AD Manuel has critics, but many of his moves have flourished Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/uconn

[specialisthusky]

After my last experience on a summer Hartford Saturday night, I see absolutely zero need to every go back there - it's an in and out at best. No draw to hang out. City is descending rapidly as a social go to.

I am not singling you out specifically just picking your post to ask a question that has been bugging me and I get the point you are making in terms of preferred marketing value in NYC dma v. Hartford but why do so many people in this state hate Downtown Hartford? I moved downtown from Philly a few years ago and have really enjoyed the move. There seems to be so much hatred towards Hartford that I don't understand. I realized it's not NYC or Philly the second I looked at the unit prior to moving up. That being said there is enough going on in Hartford that I'm shocked so many people in the area hate/mock the city.

 

[Husky25]

It's even more of a commuter city now more so than it was just 10 years ago. I worked in Downtown from 1999 to 2001 and again for a period last spring. Back when I was just out of college, there was a strange phenomenon that the entire professional population shifted from Main, Pearl, and Trumbull to Ann, Union, and Asylum at 5:00. That didn't seem to happen last year in my expeience. Coulda been my age, but I don't think so.

The Whalers leaving in 1997 didn't help. but other businesses have also left for the cheaper rents of the suburbs. What other city lays claim to a major part of their skyline that standing vacant (BOA Building).

The city was already lacking for residential real estate, which they've improved...sort of with Hartford 21 and a couple other places...but there is still no grocery store. Can you legitimately shop for groceries at the CVS on Central Row? Also, in order to build hartford 21...bye bye Civic Center mall.

When businesses leave, and there is no specific reason to go into the city at night. If you're there during the day, maybe you hang around so you don't have to pay twice for parking. A secondary negative of the business leaving downtown and the lack of patronage of restaurants, cafes, and bistro's. If they are struggling to make a worthwhile lunchtime hour buck, can they they really rely on dinner "crowds" that have no other reason to come into the city? Even the McDonalds and Wendy's got out of Dodge.

 

[UConn990411]

The Manuel critics on this board are who I like to refer to as the lowest common denominator of society. Just not a lot of intelligence in that group.

Warde's has been fine as an AD so far. He hasn't been a rock star by any stretch, but the worst you can objectively say about him right now is that he's been underwhelming.

As far as Hartford is concerned, downtown feels like it's making a little bit of a comeback. There are actually a few good bars there, which I wouldn't have said even 5 years ago. If UConn-Hartford develops more of an on-campus presence, that would only help with the revival.

 

[Hoophound]

The Manuel critics on this board are who I like to refer to as the lowest common denominator of society. Just not a lot of intelligence in that group.

Warde's has been fine as an AD so far. He hasn't been a rock star by any stretch, but the worst you can objectively say about him right now is that he's been underwhelming.

As far as Hartford is concerned, downtown feels like it's making a little bit of a comeback. There are actually a few good bars there, which I wouldn't have said even 5 years ago. If UConn-Hartford develops more of an on-campus presence, that would only help with the revival.

What a pompous, douchbaggyish post. Warde hasn't been perfect. He isn't bad either. Calling people the lowest common denominator for criticizing him sounds like something Warde's mother would say.

 

[upstater]

The Manuel critics on this board are who I like to refer to as the lowest common denominator of society. Just not a lot of intelligence in that group.

Warde's has been fine as an AD so far. He hasn't been a rock star by any stretch, but the worst you can objectively say about him right now is that he's been underwhelming.

As far as Hartford is concerned, downtown feels like it's making a little bit of a comeback. There are actually a few good bars there, which I wouldn't have said even 5 years ago. If UConn-Hartford develops more of an on-campus presence, that would only help with the revival.

You're fit to judge?

 

[UConn990411]

What a pompous, douchbaggyish post. Warde hasn't been perfect. He isn't bad either. Calling people the lowest common denominator for criticizing him sounds like something Warde's mother would say.

I'm not talking about the people who criticize Warde's performance as an AD - I have no problem with posters who criticize the way he handled the Ollie situation, even if I don't agree.

My post was aimed at the people who make the donut jokes nonstop.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Sounds like progress from when I lived there. Nobody I knew there would dream of going to Hartford for anything.

I'm sorry if there weren't many Whaler fans down here in the '8o's & '90's (we had closer, longer established and successful NHL teams here at that time) but that is no reason to dis the greatest asset this state has.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I was a big pro-Manuel guy early on but over time I've come to view him as an unmitigated disaster. Even when he does something good he manages to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. It would be great if Michigan needed an Associate AD for Something or other and they gave him the job.

Was this because he gave Ollie an extension?

 

[Hoophound]

I'm not talking about the people who criticize Warde's performance as an AD - I have no problem with posters who criticize the way he handled the Ollie situation, even if I don't agree.

