Death of The "Casual Fan"

[UC313]

Im still a ride or die guy but im a lot more likely to take a trip to the basement during half time to ease the pain and doze off in the 2nd half than i ever was before. It hurts and it sucks but im far from ready to give up.

Like my old man told me as a young(er) man .... kid, you always need to have some suck in your life. Its kinda like when you get something stuck in your eye and it bothers the hell out of you for hours on end. Then, all of a sudden, you get it out. That feeling of "ahhhh". There's no better feeling than that.

I hope like hell weve got somethin in our eye right now and we're gonna get it out soon.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

Like my old man told me as a young(er) man .... kid, you always need to have some suck in your life. Its kinda like when you get something stuck in your eye and it bothers the hell out of you for hours on end. Then, all of a sudden, you get it out. That feeling of "ahhhh". There's no better feeling than that.

Your old man has a great handle on life. No good without evil, no highs without lows. I wish my dad had some great pearls of wisdom. Best I can offer is Jesse Ventura's line "win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat".

 

[RJScootin]

Best I can offer is Jesse Ventura's line "win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat".

Sounds like a Bill Belichick quote.

 

[UC313]

Your old man has a great handle on life. No good without evil, no highs without lows. I wish my dad had some great pearls of wisdom. Best I can offer is Jesse Ventura's line "win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat".

Big Bruce thanks you.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I still wear a fair amount of UConn gear. I used to get all sorts of comments about what a storied basketball program we had. Now the two most common comments are:

"Geno does a great job with the girls"

And

"What the hell happened to the basketball team?"

I love watching the kids play, but if circumstances dictate that I miss part of a game or have to listen on the radio while driving somewhere I am ok with that. I used to attend EVERY home game and some road games in places like Boston, Philly or D.C. Now I attend a couple of games a season and believe that hope will return when a very good coach is brought in.

Question 3 - What league are you guys in?

 

[uconngb]

Your old man has a great handle on life. No good without evil, no highs without lows. I wish my dad had some great pearls of wisdom. Best I can offer is Jesse Ventura's line "win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat".

I thought that was Fred Blassi?

 

[8893]

Well, on the bright side, I've gotten some crazy good clearance deals on high quality UConn merchandise this season, as demand seems to be flagging; and I expect that deeper discounts are still to come.

 

[Dove]

Well, on the bright side, I've gotten some crazy good clearance deals on high quality UConn merchandise this season, as demand seems to be flagging; and I expect that deeper discounts are still to come.

I got a $8 Vance Jackson jersey!!!!!

 

[8893]

I got a $8 Vance Jackson jersey!!!!!

From his dad?

 

[pj]

I would say that we overestimated the die-hards. Die-hards don't abandon the team or become casual, so what we're really seeing now is the true die-hards versus casuals who upped their game for a few years when it was fashionable. And it was fashionable to go to the games from the Dream Season on. Some of them may also have been fanatical bandwagon people who have fallen off the wagon. I still watch every game, visit the yard and follow all the sports, even the non-televised ones. I love my school. Just went to UConn/UNH hockey this weekend.
I was recently talking to the wife about moving to Florida (not doing it at this point). I was trying to find a location that would make trips to USF and UCF easier so I could see the team when they come to town. I'd settled on Westchase in northern Tampa. But that's what UConn means to me. I choose my future home based on my ability to support my school and stay an engaged fan.

Even die-hards avert their eyes from pain. You can be a die-hard supporter of the Jews and not want to watch Holocaust videos. I'm a die-hard supporter of the Huskies, but there are times when I need to look away.

 

[RJScootin]

Even die-hards avert their eyes from pain. You can be a die-hard supporter of the Jews and not want to watch Holocaust videos. I'm a die-hard supporter of the Huskies, but there are times when I need to look away.

That escalated quickly

 

[8893]

Things I learned on the Boneyard this weekend:

1. Joe Zone is killing our democracy.

2. Kevin Ollie is committing genocide.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

Even die-hards avert their eyes from pain. You can be a die-hard supporter of the Jews and not want to watch Holocaust videos. I'm a die-hard supporter of the Huskies, but there are times when I need to look away.

