For those of you that have ever been to Lexington, Ky., you know that there’s a bit of a rivalry with their in-state pals, Louisville. And in preparation for last Saturday’s matchup between the No. 3 Wildcats and the No. 4 Cardinals, Lexington-based boutique Oneness (featured in Dime #59) decided to stir up the pot, releasing a hoodie referencing John Calipari‘s choice to pretend Louisville doesn’t exist.
“It’s a unique thing,” Calipari said before UK’s Big Blue Madness event in October. “There’s no other state, none, that’s as connected to their basketball program as this one. Because those other states have other programs. Michigan has Michigan State, California has UCLA, North Carolina has Duke. It’s Kentucky throughout this whole state, and that’s what makes us unique.”
To quote Trace Adkins, “Them there’s fightin’ words.” So after seeing the hoodie, I decided to get up with Oneness co-owner Joe Staley to find out more.
“Back in October Cal basically said ‘Louisville doesn’t exist,’ and I thought that would be a pretty nice way to disrespect them for the rivalry game, so I made the artwork and sat on it for a few months,” says Staley. “We released it about 10 days ago and people went nuts.”
Consumers weren’t the only ones to go nuts. Eric Crawford of the The Courier-Journal in Louisville went off. And on Twitter, the #LouisvilleDoesntExist hashtag blew up.
“It’s been hectic in the shop,” says Staley. “Kentucky fans are very dedicated, and sales have been through the roof. We won, thank god. And now sales are still strong.”
If you want to get your hands on one of these hoodies in either blue or black, they’re available at www.oneness287.com for $40.
What do you think?
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