Former Louisville Cardinals helping to restrengthen brand

Winning is what Louisville athletics has become known for, but Teddy Bridgewater and Donovan Mitchell are the shining examples of what being a member of the Louisville Cardinals family is all about.

When it comes to being a part of the Louisville Cardinals, there are certain characteristics that have to be owned. Humility, love for others, passion and swag amongst others. Donovan Mitchell and Teddy Bridgewater will go down as two of the most beloved Cardinals of all time. But it’s their total body of work on and off the competitive surface that continues to drive home the ongoing narrative that the Louisville brand is in good hands.

The past few years it has become synonymous nationally that the University of Louisville is the epitome of what’s wrong with college athletics. We all know that is factually inaccurate as every day that goes on we continue to find out other schools are actively participating in as egregious behavior. The only difference is they choose to obstruct the NCAA’s ability to investigate and then get away with it.

No matter how fair (or unfair) and unbiased (or biased) the national narrative has been, there is one-bit of information that is getting go overshadowed and unnoticed. The University of Louisville is perhaps experiencing it’s greatest ambassadorship at the professional ranks in some time with Donovan Mitchell and Teddy Bridgewater leading the way.

Take you to this past Sunday morning where Donovan Mitchell was on his way to practice in the middle of a playoff series with the Houston Rockets. Mitchell (seen in the tweet below) eyewitnessed a serious accident and instead of just blowing it off, he chose to stop and do the humane and decent thing and check to make sure everyone was OK.

Let’s put aside the fact Donovan Mithell is, in fact, a budding superstar in the middle of a playoff series. How many ‘ordinary’ people also eyewitnessed that accident and chose to keep on going? In a time where the perception is celebrity seems to supersede integral human qualities like humility and humbleness, this is just another example of why Donovan Mitchell gets it and what it really should mean to use your platform for good.

That brings us to one, Teddy Bridgewater. How can you not like this guy? To me, he is as good as it gets and is the embodiment of everything you want in an ambassador to represent your program or franchise. Last week he continued his running tradition since becoming a professional athlete of renting moving trucks and filling them with bikes, toys, balls, school supplies and other things to give back to his local community.

Whether Teddy can regain his playing performance on the field still remains to be seen, but obviously, the New Orleans Saints believe in him. They signed Teddy for another year to be the sole back up plan to Pro Bowl, future Hall of Fame QB, Drew Brees.

While the on the field play is what pays the bills and gives guys like Teddy the ability to give back to their community in the capacity he does; its the off the field acts of kindness that ultimately matter most. Mama Rose, you raised one tremendous son.

While guys like Teddy Bridgewater and Donovan Mitchell are the pinnacle of what it means to be a Cardinal, there are others who also carry the flag and represent the Louisville brand in a positive light. Former Louisville Center and current Minnesota Timberwolves front court player Gorgui Dieng has supplied his native Senegal upward of 1.5 million meals and has helped revamp a 200-bed hospital with new medical supplies and medical equipment. THAT’S INCREDIBLE!

Over the 2018 December holiday break, former Cardinal big man Montrezl Harrell partnered with the Boys And Girls Club in Los Angeles to share his time with the local underprivileged youth. He gave his time and played video games with them while encouraging them to be the best versions of themselves.

His foundation also hosted it’s first ever event at the Microsoft Store in the Century City Mall over the holidays to help 20 at-risk youth of the Boys and Girls Club of Venice. The youth got to play video games and participate in STEM activities to learn more about the Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics programs at the various locations in the Los Angeles market.

The University of Louisville continues to get raked over the coals as the poster child of the college basketball corruption case. While it may not all be fair, CARDNATION can be proud that the end of the Tom Jurich era and his athletic department helped attract and cultivate some of the greatest ambassadors of the Louisville Cardinal brand that we’ve ever seen.

– GO CARDS!