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Dueling Barbers

In Louisville, KY, our cameras go inside WAG’s barbershop, a “divided” establishment where UK and Louisville fans once sat side by side. Boone clipped the Wildcat fans, and Mark Wagner and Mark Wagner Jr. clipped the Cardinals supporters. You may remember them from Adam Lefkoe’s “The Rivalry” YouTube channel.

After the 2012 UK national championship, the barbers butted heads, and Boone struck out on his own. “Designed by Miracles” was the result, a barbershop with an interior painted entirely blue and white about twenty blocks east of WAG’s on Broadway Avenue in downtown Louisville. For Red V. Blue we check in with Boone and the Wagner family before reuniting the barbers for a passionate debate on UK-UofL basketball.

Adam Lefkoe Added as Producer

If you hadn’t heard yet, we are making it official. WHAS sports anchor Adam Lefkoe has been brought on as a producer of “Red V Blue.” Adam is an invaluable asset to the team, particularly given his background with his popular “The Rivalry” YouTube channel, so we are excited to combine our powers 🙂

Tupac Loves Louisville

So I just came across this photo on the web of the late great Tupac Shakur rocking some old school Louisville Cardinals 90s gear. Now we all know about UK and their big celebrity fans like Drake and Jay Z. Less known is which celebrities support the Louisville Cardinals. Well, as far as famous fans go, there can be few greater than the late Tupac Shakur. Too bad Tupac isn’t around to interview for the documentary, but shit happens.

Denny Crum, Joe B. Hall + Adam Lefkoe

Last week’s Red V Blue production shoot couldn’t have been more fruitful. The week started out with an interview with Coach Denny Crum, who led the Louisville Cardinals to two national championships. The next day we sat down with Coach Joe B. Hall, who led the Kentucky Wild Cat to a national championship both as a coach and a player. Then we were off to Paintsville in eastern Kentucky where we interviewed some local diehard fans. Friday night we finished off the trip by interviewing WHAS sports anchor Adam Lefkoe in Louisville, who rocked out some great stories in between his TV spots. Stay tuned for further developments.

Kentucky Basketball

Wade came across this cool compilation of facts about Kentucky basketball on ESPN Classic’s website. Here I have picked out some of my favorites. Did you know that the state of Kentucky is second only to California among states with NCAA championships? California has 15; Kentucky 9.

The Louisville List

1) Louisville is undefeated when it scores a 100 points or more. They are 88-0.

2) The Cardinals scored a school-record 132 points against George Mason in 1994, posting a 132-87 win.

3) Freedom Hall was named “Best floor to play on” by ESPN’s College Basketball magazine in 1995.

4) Did you know that Denny Crum is an avid reader and collector of Louis L’Amour westerns?

5) Pervis “Never Nervous” Ellison holds the school record for dunks in a game. He slammed it through seven times against South Alabama in 1988.

6) Louisville has had two players go in the first round of the NBA draft twice — in 1989 with Pervis Ellison (1st overall) and Kenny Payne (19th) and in 1994 with Clifford Rozier (16th) and Greg Minor, 25th.

The Kentucky List

1) Basketball at Kentucky reportedly started when W.W.H. Mustaine called together some students, took up a collection totaling $3 for a ball and told them to start playing. There was no official coach from 1903 until 1910. Managers ran the team.

2) The Wildcats have the unique distinction of having a tie on their all-time record. In 1918, a game was ruled a tie after a scorer’s error was discovered after the game.

3) Kentucky longest home-winning streak is 129 games. It started in 1943 and ended in 1955. Since then, the longest home streak has been a mere 33 games from 1992 to 1994.

4) The Wildcats have had just one losing record in 72 seasons. Kentucky went 13-19 in 1989, its first losing mark in 61 seasons.

5) Kentucky had five players selected in the first rounds of the 1996 and 1997 NBA drafts. Antoine Walker (6th), Tony Delk (16th) and Walter McCarty (19th) went in 1996 while Ron Mercer (6th) and Derek Anderson (13th) were selected in 1997.

