[Quality88]

U of L faithful must face adversity with class

Even though the season is young, the University of Louisville football team has failed to live up to hyped-up preseason expectations.
The loss to the University of Kentucky, followed by an embarrassing loss to Syracuse, resulted in many Cardinals fans booing their team. After only four games, some fair-weather fans are already saying coach Steve Kragthorpe has to go. How a team and its coaches handle adversity reveals their character. We, the fans, expect our team and coaches to work hard to improve and maintain team togetherness. What should 18- to 22-year-old student-athletes and the coaches expect from the fans?
I don't believe they expect to be booed when they make mistakes or play poorly. Players don't miss a tackle, drop a pass, throw an interception or fumble intentionally.
How fans handle themselves when their team goes through tough times shows the fans' character. Supporting the team through good times is easy. The team needs much more support when the going is tough. That support does not come in the form of boos or leaving the game early in disgust.
UK fans are currently praising coach Rich Brooks, as they should. Just a few years ago, many of those same fans were calling for Brooks' dismissal.
It is unfair that Kragthorpe, in his first year at the helm, has become the scapegoat for U of L's two early losses. For the rest of this season, I hope the Cardinals and their fans show their true character by handling adversity with class.
Paul L. Whiteley Sr.

Louisville 40207



Can Cards' critics really call themselves 'fans?'
After witnessing the embarrassing display of booing by the "fans" for the University of Louisville football team, the inane comments by another contingent of "fans" and the pathetic opinions on various message boards by other pseudo-fans, I can now say that I have a much higher regard and greater appreciation for the fans of the University of Kentucky.
Year after torturous year, Wildcats fans have filled Commonwealth Stadium 60,000-plus strong, regardless of the talent level of the team or the likely outcome of the game (more often than not a loss). Yet there was never the visceral depth of mean-spiritedness as currently exhibited by an increasing number of the Cardinals' "fans."
Has the season been a gross disappointment? Absolutely. But demanding that coach Steve Kragthorpe already be thrown under the bus and ousted takes incredulity to a stratospheric level. It also takes the definition of fair-weather fan to a higher level.
In the end, U of L athletic director Tom Jurich and Kragthorpe will have the last laugh. Except they will have more class than this current crop of "fans" than to come out with an overt "I told you so" when all is said and done.
Phil Benninger

Louisville 40241

U of L faithful must face adversity with class