Louisville Football: View from the Villen’s vs. Alabama

We went to Orlando, and it was awesome. The game could’ve gone a lot better for the Louisville football program, but this Ville’ns trip was one to remember.

Members of the Ville’ns have circled the Alabama game for a long time. We knew we wanted to do something special for it and bring a group down to watch our beloved Louisville football program, and we did just that. It was a great way to kick off the 2018-19 school year and athletics season, which is going to be a big one for us.

It’s been an exciting few weeks for us. We had a great meeting with Vince Tyra to talk plans and share ideas for the coming sports season, and the very next day I had the opportunity to share our vision on Louisville Sports Live and talk about our plans and all of the hard work everyone on the Ville’ns E-Board has been doing.

Then last week, we got to have our initial meeting with men’s basketball coach Chris Mack. It was great to hear how excited Coach Mack was to work with us and how willing he was to help us achieve all of our goals and plans.

Now enough of that, let’s talk Orlando.

My group flew from Cincinnati to Orlando at 6:00 AM on Saturday, giving us a full day of relaxation by the pool (see below), and then a few hours of tailgating.

Other VIlle’ns weren’t as lucky, and drove through the night (shout out to all of our brave drivers).

It took a while, but eventually, everybody made it to Orlando.

https://twitter.com/UofLVillens/status/1035890817947324416

Unfortunately, we did not “make some magic happen”.  Nonetheless, it was great to be at a Louisville football game again after a long summer of waiting.

It’s safe to say that we were pretty outnumbered down there in Orlando, but I’m proud of the Cards fans that were there. From what I saw, every Louisville fan represented our University well and was loud as can be. Especially all of the Ville’ns that came.

It never really felt real that we were actually playing Alabama until I saw the crimson and white on the field warming up, and our Cards on the other side of the field. That was pretty cool to see, admittedly.

When it comes to the game, you just have to try and look at the positives. A few quick takeaways:

• Puma looked really solid. Making your first career start against Alabama sets up for a nightmare scenario, but Puma stood firm. He made some great throws, stood in the pocket, kept his head up, and proved himself as a leader. We are in good hands with Puma.
• Kemari Averett and Micky Crum are some studs. They are gonna be a problem for defenses this year.
• The defensive line looks pretty good. They brought some pressure on Tua and Hurts, and if they can do that against ‘Bama, then they can do that against anybody.
• All I gotta say is I feel bad for Indiana State. I still believe in this team and I think they learned a lot from that humbling Saturday night.

After a fun weekend in Orlando, we all made it home- eventually. My group and I were stuck in the Orlando airport for 14 hours, but it was worth it and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I already can’t wait until next Saturday.

Be on the lookout for more trips, news, and events coming from the Ville’ns soon. We are ecstatic about everything that is planned for this year, and can’t wait to bring more exciting content.