6) Long-time Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp is second on the all-time win list with 876. Only North Carolina’s Dean Smith has more victories with 879.

Denny Crum Interview

Big News: We are interviewing the one and only Denny Crum this July! During his reign Coach Crum guided the Louisville Cardinals to 2 NCAA championships (1980, 1986) and 6 Final Fours. Do y’all have any questions for the legend?

Final Four Shoot

Our dream final four match-up between the Louisville Cardinals and Kentucky Wildcats did not disappoint. And neither did the documentary shoot. We talked with a ton of Louisville and Kentucky fans and even a couple former players. Derwin Webb spoke to us outside of the Super Dome in New Orleans, and Matt Simms bumped into associate producer Aaron Mikel while he was filming in Louisville. In New Orleans we filmed interviews on both Friday and Saturday on Canal Street and throughout the French Quarter. 1 a.m. Friday night we hit Bourbon Street in the pouring rain to talk with some of the Final Four’s most devoted fans and party animals. The next day we hung outside the Super Dome on Loyola Avenue and spoke with fans en route to the historic final four match-up. And along with fan interviews we also documented some of New Orleans’ best street performers. In Shelbyville, KY, Aaron Mikel visited the Main Street Barbershop before heading to Louisville and filming around the city. Below are some production still photographs that producer P.G. Banker snapped on the big day in New Orleans. Thanks to everyone who participated and congratulations to the University of Kentucky for polishing off the Kansas Jayhawks and winning the national championship!

Three City Coverage for Dream Final Four Match-Up

More good news. We will have camera crews in three different cities for the dream final four match-up this Saturday between Louisville and Kentucky. Not only will we have one unit in New Orleans, we have also added one unit in Louisville (Team Aaron Mikel) and one in Paintsville (Team Ronnie Dee Blair). These two additional Kentucky based units will allow us to capture all the local rivalry excitement. So now you need to keep an eye out for us in Kentucky too! And if you spot us please come say hi and tell us what the rivalry means to you and your family because that’s what Red Versus Blue is all about. To contact us directly please email wade@mbdfilms.com, pg@mbdfilms.com or rory@mbdfilms.com.

Dream Final Four Showdown in New Orleans

Our prayers and dreams have been answered. The Kentucky Wildcats will be facing off with their arch-rivals the Louisville Cardinals for a place in the NCAA championship game in what I believe will be their first ever Final Four skirmish. So far we interviewed fans at the December 2011 rivalry game outside of Rupp Arena as well as fans outside of Louisville’s home opener. And we will be in New Orleans to document this historic occasion for all those Card-n-Cat fans who will be unable to make the journey. Producer Wade Smith and director Rory Owen Delaney will be interviewing red and blue fans outside of the Super Dome, in the French Quarter and all around the city to get their reflections on the event (both pre and post game) so keep an eye out for our film crew — we would love to talk with you!

New Orleans is one of America’s most unique cities, making it the perfect host for one of America’s most unique college sports rivalries. Plus the final four showdown also gives me — and other Cardinals fans — the chance at an early revenge. Instead of having to wait for next year’s rivalry game on December 29th Louisville supporters will get the opportunity to beat Big Blue when it really counts and advance to the national championship game.

Filming the Big Game 2011

Big news: We will be filming the big game in Lexington, KY this year. So look out for producers Wade Smith and PG Banker and give ’em hell! Our goal for this year’s big game shoot is to get some great fan interviews. Hopefully, we may even bump into one of our divided super fan families, who we will follow around the day of the Big Game in 2012. But even if we don’t bump into you on the 31st, please contact us if your family is divided on both side of Kentucky’s college basketball divide. We would love to hear from you. You can email us at rory@mbdfilms.com or wade@mbdfilms.com. More information on Man Bites Dog Films is available at mbdfilms.com.