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One of the downsides of being a sports fan is knowing the teams you root for are inevitably going to hit a rough patch at some point in time. Unfortunately, there’s really only so much you can do to prepare for those brutal stretches.
Fans of Louisville’s men’s basketball team became accustomed to a certain kind of lifestyle when Rick Pitino was at the helm, but the program has struggled to find its footing since the disgraced coach was fired in 2018 following a string of high-profile scandals.
The Cardinals faithful hasn’t really had a ton to root for since his departure.
While David Padgett and Chris Mack were able to post winning records during their respective tenures, last season marked the first time Louisville finished the year with a losing record for the first time since 2001. That 13-19 showing certainly wasn’t pretty, but it was downright gorgeous when you compare it to what’s transpired this year.
On Tuesday night, Louisville fell to 3-21 on the season following a 91-57 thrashing at the hands of Pitt as it limps toward the end of an absolutely brutal campaign that saw its fans start checking out by the end of November.
The writing was on the wall when the Cardinals lost three consecutive games to mid-majors that month, and those losses are particularly brutal when you consider how much Louisville shelled out to host the teams who topped them on their home turf.
According to On3, those Ls represent three of the four losses that transpired during “buy games” that saw Louisville pay $85,000 each to Appalachian State, Bellarmine, Wright State, and Lipscomb to give them some incentive to take the trip to the KFC Yum! Center.
Buy games are traditionally designed to give the home team an easy win while easing into the season, but in this case, the Cardinals spent a grand total of $340,000 to get shown up on their home court.
That’s gotta sting.