Borges: Is Providence College becoming heated rival for UConn men’s basketball team? Depends on who you ask

[aburks41]

I just don’t see how Cuse or Pitt are even relevant to us anymore. If we continue our success and others in conference do, those will be our new rivals.

Honestly I'm a confused why we haven't kept the series going with those 2. We should start up a H/H with both of them so every year we play Cuse at home and Pitt away, and vice-versa. I guess with the MTE and BE/B12 and BE/B10 challenges there aren't many OOC game slots available, but still...why let a great rivalry just die out??

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Sounds pretty casual

With certain opponents I imagine that would be a valid statement.


Of course you put all things on your life on hold in order to attend every home game.......

 

[HitDog]

I guess living in Pawcatuck and and dealing with many PC fans in the bar makes it feel much more like a real rivalry.

And after reading this thread I now realize that the Red Sox and Yankees really aren't rivals or at least weren't until 2004 or so when they finally won.

 

[KingAG]

I guess living in Pawcatuck and and dealing with many PC fans in the bar makes it feel much more like a real rivalry.

And after reading this thread I now realize that the Red Sox and Yankees really aren't rivals or at least weren't until 2004 or so when they finally won.

What a terrible comparison lmao. The Sox/Yanks rivalry goes back to babe Ruth and the world wars

 

[HuskyHawk]

Just my take but if I were to hear that we have a game scheduled with Cuse, whether it be in on of the greater NYC venues, Hartford or Gampel, I would take time off work, pay scalper prices and pull out all stops to be there.

If someone offered free, quality seats to a UConn-PC game, unless attending the game would be quite convenient (weekend, no concern over needing to head out too early or return home too late) there's a very strong likelyhood that I would pass.

Nah. The one road game I always went to was PC. The convenience trumps everything. Plus, PC always played UConn very tough, even when we had much better teams than they did. Syracuse is a zombie program at this point. The only opponent I'd pull out all the stops to see in person is KU. Not even Duke anymore. Among conference rivals, Villanova is the top ticket for sure. Creighton is probably in the #2 spot.

 

[Huskymagic]

I just don’t see how Cuse or Pitt are even relevant to us anymore. If we continue our success and others in conference do, those will be our new rivals.

Syracuse and Pitt are true rivals. Games against those 2 whether home or away were always rocking and crazy good atmosphere. We were always competing with them in meaningful games that were relevant in the Big East and nationally.

It’s the same for Cuse and Pitt with us. Part of their declines are due to no rivalries down in the ACC. Pitt has become so bad that they’re arena is basically empty now due to apathy and performance. Peterson used to be a great venue. Once Capel is canned, and they hire a decent coach, this rivalry should be reignited.

We should get them on the schedule yearly. There definitely is interest on both sides.

Most UCONN fans are like me. They don’t care about Providence, Seton Hall, and the St Johns, of the world to make it some rivalry even they have a successful year or two.

Especially with Jay Wright retiring, restarting our rivalries with Cuse and Pitt makes sense.

 

[Get a Job]

Syracuse has historically had a bigger rivalry with Georgetown than us, so we're a secondary rival. But we think of them as perhaps our primary rival. We have other primary rivals, but PC fans think of us as a primary rival.

Providence is our annoying little brother that still lives in our parents' basement. If we are Syracuse's little brother, we annoy them because we are living the dream while their once promising life is going down the toilet (at least in terms of national championships and current trajectory).

 

[Inyatkin]

Syracuse and Pitt are true rivals. Games against those 2 whether home or away were always rocking and crazy good atmosphere. We were always competing with them in meaningful games that were relevant in the Big East and nationally.

It’s the same for Cuse and Pitt with us. Part of their declines are due to no rivalries down in the ACC. Pitt has become so bad that they’re arena is basically empty now due to apathy and performance. Peterson used to be a great venue. Once Capel is canned, and they hire a decent coach, this rivalry should be reignited.

We should get them on the schedule yearly. There definitely is interest on both sides.

Most UCONN fans are like me. They don’t care about Providence, Seton Hall, and the St Johns, of the world to make it some rivalry even they have a successful year or two.

Especially with Jay Wright retiring, restarting our rivalries with Cuse and Pitt makes sense.

Pitt was our rival, in the sense that we were both really good at the same time in the same conference. But there's no future there, so no sense in bringing it back. They're just Rhode Island or Miami or Cincinnati or other once-upon-a-time rivals at this point.
Syracuse is pretty close to that point, too. And the fact that people here are playing up Creighton, of all things, as our new rival should illuminate the truth here -- we have no true rivals.
Which is fine.