My post was aimed at the people who make the donut jokes nonstop.

Well then, I apologize. The donut jokes are stupid and insensitive.

 

[whaler11]

I'm sorry if there weren't many Whaler fans down here in the '8o's & '90's (we had closer, longer established and successful NHL teams here at that time) but that is no reason to dis the greatest asset this state has.

I'm not dissing it at all and I lived there in the 2000s. I'd love to see the school make a better effort in Ffld Cty - but the vast majority of non-alums don't even consider going to Hartford for anything.

 

[Hoophound]

I'm not dissing it at all and I lived there in the 2000s. I'd love to see the school make a better effort in Ffld Cty - but the vast majority of non-alums don't even consider going to Hartford for anything.

That is pretty much true but more so in southern Fairfield County. Greenwich, Westport, Darien etc. are all about NYC, but go any further north and you would pull more than a few of those folks to see Big 10 football. You'd pull quite a few B10 alumns from lower Fairfield too.

Another important factor----as UConn competes with the Michigans and Wisconsins academically, more of the rich folk's kids in Fairfield County will consider UConn. It's probably already happening quite a bit. This will lead to sold football tickets in Fairfield County over time, especially with a B1G schedule.

 

[whaler11]

That is pretty much true but more so in southern Fairfield County. Greenwich, Westport, Darien etc. are all about NYC, but go any further north and you would pull more than a few of those folks to see Big 10 football. You'd pull quite a few B10 alumns from lower Fairfield too.

Another important factor----as UConn competes with the Michigans and Wisconsins academically, more of the rich folk's kids in Fairfield County will consider UConn. It's probably already happening quite a bit. This will lead to sold football tickets in Fairfield County over time, especially with a B1G schedule.

Sure. The issue being the only place UConn joining the Big 10 is a conversation is in this echo chamber.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I'm not dissing it at all and I lived there in the 2000s. I'd love to see the school make a better effort in Ffld Cty - but the vast majority of non-alums don't even consider going to Hartford for anything.

Other than a UConn athletic event, what should we go to Hartford for?

 

[J187Money]

That is pretty much true but more so in southern Fairfield County. Greenwich, Westport, Darien etc. are all about NYC, but go any further north and you would pull more than a few of those folks to see Big 10 football. You'd pull quite a few B10 alumns from lower Fairfield too.

Another important factor----as UConn competes with the Michigans and Wisconsins academically, more of the rich folk's kids in Fairfield County will consider UConn. It's probably already happening quite a bit. This will lead to sold football tickets in Fairfield County over time, especially with a B1G schedule.

Until UCONN is heavily recruited by big NYC companies it is a harder sell. One of my long standing issues. I could go on for days about this.

 

[whaler11]

Other than a UConn athletic event, what should we go to Hartford for?

Doesn't this sort of prove the point?

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Doesn't this sort of prove the point?

What exactly is your point? It seems like you are saying that because those of us down here would prefer traveling 30-40 miles to see a play on Broadway to the alternative of an 80-90 mile trek to Hartford to see something a few levels below Broadway, this part of the state should be viewed as outcasts.

 

[whaler11]

What exactly is your point? It seems like you are saying that because those of us down here would prefer traveling 30-40 miles to see a play on Broadway to the alternative of an 80-90 mile trek to Hartford to see something a few levels below Broadway, this part of the state should be viewed as outcasts.

No I'm saying that people there generally don't consider traveling to Hartford but if UConn could get better support from that area it would be a huge benefit for the programs.

Let's not go overboard with all of Fairfield Cty being that much closer to Manhattan. For one Danbury and Bridgeport are closer to Hartford than mid-town.

 

[J187Money]

My wife and I routinely go to the city for dinner. And I would never go to Hartford for dinner. And I live in Milford.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

If UConn's campus was in Hartford (or no more than a stone's throw away) I could see how 'travelling to Hartford' would add some ancillary benefit to the school. In the world we live in however, I don't see (getting back to an earlier post which you responded that my comment was your point) how only going to Hartford to support UConn athletics does anything to lessen support for the programs.

As far as 'going overboard', I imagine that you need to be quite selective in terms of where in Bridgeport you are departing from and what parts of Manhattan and Hartford you view as your destination in order to claim Hartford is closer than Manhattan. Additionally, my best friend of well over 30 years (I was his best man, he was mine, I am godfather to his son and he is godfather to mine) has lived in Danbury for nearly 20 years. He and his wife travel to NYC more often than I do and have never complained about the trip. When I worked in Hartford (for nearly five years from the mid to late 1990's) I invited him to many events that were going on there and his excuse always was that it was too much of a hassle to get to Hartford.

