CBS may have cost Sen. Mitch McConnell UK fan votes when it aired footage during today’s UK vs U of U of L game in Louisville at the KFC Yum Center, an 80 to 77 loss for UK’s young Wildcats.
McConnell took a break from Fiscal Cliff discussions to attend the game. After the half, CBS cut to a November 2012 clip of McConnell saying:
“I am hard pressed to think of a more conspicuous example of success than what [athletic director] Tom Jurich has accomplished for the University of Louisville in athletics for the last 15 years. Now ranked in the top five nationally, this year’s Cardinal team is well-poised to make another run for the Final Four.”
The battle for the bluegrass in sports can have political consequences. UK fans immediately expressed displeasure, branding his comments a #CardinalSin, on twitter, at the end of #LouisvilleHateWeek.
Louisville coach Rick Pitino, in the post-game, said of the teams’ rivalry, “There’s no bitterness. We don’t ever denigrate Kentucky…It’s only five percent of the Louisville fans and five percent of the Kentucky fans that do it. The rest of it…they’re all married to each other; they live comfortably…they have children together.”
Five percent could swing an election.
Kentucky Sports Radio’s Matt Jones’s comment, “CBS just did more for Ashley Judd’s senate bid against Mitch McConnell than anything imaginable,” was immediately re-tweeted 214 times.
Judd attended today’s game, and live-tweeted during it. A potential Judd candidacy for McConnell’s senate seat in 2014 has been widely floated, a run she has not ruled out.
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