Is it wrong that I kinda like Pat Kelsey begging Louisville fans to come to games?

By now you’ve probably seen the video of Pat Kelsey making his way through Louisville’s campus begging fans to show up Saturday with the vile creatures of Tennessee coming to town. For Big Blue Nation, it’s hard to find two more unlikeable programs and fanbases — we’re rooting for the Yum! Center to lose power at tip-off or the rapture, not a win for either team. The game is good for basketball, terrible for society.

It’s easy to dunk on Kelsey because it’s pathetic you have to ask fans to attend a top-15 matchup at home and you don’t have to jump very high. Some find it embarrassing and cringeworthy the first-year coach is going from building to building, table to table, person to person begging for their support. My take — not that you asked for one, but I’m gonna give it anyway — is that it’s kinda charming and I respect the grind.

Yo! Saturday…Noon. Cards/Vols. Let’s get it. pic.twitter.com/gDMWUDzJ9y

— Pat Kelsey (@patkelsey) November 8, 2024

Again, let’s remember what we’re dealing with here. Card Nation evaporated during the Kenny Payne era, an average of 6,504 fans attending Louisville’s 35 home games under the new Arkansas associate head coach, sporadic boos echoing through the 22K-seat venue like Mammoth Cave. The program with plenty of lows as is hit rock bottom as anger transitioned into apathy. They knew the on-court product was unacceptable and demanded change, then got their wish with KP out and Kelsey — a hot commodity in the coaching ranks with a strong reputation — taking over with a strong roster to work with in year one.

He did his part, but considering the absolute embarrassment of a turnout at Louisville Live and the no-shows during both exhibition play and the opener — alongside strong team performances, mind you — the fans did not. And somehow, some way, there are enough empty seats at the Yum! Center for Planet freaking Fitness to give away free tickets with Tennessee coming to town.

Not a directional low-major, not a tune-up game with little on the line. The No. 12 team in college basketball to open the Pat Kelsey era.

Presented without comment pic.twitter.com/VMP4mkLR2t

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) November 8, 2024

To take it a step further, UPS apparently bought 1,000 tickets to give away to employees this week while another local entrepreneur bought 500 to give away to fans. Because, again, somehow there were still 1,500-plus seats to be filled the week of a top-15 home matchup.

When Bruce Pearl got to Auburn, the basketball program hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament in 12 years. It was a fanbase that watched games in the winter to pass the time until spring football ramped up. Now The Jungle is one of the best environments in college basketball and the Tigers have been a March Madness participant in five of the last seven years with a Final Four.

It was a fanbase that didn’t care until Pearl made them care, even if it meant ripping his shirt off and losing his voice a couple of times a week to do so.

Kelsey is in Pearl’s shoes at Louisville, trying to prod an apathetic fanbase that would rather daydream in delusion about Jeff Brohm taking the Cards to the promised land than properly supporting a top-10 tradition in the history of college basketball. And this team and coach are actually good competing in a real conference!

I say all of this because the rivalry has absolutely, positively sucked big giant eggs since Rick Pitino left. It’s been boring and stale. The most fun BBN vs. L1C4 moment I’ve had in years was dodging disgusting loogies from that bum Chinanu Onuaku at Freedom Hall when La Familia kicked The Ville’s ass in The Basketball Tournament. We need more of that, less of whatever the hell 2017-2023 was in this series.

Kelsey is clearly trying to get back to that too, and I appreciate that. I’ll never knock a guy for hustling with genuine energy the way he has trying to wake these dorks up — even if #ReviVILLE is the corniest slogan of all time.

I need something real to make fun of again, and with the way things are trending, Pat Kelsey is the guy to help bring that back.

All 5″3′ of him.