Both aside, if all other things (distance, ease of travel) were equal do you really believe that there would be any reason (beyond UConn sports) to choose Hartford over NYC?

Sorry for rambling but I really would like an answer to this question (which sort of ended the first statement in this post): How does going to Hartford for non UConn events support the athletic programs?

 

[Hoophound]

With all due respect, as someone that has lived in Hartford, Boston, NYC, Fairfield County and Miami, I'd rather see most major events in Hartford vs any of the others. It is easy to get in and out and on event nights, its fun. I also like West Hartford Center in conjunction with games, concerts and plays in Hartford. The idea that going to NYC is always better than Hartford isn't true in my mind. I've never been stuck in traffic for 3-6 hours just outside Hartford due to accidents etc. I've been stuck in obscene northbound traffic out of NYC many times. I've never had issues parking in Hartford and I've never had any other significant hassle in Hartford. It is a piece of cake to go to events there.

 

[whaler11]

I'm not arguing there is any reason to visit Hartford. I work there and have lived there. It's a hell hole. The vast majority of non-UConn alums in Fairfield County won't travel to Hartford or East Hartford for anything - including UConn games.

It's certainly not easier to drive to NYC from Danbury or Bridgeport than it is Hartford. Danbury is 57 miles from Hartford and 66 miles from MSG. Bridgeport is 55 miles from Hartford and 59 from MSG. Is anyone going to argue there is less traffic between Bport and Manhattan than Bport and Hartford? Come on.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Hoophound, I imagine that this is a case of familiarity being the root of the preference. I've always found NYC to be far easier to enter, park and exit than Hartford. In NYC you can always find parking. In Hartford, unless you know all of the facilities very well, you are taking a chance at getting shut out and spending 40 minutes trying to find somewhere to leave your car.

When I worked in Hartford I dealt with the worst rush hour traffic that I've ever dealt with; everyone, from all directions is heading to one place and the only option is which leg of 84 (eastbound or westbound) or 91 (northbound or southbound) that will get you there. Granted, most commutes of any distance while living and working down here were departing Stamford so I have caught a bit of a break with that (I doubt that I would survive commuting into Stamford from say Bridgeport or further) but the only time I was stuck for hours was a few times commuting home from Hartford. 91 south was a longer route but I began taking that (to 695 west I believe) when there seemed to be an accident on 84 west every evening. One day (I think it was late May 1996) we were at a full stop on 91 south, barely out of Hartford when we saw helicopters flying over. Everyone turned their cars off and waited (sat on the hood as it was a beautiful day) for about two and a half hours before traffic started moving again. A barely 30 mile commute took 80-90 minutes on a good day (except for mornings when I left the house at 5:30 am, then I could get there in half an hour).

Again, I know NYC far better than I know Hartford and this plays a large role in my feelings for both cities(I imagine that the same can be said for you). Add to the equation that you are talking 30 miles (to NYC) vs 90 miles (to Hartford), it would be silly to go to Hartford for something that you can see in NYC. From my perspective (and this was the case from 1995-1999) if it were 30 miles to Hartford vs 90 miles to NYC I still would choose NYC in most cases.

 

[J187Money]

Also, the closer you get to NYC, the quicker the train is. No traffic at all.

 

[Hoophound]

I wasn't making an argument for driving an extra 50 miles to Hartford rather than head to NYC. My point was that I would think someone in Fairfield County that wants to see or is considering seeing a UConn game or maybe a concert in Hartford should be a little more open to it. I have literally bounced around NYC until 2pm, gone to Greenwich, showered, been to Pizza Post on Rt 1 and then headed to Hartford for a bball game with no real rush at all. It just isn't a big deal.

Familiarity with the area makes me more comfortable doing it but still, learning to get in and out of Hartford is very easy. One thing about Hartford, there generally is very little traffic after 6pm and on weekends. So traffic rarely factors into going to an event.

 

[Nostical]

Doesn't it all come down to desire? Measuring the difference in miles, time or parking between New York and Hartford only masks that reality. If you were to drill down, you would find that the real reason those Danbury folks prefer dining or entertainment in NYC over Hartford has less to do with time and traffic, and more about what's waiting at the end of the trip. We drive 2 hours from Boston and 2 hours back to almost every game. We don't talk about the time, traffic or tolls being an impediment. Why? Because we really want to be at these games. So we make the time and find the money. And we're certainly not alone. Many others with a desire to be at UConn football games do so as well. For downstate residents, UConn football must become the place to be. Creative marketing, promotion and outreach campaigns in Fairfield County need to be implemented with a sense of urgency. Then, coupled with on-field success, Husky football can become a curiosity that translates into attendance and enjoyment, hopefully kindling a desire to make these games a priority in their lives.