Louisville Kings Games Are Awesome

It was a cold March day in Louisville, but that did not stop more than 14,000 fans from packing Lynn Family Stadium for the first Louisville Kings game in franchise history.

The Kings lost 15-13 to one of the top teams in the UFL, the Birmingham Stallions. But that was not the story from last night.

The story was the turnout and the energy inside the stadium. 

(See for yourself in the KSR Road Trip Video from the game below)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNTPV03RE6o&list=PLX-G-QTrp6ZS8-_UPanVPp4TRRr79IrA7&index=1

From the moment we got there, it was obvious this was more than simple curiosity. My wife and I bought two standing-room-only tickets for $26 each and spent the first half roaming the stadium before the cold finally sent us home to watch the rest on TV. What we saw before that was a fan base that already looked committed.

Grown men wore crowns on their heads and robes on their backs. Before kickoff, the entire stadium chanted “Let’s Go Kings” in unison like it had been doing it for years. When Louisville fumbled at the 1-yard line late in the first half, the reaction was not casual disappointment. It was anguish. You could see it on fans’ faces.

That was what stood out most.

This did not feel like a novelty event. It did not feel like a game people attended just because it was something to do. With all due respect to the Louisville Bats, this did not feel like a Triple-A baseball crowd. It felt like a fan base that already cared whether its team won or lost.

“I think we’ll keep it as long as the fans support,” one fan decked out in Kings green told me. “That’s how the Memphis Showboats lost their team. Not enough fan support.”

If Saturday was any indication, Louisville should not have much to worry about on that front.

Yes, the Kings lost. But they were competitive against the league’s gold standard, and more importantly, they looked like a team playing in a city ready to embrace them. The atmosphere was loud, the presentation felt big-league, Benny Snell was back on a football field, and Lynn Family Stadium was the right venue for this version of pro football.

All of that was enough to convince me to get on board. I now consider myself one of the loyal supporters of the Louisville Kings. 

It was only one game. But it felt like the beginning of something that could work.