LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- Rain was not a concern for the thousands of fans eager to kick off the college football season at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium Sunday afternoon.
In my first post-newspaper football game at U of L, there were a few changes. The parking space is a bit farther away (but actually, a bonus, because it allows you to take in some of the pregame revelry a little better).
And the seat on press row moves from Row 1 to Row 2, but there's a reason for that.
University of Louisville associate athletic director for communications Kenny Klein said he issued more media credentials for today's game than for any previous UK-U of L game in Papa John's Cardinal Stadium.
The best thing about the press box, of course, is that we're all dry. There has been little let-up during a steady rainfall for the past 90 minutes, though rain has intensified quite a bit with 50 minutes to kickoff. But it hasn't stopped a poncho-clad crowd from starting to fill in.
Some U of L depth-chart news: Damian Copeland has moved to a starting wide receiver spot and Charles Gaines, expected to be a significant playmaker for the Cards this season, is listed at No. 3, and we haven't yet spotted him during warmups.
As to the long-awaited question of who will start at running back for U of L -- Jeremy Wright and Seniorise Perry are listed as co-No. 1 running backs.
The media crush -- fueled by the proliferation of online outlets -- relegated about 15 NFL scouts to the camera deck.
The game being played on a Sunday, with little to no football competition, likely increases the NFL scouting presence.
Up on the second row, we're calling it the "newspaper expatriate" row. Chip Cosby, formerly of the Lexington Herald-Leader, Rick Bozich, former Courier-Journal staffer Brett Dawson and I are occupying four adjacent seats.
U of L is the first team out onto the field, wearing red jerseys and pants. The Cardinals entered 70 minutes till kickoff. UK's first players emerged from the locker room, in white jerseys and white pants, 65 minutes till kickoff.
We'll be Tweeting @ericcrawford and @rickbozich throughout the game. I'll be adding press box and other photos on Facebook periodically. Then stay tuned postgame not only to WDRB.com but to the WDRB News at 10 when as we unveil a few bells and whistles on coverage over multiple platforms unlike you'll see anywhere else after the game.
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