- Joined
- Aug 28, 2011
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Those of you who get to see many games in person are really fortunate. I'm reminded of this while waiting for the Xavier game to start. For the first time in a long time, I traveled a long distance to see the two games at Mohegan Sun last week. Although the Michigan game was scary, both games presented a great opportunity to see the players in action in a way that even the best TV coverage cannot show.(not to mention being a part of an amazing atmosphere in the arena). I'll be looking at the players and the team a little differently when watching them on TV today.
On another, somewhat related note, I mentioned to a friend that I would be watching the game and he asked why I would have any interest in seeing a blowout. That's a fair question, and I tried to answer it in two ways:
First, I said, you have to understand that we fans look at each player under what amounts to a microscope. From game to game, we look at the way each player does things differently, learns ( or unlearns) things, and responds to various types of opponent pressure. Even if the score is meaningless, there is much to learn from these games that we can bring to the ones against much higher-ranked opponents.
Second, at UConn, Geno and staff have elevated the playing of the sport to different level that at most schools. No none ever achieves perfection at much of anything, but at UConn, they actually try to get there. So the fans, accustomed to this high standard, look for the ways the team approaches that goal and, of course, at the ways they invariably fall short. It makes for a different kind of fan and a different watching experience.
He could not understand what I was talking about. Oh, well......
On another, somewhat related note, I mentioned to a friend that I would be watching the game and he asked why I would have any interest in seeing a blowout. That's a fair question, and I tried to answer it in two ways:
First, I said, you have to understand that we fans look at each player under what amounts to a microscope. From game to game, we look at the way each player does things differently, learns ( or unlearns) things, and responds to various types of opponent pressure. Even if the score is meaningless, there is much to learn from these games that we can bring to the ones against much higher-ranked opponents.
Second, at UConn, Geno and staff have elevated the playing of the sport to different level that at most schools. No none ever achieves perfection at much of anything, but at UConn, they actually try to get there. So the fans, accustomed to this high standard, look for the ways the team approaches that goal and, of course, at the ways they invariably fall short. It makes for a different kind of fan and a different watching experience.
He could not understand what I was talking about. Oh, well......