An Open Letter to WKU Fans

Dear Hilltopper fans,

Today is a wonderful day. No longer is one of the nation’s premiere mid-major athletic programs in a conference of mediocrity and “oh yeah, I think I’ve heard of that conference before.” They are nearly more “major,” than “mid,” and it is a long time coming, and it took a long time to get here. They’ve done the work. Now, it’s time for you to do the same.

The days of putting your childhood fandoms first (which, for the most part, are UK and UofL), need to be over. Now, let me clarify. Can you still pull for them and cheer for them and live and die by them? Absolutely. (After all, I’m just a little-read blogger on the big, bad internet.) However, if the Tops are at home against UTSA on a Saturday afternoon and the Cards are squaring off against Georgia Tech, all eyes need to be on, and bodies in, Feix Field. And, when the basketball team squares off against FIU on a Tuesday while the Cats are playing Auburn on the road on the SEC Network, Diddle Arena better be packed. The Tops are no longer going up against third or fourth fiddle programs – they’re up against schools that are well liked, well respected and well attended.

Louisville is making the jump to the ACC, but you know where they started? That’s right. Conference USA. The Tops’ are in elite company, as CUSA has hosted the likes of Memphis, Cincinnati, TCU and our good friend Willie T. and his South Florida Bulls. WKU has one foot in the door, and great things very well could be on the horizon. But, if the fan support isn’t there, and the Tops are third-fiddle in the state, the time will never come. If you look at it, the Cards are actually a great program to compare WKU to. But, they didn’t get that way by pulling for UK in their spare time.

Today is the first day of a new era of Hilltopper athletics. I just hope the fans – be it the student  body and Bowling Green community in general – take notice and show their support. There is no reason to squander this opportunity.