[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 51 (Wednesday, March 28, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S2117]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          KENTUCKY BASKETBALL

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, something very special in the world 
of sports is happening in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
  Kentucky is well known as the home of the Kentucky Derby, often 
called the greatest 2 minutes in sports. But this coming Saturday, 
March 31, we will witness one of the greatest moments in Kentucky 
sports history. Two of the most storied and winningest programs in all 
of college basketball, the University of Louisville and the University 
of Kentucky, will meet this Saturday in the 2012 NCAA Tournament Final 
Four. The two teams will face off in a semifinals game in New Orleans, 
and the winner of that game will contest for the national championship 
next Monday night.
  In my State of Kentucky, the rivalry between UofL and UK is indeed a 
passionate one. From birth, it seems, Kentuckians are raised to root 
for one of these two teams; you either wear red for the Louisville 
Cardinals or blue for the Kentucky Wildcats. The two teams boast two 
legendary coaches, Rick Pitino and John Calipari. The teams have met 
every year since 1983, and they have met in the NCAA tournament four 
times in the past--most recently in the Mideast Regionals way back in 
1984. Between them, they have 24 visits to the Final Four. But never 
have these two teams faced each other in the Final Four with the stakes 
so high. If the excitement and frenzy and turbulence that has been 
stirred up in Kentucky could be harnessed, we could solve our energy 
crisis. Basketball fans from Kentucky have been waiting their whole 
lives for this game.
  On Saturday, we will prove that these two schools have the best 
rivalry in all of college basketball and that the Commonwealth of 
Kentucky is the best college basketball State in the Nation.
  Let me say that again so my friends in North Carolina can hear it. 
UofL and UK have the best rivalry in all of college basketball, and the 
Commonwealth of Kentucky is the best college basketball State in the 
Nation.
  But only one team can win on Saturday.
  I am actually an alumnus of both schools. I attended the University 
of Louisville as an undergraduate, and I went to law school at the 
University of Kentucky.
  I don't know who will win Saturday's game, but whoever the winner is 
will go on to defeat either Kansas or Ohio State and bring the national 
championship back home to Kentucky where it belongs. So count me in 
with my fellow Kentuckians and college basketball fans everywhere as we 
tune in this Saturday to see history in the making. It is going to be 
really exciting to watch.
  I yield the floor.

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