Louisville Cardinals: 3 things from the 2019 Kentucky Derby

The 2019 Kentucky Derby has come and gone and the Louisville Cardinals stole the show.

A finish for the ages where the 2019 Kentucky Derby winner was disqualified and a horse with 60-1 odds became the winner was great, or not so great depending on how you bet, but was even better was how the Louisville Cardinals were at the forefront Louisville’s primetime event.

If you’ve lived here long enough, you know that anybody is who is anybody in the world of “celebrities” attend the Kentucky Derby annually to take in the “Greatest Two Minutes in all of Sports.” And with names like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Von Miller, Baker Mayfield (we’ll get to him in a second), Usher, Steve Harvey all in attendance, you’d think there wouldn’t be enough room for any more stars.

But if you ask me, the weekend, not just Derby, was owned by the Louisville Cardinals.

Whether it was the Louisville football staff stepping out in style, or Chris Mack and his wife hitting the red carpet or some of the players from the different Louisville rosters, all of them did it big in 2019.

In a year with so much to like or dislike about the Derby, here are my three Louisville Cardinals takeaways.

#1 – The Louisville football staff isn’t lying when they say they love being around each other

Sports are a place where a lot of cliches are said and people don’t bat an eye. One thing we’ve heard from the new Louisville football staff on multiple occasions is that they love to be around each other, something that is big of a change of pace as going from Michael Scott to D’Angelo Vickers.

These guys aren’t just colleagues, they are legitimately brothers, who love to do things together as a group.

We saw that every day just about from Thurby to Oaks, to the actual Derby itself.

https://twitter.com/UofLFootball/status/1124418478478381056

While it’s all fun and games to have a coaching staff who does stuff together, this is a bigger deal than you may think.

Think about a recruit seeing guys that they grew up idolizing on the football field mingling with the Louisville football staff and the current Louisville football players at one of the world’s biggest events. The Kentucky Derby, if done right, can be a serious recruiting tool moving forward.

#2 – The Derby made a mistake with Baker Mayfield

Baker Mayfield is an extremely talented quarterback who definitely has deserved all the praise and fame that’s gotten over the last 24 months.

However, he was straight garbage when it came to the “Riders Up” call that has become just as famous as the Call to the Post.

Friday at the Oaks, WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil set the bar high with his take.

At the 145th Kentucky Derby, Baker Mayfield missed the mark completely.

That led me to believe that the Derby should’ve gone with someone who helped in putting Louisville athletics on the map, at least setting the bar higher than it ever had been before in Lamar Jackson.

While Mayfield was the number one overall pick, it was Lamar Jackson, who led his Ravens team to the NFL Playoffs after not starting the first half of the season, becoming the youngest QB in history to start a playoff game.

While Jackson may not be as big of a celebrity as Baker Mayfield, he is synonymous with Louisville athletics and Louisville culture and would’ve done a way better job if you ask me.

#3 – We all know who the REAL trifecta was

After a crazy finish that included over 30 minutes of talk about “the Stewards,” the final result of the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby was Country House, Code of Honor, and Tacitus.

If you happened to bet the trifecta your winnings were $11,475.30. That’s incredible no doubt about it.

But the real trifecta can’t be missed.

This picture is more than just a picture.

It represents a new era of Louisville Athletics, one that I am beyond excited about. The talk of one day entering a “new era” is in the past and the new University of Louisville is here. The future of Louisville football, Louisville basketball, and Louisville athletics is in great hands with each of these guys.

There’s no way around it, the Louisville Cardinals are BACK.