By Mitch Streufert
The University of Louisville men’s basketball team christened the KFC Yum! Center in blowout fashion with a 15-point rout of the 2010 national runner up University of Butler. From the tip to the final buzzer the Yum! Center was rocking with 22,723 fans cheering on the Cardinals to a victory.
The Yum! Center has placed the student sections closer to the floor making the students feel more part of the action. Nick Reynolds, junior accounting major, believes the Yum! Center is already feeling like home.
“The excitement in the Yum! Center has really made it feel like home for a U of L fan,” said Reynolds. “You look around and everyone has forgotten Freedom Hall. This is home now. They did a great job with the student section we are close to the floor, and that was a big problem with Freedom Hall the students just weren’t as much as a factor. With this new arena I think we can be compared to some of the best basketball atmospheres in the nation.”
It is easy to tell the arena is tailored for the University of Louisville and its fans. The arena is packed with exhibits of U of L history compare this to Freedom Hall where from the outside you wouldn’t ever know it’s a basketball arena. This fact has senior, English major, Josh Hagans very excited for the upcoming season.
“We are lucky as college basketball fans to be watching U of L in a NBA quality arena,” said Hagans. “The entire arena is branded for U of L, and as a fan it gives me a sense of pride in this place. As a senior I had a lot of great memories at Freedom Hall it is a very historical place that was home for 54 yeas. I just never felt prideful in Freedom Hall, and I already do about the Yum! Center. Hopefully I will make many more memories here in the little time I have left as a student.”
The performance U of L put on against Butler on opening night set the tone for the rest of the season for the Cardinals. The margin of victory was a surprise to many of the students in attendance, but they didn’t let their surprise prevent them from enjoying the experience of knocking around the national runner up Bulldogs. Lucas Stoller junior mechanical engineering major was pleasantly surprised at the Cardinals performance against Butler.
“I thought it was going to be a good game from beginning to end, but I was wrong,” said Stoller. “Although I was surprised at how well we played I think it’s a sign of things to come. We can play 10 players, and when you give Coach P that many bodies he can really coach defense. We have more heart this year than we did last season, and you can’t overlook heart in my opinion. Heart can win you a lot of games when skill and talent aren’t enough.”
U of L has opened up the season on a high note, and hope to continue to ride that wave of energy against other opponents who will visit the arena this winter. One thing is for sure – the excitement for the Yum! Center has given the city and University of Louisville a buzz for the 2010-2011 basketball season.
