LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Expansion teams are supposed to arrive apologetically. They are supposed to lose. They are supposed to tell everybody to be patient. They are supposed to explain that building takes time.
The Louisville Kings apparently misplaced the script.
Three months after kicking off their first season, the Kings stood beneath falling confetti Saturday evening at Audi Field, champions of the UFL after a 27-20 victory over the DC Defenders before a sellout crowd. The players celebrated. The fans celebrated.
And coach Chris Redman stood there soaked in BodyArmor — twice. With 1:05 remaining, players dumped it over his head. A few moments later, they did it again. Redman lifted both arms into the air. "Feels good," he said. That may have been the understatement of the season.
Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford
The Kings didn't just win a championship Saturday. They completed one of the most improbable first seasons Louisville sports has seen in a long time. Not because they were undefeated. Not because they were dominant. Because they were neither.
The Kings started 0-3. Three weeks into their existence, they looked less like champions than a franchise trying to figure out where the exits were.
Most coaches would have celebrated their first victory. Redman spent his worrying. He didn't like what he saw. He didn't like what he felt. He didn't trust what appeared to be progress. So he did something coaches are usually too scared to do. He changed everything.
The Kings traded quarterback Jason Bean and promoted Chandler Rogers. They reshaped the roster. They reshaped the culture. They reshaped the season. At the time, it looked reckless. Now it looks prophetic.
By the end of the season, Louisville wasn't the most talented team in the UFL. It was something more dangerous. It knew exactly what it was. The Kings became a team that ran the football, played defense and treated style points as an unnecessary luxury.
Saturday's championship game looked like a summary of their entire season. Louisville completed nine passes for 81 yards. Rogers threw two interceptions. The Kings were outgained. The Defenders piled up 262 rushing yards. None of it mattered.
Because Louisville forced three turnovers. Because Louisville scored a defensive touchdown. Because Tanner Brown kicked field goals from 57 and 38 yards. Because Ian Wheeler ripped through the middle for a 44-yard touchdown run. Because James Robinson finished another drive with a touchdown. Because every time the game threatened to tilt away from them, the Kings grabbed it by the collar and dragged it back.
This wasn't a championship won by a perfect football team. It was won by a stubborn one. And stubborn may be the most Louisville trait imaginable.
This city has always had a weakness for teams that get told what they're supposed to be and decide otherwise. The Kings were supposed to spend their first season building toward something. Instead, they arrived there. Eight wins in their final nine games. A championship trophy. A crowd of drenched players looking for somebody else to hug. An inaugural season that somehow ended at the finish line.
One day there will be another UFL champion. One day Louisville may have another spring football team. But nobody gets another first season. Nobody gets another inaugural championship. Nobody gets another chance to arrive and immediately become a champion.
The Louisville Kings were supposed to spend Year One figuring things out. Instead, they spent it winning the league.
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