EMOTIONAL attachment to women's basketball

[mike1989]

maybe its just me (i have a strong feeling it is not) but i have a strong emotional attachment to women's basketball.

if the men lost an important game, i wouldn't cry or get inordinately upset. if i saw a men's player walking down the street, i wouldn't freak-out & act star-struck.

now... for women's hoops.. i get very emotional after a win OR loss. i am a man (i don't cry easily.) this woman's team tugs at my heart-strings! last year, at the victory lap.. seeing the bus come around the corner.. seeing bria & stef waving.. seeing bria break-down when it was her turn to talk to the crowd.. how could one not cry! (unless you have a heart of stone.)

if i saw chris dailey or geno walking down the street, i would give them an enthusiastic handshake & say job well done! if i saw moriah jefferson, i would give her a high 5 & say way to go! can't say i would do this or feel this way for coaches & student athletes for the other sports.

ok, please chime-in. i am a loser, i know

 

[UcMiami]

Mike - right on!
I have to say I felt pretty distraught when Buckner booted that ball, and elated when they finally broke the 'curse'. I used to feel that way about the Celtics, still do about the Pats, but ... Yes, I am more invested in Uconn WCBB than any other team. Don't think I have cried, but I have had sleepless nights after a loss or after an NC win!

 

[Oldbones]

This time of year, many of us are like the security guards at the end of The Truman Show, all emotionally spent, and now wondering what else is on the TV.

Thank goodness for UConn reruns..........................

 

[Lobo50Fan]

Definitely not the only one and most definitely not a loser, Mike. I started going to women's basketball games at Stanford about 15 or so years ago with my dad. I've been a fan of UConn for just as long, but I wish I could go to more games. It's always been a bond for my dad and I. Even now almost seven years after he's passed away, it's still something that allows me to feel close to him. He was the one that got me so into the sport and invested in this program.

Following a team, particularly teams as special as the ones UConn has had over the years, and watching the players grow and improve is special. When they win championships and well deserved Player of the Year awards, it makes you feel quite proud that they accomplished such a feat and that you were able to witness it.

There have been moments where it gets to you a bit. The parade last season, as you mentioned, and even the trophy ceremony this season when Stewie got choked up.

 

[HuskyPhan]

Agree with everything above. I'm a 50 year old guy that has followed and loved the Red Sox and Pats my whole life. Played hoops myself and started watching the Uconn women in their first magical run to a National Championship. There is something so incredibly unique and personal following this team. It's hard to put my finger on it-is it that these young women are so down to earth, so hard-working, so incredibly team oriented? All I know is that for the past ten years in particular, I have felt so connected to the team-it's like I have 8 daughters playing for the team. For this reason, I feel so much more passionate for this team than any other team I have followed. I have two real daughters at Uconn right now and they kid all the time that they are far down the depth chart on their dad's favorite Uconn daughter list

All I can say is that Geno, his entire coaching staff and our young players are truly a huge part of my life and I feel so fortunate to feel like I"m part of the Uconn family!

 

[todbo]

We're pretty dedicated fans--used to be season ticket holders until we started snowbirding. Now we travel to see "our" girls when they play winter games in Florida. Emotional attachment? You bet.

At our little NC party (back in CT too early. aaugh), I definitely teared up with Stewie. After all, I've watched her for three years now and Kaleena and Kiah for four. That four-year commitment the UConn women make is key to our emotional involvement with them. We feel that we know them after welcoming them into our home, time and again.

 

[UcMiami]

I started watching because of my dad as well - he was a prof at Uconn and began watching the games on CPTV when they first started and got me hooked on visits in the mid 90s - he was very excited about the signing of the TASSK class, but unfortunately never got to see them on the court as he died the summer before they arrived. I was a casual fan then, but from 1999 on have become a fanatic - I too have that sense of a bond with my dad when I am watching the games.

 

[Sonny44]

I'm a Browns fan which makes it medicinal to fall in love with these girls.

 

[Wally East]

My wife and I essentially met in women's pep band in the '91 season. So, yes, we both have a deep emotional attachment to the team

 

[mike1989]

thanks everyone!

huskyphan said:
"All I know is that for the past ten years in particular, I have felt so connected to the team-it's like I have 8 daughters playing for the team."
YES, that sums it up perfectly

 

[JonB]

maybe its just me (i have a strong feeling it is not) but i have a strong emotional attachment to women's basketball.

An attachment to women's basketball or just to UConn women's basketball? I'm not criticizing; I'm just asking. I follow the Red Sox and Patriots (season ticket holder) and the UConn men and women. I also will stop and watch almost any college basketball game I run across on the tube, but the only games of all of the above that I'll keep watching if it's a complete blowout are the UConn women's games. I can't say exactly why that is other than that it represents the emotional attachment you referred to. But in my case, at least, that particular attachment is to the UConn team, not WCBB in general. (I do have a tendency to shout myself hoarse at Pats games, though!)

 

[rocky rococo]

My longtime fandom of traditional major pro sports teams wanes every year, but as a UConn women's fan I get more and more resilient and intense.

 

[Geno-ista]

Ditto to all of the above- I too am a "recovering loser"!

 

[AllAmerRedHeads]

I remember back in 95. The "First" one. My wife and I cried. I will never forget it. Such pure, raw emotion for a sports team.

I was so often on the other side (Redsox fan).

Yet not all feel that way. I remember the morning of the game. I was in my local supermarket. I went over to the frozen section and there was WTIC Arnold Dean. I chatted with him for a minute and told him how I hadnt been this excited about a game in any sports since the 86 Redsox. He looked at me and said "Really?...Why?" I will never forget it. He thought it was great but didnt understand my depth of emotion when putting it on same level as Redsox in World Series.

No disrespect to Arnold, he was always my fav on TIC, yet at that point, I really realized that not all "got it" the way we did.

Has been awesome over the years.

 

[Dougie]

maybe its just me (i have a strong feeling it is not) but i have a strong emotional attachment to women's basketball.

if the men lost an important game, i wouldn't cry or get inordinately upset. if i saw a men's player walking down the street, i wouldn't freak-out & act star-struck.

now... for women's hoops.. i get very emotional after a win OR loss. i am a man (i don't cry easily.) this woman's team tugs at my heart-strings! last year, at the victory lap.. seeing the bus come around the corner.. seeing bria & stef waving.. seeing bria break-down when it was her turn to talk to the crowd.. how could one not cry! (unless you have a heart of stone.)

if i saw chris dailey or geno walking down the street, i would give them an enthusiastic handshake & say job well done! if i saw moriah jefferson, i would give her a high 5 & say way to go! can't say i would do this or feel this way for coaches & student athletes for the other sports.

ok, please chime-in. i am a loser, i know

Mike:

Just know that you're not alone. In fact, a while back we started a support group for people just like you. We meet in the basement of a church in Hartford. There are about 1200 of us. We share our stories, laugh, cry and hug. We watch replays of Senior Night, trophy presentations and yes, an occasional painful loss. It's hard taking that first step but from your post I can see that you're an open person and not ashamed to show your vulnerability. Join us.

Yours truly,

Dougie, another UCONN softie.

 

[BigBird]

Mike--

A great and honest post from the heart. No way that's a loser. We take expanded joy from the successes of teams we like, and we want to know and like the athletes - from a respectful distance - because we enjoy the "people stories" not just the scores. There's nothing wrong with these "para-social" relationships, as long as we acknowledge that's what they are.