Kentucky Vs. Louisville? Yankees Vs. Red Sox Is A Real Rivalry

Kentucky vs. Louisville. All we have heard about all week leading up to Saturday NCAA Basektball Tournament Final Four games is the in-state rivalry between the Wildcats and the Cardinals, the two schools that share the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Shush, folks! Come on back when you can talk to me about a real rivalry, a rivalry with real history behind it. A rivalry with events burned into your brain, with moments you feel are significant in your life. In other words, come on back when you have something that really equals New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox.

Kentucky vs. Louisville. Sure, there is a lot of intra-state emotion with folks lining up on one side or the other. Some real Hatfield and McCoy stuff. Sure, you have Rick Pitino in the middle of it, having coached Kentucky and now Louisville. But, where is the historical significance? Is there one Kentucky-Louisville matchup that changed history in college basketball? One game that is burned into your memory banks, and your emotions, for all time?

I thought not.

• There is nothing that equals the 1978 Yankees comeback from 13 games, and the ultimate one-game playoff victory by the Yankees.
• There is nothing that equals the 2003 ALCS championship series Game 7 blast by Aaron Boone that sent the Red Sox to their 86th season of championship-less misery.
• There is nothing like the 2004 Boston comeback from 3-0 down in the ALCS against the Yankees that led to their first World Series title since 1918.
• There is nothing like the fights between Jason Varitek and Alex Rodriguez, or Pedro Martinez body-slamming ancient Yankee coach Don Zimmer to the ground.

Rivalry? Kentucky vs. Louisville? Pfffft! It's a nice game between two schools that are close to each other and whose fanbases don't like each other. But, get back to me when there is some real history.