Brown: Support from West Louisville group unwavering through U of L basketball struggles

Some traditions cannot be broken, no matter how bad things may seem.

So this season, like last and the 29 that preceded that one, Lawrence Herring Jr. has organized a trip to watch the Louisville’s men's basketball team play a regular-season game.

Doesn’t matter what the status of the program is now. They’ve supported every iteration of the Cardinals from the bona fide Final Four and national title contenders to last season’s team under Kenny Payne just looking for its fourth win.

The 63-year-old Herring, known as "Red" to many of his friends, is the face of what real support looks like within a fan base fractured into those who are certain Payne is not the right fit for the job and those still willing to wait and see.

Understand, if the West Louisville Sportsman’s Club can show up in Atlanta against Georgia Tech last February when it was well decided that there was no turning around one of the worst seasons in program history, its dedication is not fleeting, nor can it be questioned.

The club will bus 150 fans — with another 50 taking their own transportation — to DePaul for the Cardinals' game Saturday in Chicago. Herring’s group isn’t the only one that’s going. Several other organizations from the West End will also make the trip and make Wintrust Arena feel more like a neutral-site game in the same way they used to fill Allstate Arena when the Blue Demons played in Rosemont, Illinois.

The club relies on a little bit of luck when choosing to plan its annual pilgrimage. It has to be a place where a large number of fans can buy tickets at a reasonable price and a city that's not only within a six- to eight-hour bus ride, but a destination where the contingent will enjoy spending time outside of the game.

"That's why DePaul always worked for so many years," Herring said. "The formula is a good city with a not-so-good basketball team that affords Louisville fans to do this."

They’ve always operated independently of the athletic department. The charter buses, the hotel accommodations and the game tickets have all been arranged on their own. Their support has been acknowledged over the years by different coaches during interviews, but Herring said last season in Atlanta was the first time they were ever thanked in person.

U of L legend Darrell Griffith, who serves as the university's assistant vice president of community engagement, arranged for the entire team’s traveling party to have a meet-and-greet the night before the game.

“That was real special," Herring said. "It never happened before."

They’ve traveled to watch U of L in other places including Washington, D.C., and Raleigh, North Carolina; through the Metro Conference to Conference USA to the Big East and now Atlantic Coast Conference. And when or if the ACC falls apart due to realignment, they’re prepared to keep moving forward to whatever affiliation is next.

That’s what makes Charles "Mickey" Rowe smile.

The 87-year-old is largely recognized as a pioneer for starting the annual trips back in the early 1980s.

They originated simply out of his fandom. He can recall attending games in the 1950s and times when he could get a ticket at a grocery store or gas station. The ease of attending games elevated Rowe from wanting to watch to feeling like he couldn’t miss one.

That planted the seed for his first trip, when Rowe took a small group from his church on the road in a car to watch the Cards. Although Rowe said he had to stop traveling about three years ago for health reasons, he's glad to see the trips continue without him.

“I'm kind of proud of it because at the beginning it didn't start out that big," Rowe said.

They did it before Payne. They’ll inevitably do it after.

But in the meantime, there’s nothing but support for the former Card while he attempts to win back a fan base that has largely moved on.

Herring, who said he’s had U of L season tickets for 40-plus years, has also known Payne for about as long. He’s personally rooting for his success as head coach but knows ultimately Payne will be judged by wins and losses.

“I feel like he needs more time, and I think he needs more support from the university and from the community,” said Herring, who later added, "Now's not the time to be silent. We should raise our voices in support of him as well as the men's basketball team."

Herring believes the university could creatively come up with incentives for those season ticket holders who have, by and large, stopped attending games to show up or donate their tickets to community groups that would.

He's seen the difference and the impact just showing up has had on the team all these years of being on the road. And Red Herring wouldn't lead you wrong.

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball: West End fans continue to support Kenny Payne