Completely agree, but you watched in the first place. I made it to 10 minutes left in the game (I watched it on DVR delayed by about 30 minutes). With about 10 minutes l;eft in the game I hit FF once and kept an eye on it from there. I do it all the time with baseball. No runners, no need to watch. I call it speedball. I went back to regular speed at the 2 minute mark, saw the updated score and then did my mercy killing. DELETE.

 

[UConnDan97]

I would say that we overestimated the die-hards. Die-hards don't abandon the team or become casual, so what we're really seeing now is the true die-hards versus casuals who upped their game for a few years when it was fashionable. And it was fashionable to go to the games from the Dream Season on. Some of them may also have been fanatical bandwagon people who have fallen off the wagon. I still watch every game, visit the yard and follow all the sports, even the non-televised ones. I love my school. Just went to UConn/UNH hockey this weekend.
I was recently talking to the wife about moving to Florida (not doing it at this point). I was trying to find a location that would make trips to USF and UCF easier so I could see the team when they come to town. I'd settled on Westchase in northern Tampa. But that's what UConn means to me. I choose my future home based on my ability to support my school and stay an engaged fan.

Well said, Fairfield!

A loss still ruins my entire week. If my wife is out shopping and comes home after I've watched a game and sees me moping around, she immediately says, "They lost, didn't they?" A rational friend would probably tell someone like me to get a grip or re-evaluate what's important in life. They'd be correct, of course. But I'd probably reply something silly like, "Bro, do you even Boneyard???"

I'll continue to share your pain while I rifle through my clothes drawer to figure out which UConn shirt is appropriate for a Monday...

 

[RoderickSpode]

Even die-hards avert their eyes from pain. You can be a die-hard supporter of the Jews and not want to watch Holocaust videos. I'm a die-hard supporter of the Huskies, but there are times when I need to look away.

 

[Stainmaster]

This is a smart take, and illustrative of a large problem that transcends many other factors.

 

[Greathusky]

I have been a diehard fan since the Perno days. Most of my friends are aware of this.

When they see me these days, they greet me as if I lost a loved one.

"So sorry for your loss".

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Even die-hards avert their eyes from pain. You can be a die-hard supporter of the Jews and not want to watch Holocaust videos. I'm a die-hard supporter of the Huskies, but there are times when I need to look away.

Are you really equating the past few basketball seasons to the holocaust?

 

[Dove]

From his dad?

No, not from Shmance.

 

[pj]

Are you really equating the past few basketball seasons to the holocaust?

No. The natural human pattern of averting one's eyes from pain is universal, but it does not mean that all pains are equal.

 

[Deepster]

Yesterday I was watching the first half. We had a lead!!!!!!!!!!

Then I drifted off to Starz Extreme to watch Miracle and got sucked in as we beat Russia. I was so stoked!!!!!!

Then went back to the Men's game. Pin meet balloon.

During the prime of our prime, you missed a game because you raked leaves.

The Boneyard doesn’t forget.

 

[UCweCONN]

UCONN used to be a big talking point at my company. Now the only thing I hear are snarky remarks like, "Great game last night.....", "Did you watch the game last night? What a joke." "At least we have the women's team." etc. Mostly it's apathy. People just don't care anymore. They've become accepting that this is our reality now. No one gets upset anymore.

 

[Ewekon]

Even die-hards avert their eyes from pain. You can be a die-hard supporter of the Jews and not want to watch Holocaust videos. I'm a die-hard supporter of the Huskies, but there are times when I need to look away.

PJ. You are a good poster and fan. Of that I have no doubt. Please re think your post and perhaps offer a self rebuttal. That was a real bad swing and miss. Really.

Peace.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

UConn Basketball can be successful in the AAC and most if not all of our wounds in this league are self inflicted.

That issue with the fanbase? That's a lot harder to say. I was lucky enough to be in Storrs pre-realignment and had a group text fired up for most games (football too).

These days the only person that even texts UConn sports is my old man (also an alum). Nobody cares anymore about these league games. It's sad but it's the reality my interest isn't the same either.

 

[Bryan Lord]

My dad barely watches any games anymore. Same with a bunch of other former casual fans I know.