Catfight Between The Bearcats and Wildcats!
by Bill Kintner
CINCINNATI – Only 85 miles separate the University of Cincinnati from the University of Kentucky, but for the last 14 years it might as well have been 8000 miles. For years the fans of both programs that live in the Greater Cincinnati area have been arguing about which program is better. But since they didn’t play each other, it was it was just an academic argument, if not an occasional fist fight.
The argument is about to be settled on Saturday night in Indianapolis during the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the RCA Dome. Well, the settlement will be area bragging rights, at least for awhile.
The last time the two ‘Cats teams played was in 1990, with Kentucky winning 75-71. That is the only time they have played since Bob Huggins has been the UC coach. Of course, before that there was the infamous slow down game in 1983, when Cincinnati’s coach Tony Yates’ outgunned team played a slow down game the resulted in a 24-11 Wildcats win. It so infuriated Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall that he vowed never to play the Bearcats again when the contract was up.
The series goes back to the first game during the 1901-02 season, when Cincinnati defeated Kentucky 31-21. In the all-time series, Kentucky leads Cincinnati 26-11. As you look down through the years when they played, Kentucky (26-5) had an uncanny ability to schedule the Bearcats when they were down and avoid them when they were good. The schools played in the 1930s and 1940s when UC was not a great team, and they didn’t play in the late 1950s and early 1960s when UC was a powerhouse. When UC was winning in the 1970s under Gale Catlett, Kentucky was nowhere to be found on the UC schedule. Then they popped up on the Cincinnati schedule in the 1980s for four games when UC was not very good. When UC got rolling under Bob Huggins in the 1990s surprise, surprise: no Wildcats on the UC schedule.
Now that we have established that Kentucky has thumped the Bearcats over the years, this game looks to be a real barn burner. This year’s editions of both the Bearcats and Wildcats feature teams that are not considered great, at least by traditional standards. Kentucky had problems beating Eastern Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, and before that they were coming off a loss to Florida in the SEC Tournament. Before beating Iowa in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Bearcats lost to South Florida in the C-USA Tournament. Cincinnati doesn’t shoot well, but they are big, strong and know how to rebound.
For Bearcat fans it is finally a chance to prove that their team deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the Wildcats and maybe a chance to shut up some of their friends who are UK fans. This game for basketball fans in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky is Christmas in March.
For Kentucky fans that have numerous rivals, including Louisville and Indiana, it is not quite as big a game. It is probably a bigger game for the numerous UK fans that live in the Greater Cincinnati area than the ones spread out in every corner of Kentucky. From talking with Wildcat fans, it appears they are certainly worried about this game. But so are the UC fans.
For UK fan Joe Mardis, 27, from Covington, KY he is more than ready to see his beloved Wildcats take on the Bearcats. “It is a game I have been waiting a long time for. Huggins has really restored the program at UC. It has made all these UC fans think they can challenge one of the elite programs in the country,” said Mardis. He is definitely worried about the outcome of the game. “UC presents a lot of match up problems for Kentucky.”
Cincinnati fan Doug Kennedy, 41, of Cincinnati is not all that confident that his team will win either. “I would love to see UC win, but I didn’t pick them in any of my brackets. I think both UC and Kentucky proved they could play poorly in their conference tournaments,” explained Kennedy.
“It’s been a long time since UC has played Kentucky and all we ever hear about is that game back in the 1980’s when UC held the ball. UK just won’t let it go. It is a chance to show that UC is a worthy competitor of UK,” said 36 year-old Dave Lampe, a long-time UC fan from Cincinnati. “I hate to admit it but I think UK should win. But from what I have read the Kentucky players may not be taking this game serious enough. I think the UC players are taking it as more of a rivalry than UK players are. So who knows?”
Of course, there are some Kentucky fans who are not too impressed with all the success UC has experienced during Bob Huggins’ tenure as coach. “This game doesn’t mean a whole lot. It is a C-USA team and they don’t mean a whole lot. We (UK) are the ultimate team, the team to beat,” boasted 48-year-old Garry Clark of Louisville. But when asked who would win Clark hedged his bets saying, “If Kentucky runs then they will win and if they play a half court game they will lose.”
To UC fans… them there is fightin’ words! (A little Kentucky lingo there, folks.) There has been plenty of that kind of talk in offices, factories, bars and on sports radio. In Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky, there is a lot of side betting going on in addition to all the office pools.
Of course, we can’t forget the celebrity aspect of this catfight. Actress Ashley Judd, who was born in Kentucky, will cheer UK on. For the Bearcats, they will be cheered on live and in person by Cincinnati native singer Nick Lachey. What that means to the outcome of the game, I am not sure. But it certainly can’t hurt the excitement factor in the RCA Dome.
When it the game is over, no matter which team prevails there will be a lot of very happy fans in Cincinnati and a lot of very sad fans, But maybe – just maybe – there will be a new rivalry for the hoops fans in this basketball-crazy area of the country.
