The Louisville Cardinals played against the West Virginia Mountaineers at the Big East Classic Tournament in March 2007 in Madison Square Garden. The Cardinals defeated the Mountaineers 82-71. | Wikimedia Commons/kcjc009/cropped/ Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
The Louisville Cardinals played against the West Virginia Mountaineers at the Big East Classic Tournament in March 2007 in Madison Square Garden. The Cardinals defeated the Mountaineers 82-71. | Wikimedia Commons/kcjc009/cropped/ Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
As long as Jonathan Gocke has been a sports fan, one school has held his loyalty.
“Louisville Cardinals, because they are the hometown team and I have always rooted for them,” Gocke told Louisville City Wire. “I’m also an alumni.”
He’s been a fan since age 6, and for 34 seasons, the Cardinals have been his favorite team. They have provided many of thrills over that time, too.
The Cardinals have been a men’s basketball powerhouse for half a century, with legendary coach Denny Crum taking them to national titles in 1980 and 1986. Crum kept Louisville flying high for three decades.
Coach Rick Pitino won a national crown in 2013 but the NCAA forced Louisville to vacate that title. Still, Pitino’s teams thrilled fans across the country.
Under coach Chris Mack, the Cardinals went 22-14 in 2018-19 and 24-7 in 2019-20. Fans lost the opportunity to see how far they may have gone when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the season to end without an NCAA Tournament.
The Cardinals also found success on the gridiron, as coach Howard Schnellenberger arrived in 1985 with an impressive track record, vowing to have Louisville compete at the highest level.
They did, too, finishing 10-1-1 in 1990, including soundly drubbing Alabama in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl. Coaches John L. Smith, Bobby Petrino and Charlie Strong also led the Cardinals to double-digit win seasons and trips to bowl games.
The Cardinals were 8-5 under coach Scott Sutterfield in 2019 but dipped to 3-7 in 2020.
Gocke, 40, is a senior warehousing program manager at GE Appliances, a Haier company. He is married with two kids and is a member of the Kentucky National Guard.
Gocke has a busy schedule, but he follows his school’s every contest.
“I’ll watch on TV, or iPad, or at very least get text updates,” he said.
Louisville does not provide virtual “game day” experiences, at least none that he is aware of, Gocke said. He would welcome such an addition.
“I would use it,” he said. “Team-specific trivia would be great, Jumbotron would be fun. I think the opportunity to broadcast the game ‘like you were there’ would be interesting. No commentators, have multiple cameras in the seating area to establish a ‘feel like you are there’ atmosphere.
Gocke sees a bright future for the Cardinals.
“Football team has struggled this year but that’s OK, I believe in Coach Satterfield and like the program he is building,” he said. “I feel pretty good about basketball season. I think we can cause some damage in the tournament.”
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