 

[Kolumbo]

Andy Roddick was once asked about his rivalry with Roger Federer. I give him credit when he said, "it's not really a rivalry since Federer has beaten me every single time we have played".

A-Rodd is a great sport about it.

 

[gtcam]

Seton Hall seems like a rival?????
Yeah ok - maybe to Rutgers or New Jersey Tech
That's comical
Just because there is a hatred towards to Providence College - and I completely understand why - doesn't preclude them from rival status
While I don't think PC is a real rival, the proximity of the schools has always had to do with creating a rivalry
Are they now? Nope
But I consider them more a "rival" than Seton Hall
The only rivalry I feel is Cuse and maybe a bit of SJU

 

[CL82]

Here's the fan opinion piece which is part 2 to the original article What UConn men’s basketball fans say about rivalry with Providence: ‘Annoying little brother’

Dave used my quote for the headline hahaha. PC fans were big time mad in my mentions over that

LOL, I use the phrase “little brother” one time on a conference members board and they completely melted down. I avoid it now.

 

[aburks41]

LOL, I use the phrase “little brother” one time on a conference members board and they completely melted down. I avoid it now.

I use it all the time on twitter whenever they come at me lol. I just call them a poverty program and that usually breaks their brains

 

[aburks41]

Providence is our annoying little brother that still lives in our parents' basement. If we are Syracuse's little brother, we annoy them because we are living the dream while their once promising life is going down the toilet (at least in terms of national championships and current trajectory).

How can we be little brother when we have more national championships, and Big East titles than they do? Anyone who thinks we are "little brother" to Syracuse is delusional

 

[auror]

How can we be little brother when we have more national championships, and Big East titles than they do? Anyone who thinks we are "little brother" to Syracuse is delusional

Nobody thinks this. The analogy isn't about program quality, it's about primacy of rivalries and not being symmetrical.

Syracuse - Gtown, Syracuse - UConn.
UConn - Syracuse, UConn - Providence
Providence - UConn, Providence - URI.

Thus Providence is to UConn (secondary rivalry) as UConn is to Syracuse (secondary rivalry).

Just because we're not Syracuse's primary rival doesn't mean they think we're the little brother. It's just that they have someone they hate more, just as we have someone we hate more than Providence. We happen to also think Providence is a little brother, but an analogy doesn't mean it's an exact copy of a relationship, just similar.

 

[CL82]

How can we be little brother when we have more national championships, and Big East titles than they do? Anyone who thinks we are "little brother" to Syracuse is delusional

4 > 1*

 

[CL82]

Nobody thinks this. The analogy isn't about program quality, it's about primacy of rivalries and not being symmetrical.

Syracuse - Gtown, Syracuse - UConn.
UConn - Syracuse, UConn - Providence
Providence - UConn, Providence - URI.

Thus Providence is to UConn (secondary rivalry) as UConn is to Syracuse (secondary rivalry).

Just because we're not Syracuse's primary rival doesn't mean they think we're the little brother. It's just that they have someone they hate more, just as we have someone we hate more than Providence. We happen to also think Providence is a little brother, but an analogy doesn't mean it's an exact copy of a relationship, just similar.

And yet if you go on syracusefan.com you will find a heck of a lot more UConn content than Georgetown content. I think that speaks to who they spend their time thinking about.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Nobody thinks this. The analogy isn't about program quality, it's about primacy of rivalries and not being symmetrical.

Syracuse - Gtown, Syracuse - UConn.
UConn - Syracuse, UConn - Providence
Providence - UConn, Providence - URI.

Thus Providence is to UConn (secondary rivalry) as UConn is to Syracuse (secondary rivalry).

Just because we're not Syracuse's primary rival doesn't mean they think we're the little brother. It's just that they have someone they hate more, just as we have someone we hate more than Providence. We happen to also think Providence is a little brother, but an analogy doesn't mean it's an exact copy of a relationship, just similar.

The problem with your logic is that PC isn't anywhere near second on our list.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I really look forward to playing Providence, St. John's and Seton Hall as regional rivals, but I don't see them developing into anything like the Syracuse or Pitt rivalries.

 

[kemba]

As of now providence the name does nothing for me, so I don’t consider them a rival. If they keep being in the top 1-3 of the big east I’ll be pumped for those games each year, but no more so than if Marquette was a top team in the big east. Over time if we’re year after year competing with big east championships with them and playing memorable BET games against them things could change, but that takes time.

