To the average sports fan March Madness is one of the most exciting times of the year, but to Kentuckians, it is everything. Kentucky is the true home of collegiate basketball, and only the generalized bandwagon fans of North Carolina and Duke would argue against the bluegrass being the king of the NCAA during basketball season.
The history and prominence of basketball in Kentucky speaks for itself. Kentucky is recognized nationally as the greatest basketball program of all time. They lead the NCAA in wins and tournament appearances, claim eight national championships and have been to the final four their last four tournament appearances prior to this season. Kentucky fans also have the best traveling fan base in the country. They are notorious for taking over opposing arenas and dominating neutral site venues.
Kentucky has not lost a home game in over a year. In the words of coach Calipari, "Those people are crazy." Meanwhile, Louisville comes in as another top program in college history, winning three national titles and being the most profitable college basketball team in the NCAA. The cardinals play in one of the nation's best college venues, their newest arena the KFC Yum! Center was finished in 2010.
The history is just a useful tool for showing why the rivalry between these two teams is important, but it does not accurately represent the meaning of March for the fans of these two teams.
As a Kentuckian, from birth you are either blue or red, no in between. You are not a fan of the "state," and you don't wish to be. Cheering for rival Kentucky or Louisville is inherently evil and should never be done. Young Kentucky fans learn to hate Rick Pitino before they learn to read, and Louisville fans will never stop feeling disrespected by the blue part of the state. It is not a friendly relationship. So how do fans in Kentucky finally feel at rest against their rivals? They have their team go further in March.
For fans in Kentucky, March is judgement day, it is the time when the whole body of work of the season is put on the line. The regular season matchup between the teams no longer matters. In Kentucky, fans don't watch the NCAA tournament and cheer for the teams they picked in the office bracket pool. For Kentuckians, their are only two games that matter, UK and U of L.
The pressure mounts as the tournament continues because if you represent the state of Kentucky, you're not supposed to lose. Every time Pitino or Calipari's troops step on the court they are expected to win. "We'll get them next year," is not an acceptable statement for these fan bases.
In Kentucky it isn't called March "Madness" because of what takes place on the basketball court, it is madness because it drives the fans of Louisville and Kentucky to the brink of insanity.
