Louisville basketball fans have not had much to get excited about over the past few years, but it seems like they are still plenty committed to trolling their biggest rival.
Kentucky fell victim to a stunning upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday when they were defeated by 14-seed Oakland. As expected, Oakland University sold a bunch of merchandise after the Grizzlies notched their first NCAA Tournament win in program history. But local fans in Michigan weren’t the only ones buying up all the gear.
Oakland coach Greg Kampe told reporters on Friday that the school’s website crashed with so many fans rushing to buy merch after the 80-76 win. Kampe said roughly $8,000 in sales came from buyers based in Louisville.
“I don’t know if when Louisville and UK play next year the Louisville ppl are gonna show up in Oakland shirts or what,” Kampe said.
Oakland coach Greg Kampe said the school sold $8,000 worth of T-shirts to people whose credit cards matched Louisville zip codes.
“I don’t know if when Louisville and UK play next year the Louisville ppl are gonna show up in Oakland shirts or what.”
— Will Graves (@WillGravesAP) March 22, 2024
Kampe is probably onto something, but our guess is Louisville fans won’t wait until next season to taunt the Wildcats with their Oakland swag. Heck, some Kentucky fans might even want to wear Oakland shirts given how disgusted they seem with head coach John Calipari.
Louisville finished 8-24 this season and missed the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year, so Cardinals fans don’t have anything to be proud of. But as they say, misery loves company.