 

[SubbaBub]

Is Providence College becoming heated rival for UConn men’s basketball team? Depends on who you ask

Are Providence College and UConn men’s basketball team Big East rivals? Coaches Dan...

www.nhregister.com

Did Ryan Gomes enter the chat. I think PC was a rival for about a half and then a JC presser.

Stop trying to make this happen. Our rival is whomever is good when we are good. We aren't good enough yet to have rivals. Nova is the closest based on history of being good when we were good 25 years ago.

When we are fighting PC for the top two spots for multiple years where the winner of the matchups wins the title, then we'll talk. A 1 win 1 NC, in PC's first title year doesn't cut it.

 

[8893]

Did Ryan Gomes enter the chat. I think PC was a rival for about a half and then a JC presser.

Stop trying to make this happen. Our rival is whomever is good when we are good. We aren't good enough yet to have rivals. Nova is the closest based on history of being good when we were good 25 years ago.

When we are fighting PC for the top two spots for multiple years where the winner of the matchups wins the title, then we'll talk. A 1 win 1 NC, in PC's first title year doesn't cut it.

Uh, I didn't write the article, bub.

I posted it because I thought it might be of interest to some here, seeing as this is a UConn basketball forum and it is an issue that has been the subject of much prior discussion here.

Ok boomer?

 

[SubbaBub]

Stop living in the past

Stop inventing a future that may never come.

 

[tcf15]

Historically, no. Going forward, yes.

 

[bigknight3]

Historically, no. Going forward, yes.

Maybe

 

[August_West]

The Pitt thing is confusing to me. Pitt isn’t a rival we should be talking about in 2022. Our “ rivalry” with Pitt lasted a grand total of 8 years in the 2000’s and has been fully over with for 12. Have we even played them in the last decade? Those 8 years had some wars and great games, but that’s long over.

The fact of the matter in 2022 is, sadly, we actually really don’t have a big time rival. I guess Nova kinda fits the bill in some ways, but not in the way Cuse did when we were all in BigEast. Nova was never our even 3rd or 4th rival in the old big East, but now we are in a league with them again and people keep trying to make fetch happen simply because they’ve been great for a while during our absence? It doesn’t work like that.

I’ve never in the past considered providence a rival, but I see ( them maintaining success and us achieving some being a prerequisite) the possibility of this turning into one going forward. It has all the pieces set to make it one, that’s for sure. We will see what happens.

 

[T-Squared]

In all seriousness, I can't remember a very important Providence / UConn game in years. I can think of huge games with Pitt, Syracuse, Villanova, Miami, St. Johns, Georgetown, Cincinnati... but there's not a "Providence - UConn" moment.

Eric Murdoch spitting on Tate George.

 

[M.S.G.]

I responded to Dave's tweet, for me it's the insipid PC fans that I know in real life who talk like they're a blue blood.. It just makes my blood boil.

It's not 1998 or 2007 anymore, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Georgetown are not our rivals. Villanova is the closest thing, but uh, we need to beat them a few more times to claim it.

PC is our rival, we have been beaten out for recruits by them, we've lost players off our roster to them, and we've lost games to them (and beaten them) in the past 2 years being back in the conference. They are our biggest rival currently.

 

[NYtoCT]

Being in the same league matters. Ask the players

The players feed off the energy and emotions of the fans. Playing syracuse is a big deal for the fan base, therefore, it’s a big deal to the players because they are well aware of how important it is to the fans to win that one. They are also well aware that syracuse fans will do some major trash talking if we lose. You don’t think that matters to the players?

 

[CL82]

The Pitt thing is confusing to me. Pitt isn’t a rival we should be talking about in 2022. Our “ rivalry” with Pitt lasted a grand total of 8 years in the 2000’s and has been fully over with for 12. Have we even played them in the last decade? Those 8 years had some wars and great games, but that’s long over.

The fact of the matter in 2022 is, sadly, we actually really don’t have a big time rival. I guess Nova kinda fits the bill in some ways, but not in the way Cuse did when we were all in BigEast. Nova was never our even 3rd or 4th rival in the old big East, but now we are in a league with them again and people keep trying to make fetch happen simply because they’ve been great for a while during our absence? It doesn’t work like that.

I’ve never in the past considered providence a rival, but I see ( them maintaining success and us achieving some being a prerequisite) the possibility of this turning into one going forward. It has all the pieces set to make it one, that’s for sure. We will see what happens.

PC jumping up and down saying they are our rival is trying to make fetch happen. It’s a very Rutgers vibe.

 

[McLovin]

The more time we spend thinking about and discussing them, the more we are willing this “rivalry” into existence.

I think the hallmark sign of a rival is how much head space they take up.