted for one side, despite often very slanted play-by-play reports. Whenever there's a game deciding last second play, the losing team should immediately think of the shots they missed or the turnovers they made that could've prevented things from being so close in the first place. I always feel sorry for someone that misses a shot that causes his team to lose - in reality, if they hadn't been behind due to other missed shots, his shot wouldn't have mattered as much.
Before you show your poor sportsmanship and blame others, first do two things. Begin by evaluating your own team - did they hit every shot? did they avoid giving the other team free throws as much as possible? Did you keep possession of the ball without making any turnovers? Seriously, any team that could go the entire game hitting every shot, and every free throw, all without giving the other team a free throw, would probably have a winning record. Just imagine if you could do this and also eliminate turnovers? What a joy that would be to coach! The second thing to consider before you gripe, is your own personal involvement. As you sat on your comfy couch eating nachos, how many shots did YOU make? How many times did YOU run up and down the court? Don't blame the players, your own team or the other team, if they played a good game, doing their best.
In short, it's "just a game," in the sense that it's not life or death, won't end hunger or cause world peace, no matter what the outcome. However, whenever a state has two great basketball teams located so close to each other, there's a natural rivalry. It's fun when fans of each team can support their own team and tease friends that support the other side. Obviously, I support my team and hope they win. But honestly, it's not just because I want them to do well! One of the biggest reasons I hope our team wins each year is because I detest the way some of the fans from the other side act if they win. It's a rare (somewhat bitter) person that can support their own team to the point that they refuse to wish the other team well when playing someone else, or worse, hope they lose. At the same time, any fan that boasts unmercifully all the time, putting down the others has lost sight of the fact that these are JUST two colleges with a basketball team. It shouldn't lead to personal attacks - it's all for fun.
So, this year's game is over... but there's always next year. And if the two teams live up to the expectations, it wouldn't be impossible to see them face off a second time this season, in the NCAA Tournament.
