Good read.
The first UConn-Tennessee showdown also was not the birth of "Huskymania" in the state of Connecticut. That train steadily had been picking up steam in the decade since coach Geno Auriemma took over the program in 1985. That included the boosts from the Huskies' 1991 Women's Final Four appearance and from the first three seasons of Rebecca Lobo's storied career.
Um no. Connecticut has loved it's basketball teams forever, but the Geno era marked the statewide embrace of the women's program with a passion that is largely unmatched elsewhere.
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"We were hurried off the air; they went to 'The Sports Reporters,'" Griffin recalled, chuckling. "But nobody left Gampel, because everybody understood the magnitude of what happened. It's a shame we didn't have that: 8,000 people just hanging out because nobody wanted to go home. Well ... nobody except the Lady Vols...
We've heard Chris Daley talk about this as well. A great moment for Connecticut basketball.
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However, that first UConn-Tennessee game 20 years ago was a touchstone in not just women's basketball, but women's collegiate sports. Because it showed that with the combination of high-caliber play, big personalities and national television attention, a women's college rivalry really could become a sports phenomenon.
The rise of UConn's woman's basketball brought woman's sports, especially basketball, out of the shadows. That's why I always chuckle when people suggest it is bad for the sport.