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I'm giving a speech tomorrow for one of my classes and it happens to be on Uconn Basketball. thought some of you might be interested in it.
Growing up as a kid with a love of sports in Connecticut hasn’t always been easy. There are no professional sports teams in the state. I’ve always enjoyed pro sports and Being a red Sox, bruins, Celtics, and Giants fan I’ve enjoyed success over the past 10 years, but my love and passion for UConn basketball has always trumped the aforementioned teams. People sometimes ask me what my favorite sports team is of any sport, and without hesitation my answer is always UConn Basketball. Watching UConn games are some of my earliest memories, they helped me create a bond with my dad that nothing else could have, and they helped me through a tragedy I will never forget.
The year was 1999 and I had just turned 8 years old. I had spent all winter sitting on the couch in the living room watching UConn throttle teams left and right to 28-2 record. They had a short stocky point guard by the name of Khalid El-Amin who did things with a basketball I never thought were possible for someone of that stature. They had a six foot eleven center Jake Voskuhl who blocked everything. And, lastly there was Richard Hamilton, an outstanding guard who I emulated in my driveway during half time of every game until I eventually got the call “Dave! The game’s back on.” Uconn got a number one seed in the NCAA tournament and breezed through their first 5 games right to the championship game. Uconn had never been to National Championship before, and now they were finally there, but waiting for them on the other side was Duke, a perennial powerhouse that had already knocked them out of the tournament twice before. How could UConn possibly win this game? Duke was favored by 9 and a half points. They were already being crowned national champions! Monday night was finally here and the 8:30pm tip off was way past my bedtime, and to add to it, I was sick as a dog. Halfway through the game I was sitting on the floor (as I always did) and was so sick that I vomited on carpet. My dad, so emotionally invested in the game, said we’d clean it up at the next time out, and sure enough he rolled it up and threw it outside and back to the game we went. The score was 75-74 with 10 seconds left, duke with the ball and a chance to win, Trajon Langdon penetrates through the lane and is called for traveling! El-Amin gets fouled and hits both free throws. Langdon brings the ball up the court, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. He trips, and doesn’t get a shot off! Uconn are National Champs! 77-74, as Khalid El-amin said in jubilation “we shocked the world.”
While some of my earliest memories are of Uconn basketball, my dad is somewhere always in the picture, he fathered my love for them, a university in which he didn’t even attend. I guess it was state pride. We would watch every single game together on the couch, and even to this day when I’m home we do the same thing. There are certain things in my family that you don’t miss, and a high profile Uconn game is one of them. So when my dad picked up the phone and called me last March and said, “Over spring break how about we drive down to D.C. and see Uconn play in the first two rounds of the tournament?” I Jumped at the opportunity. I had been to a lot of games, but never an NCAA tournament game, and for someone who is obsessed with college basketball in general, a chance to see March Madness live? What could beat that? We arrived and D.C. and on Thursday, the first day of the tournament, we got to see 4 games. Uconn was the late game and won theirs easily, they would be playing Cincinatti on Saturday. On Saturday, Uconn again easily won their game and the next day we were headed back home. Those four days were some of the best four days of my life. During this time my dad and I talked, a lot, and about anything and everything. We saw our favorite team win two games, two buzzer beaters, and a one seed lose to an 8 seed, but what I’ll take away most from it is the time I spent with my dad. As he said “I’ll remember this for a long time”.
The day was March 26th 2011, my birthday, and Uconn had just beaten Arizona by two points to advance to the final four. The fourth final four in their history. I was elated and was ready for a night to celebrate, afterall, my 20th birthday and a UConn elite eight win, what could be better? Little did I know what was staring me in the face. After a night of partying I went to sleep and around 8am my roommate woke me up, he said campus safety is at the door. Campus Safety said “don’t worry you’re not in trouble, but you need to call your sister.” I immediately looked at my phone and saw 17 missed calls, and right away my mind turned to Adam. Adam my oldest sisters husband, had been diagnosed with cancer 4 years prior. He had spent all week in the hospital, but was getting better and suppose to go home that day. I picked up the phone and called my sister, and she said you need to come home right away. So I did. As I walked towards the emergency room doors, my dad greeted me said “Adam didn’t make it.” I thought to myself how is this possible, I just watched the UConn game with him last week and he was doing fine. I had talked to him yesterday and he told me happy birthday. It didn’t sink in for a while, and still in some ways still hasn’t. Uconn went on to win the National Championship and I knew they would. This one was for Adam, this one was for my family. You see, the team I love won their battle, but the person I love lost theirs.
In summary, Uconn Basketball isn’t just an obsession with a sports team. My passion for them isn’t tangible, but it’s always there and never dies. Sometimes I still envision myself as an 8 year old pretending to be Richard Hamilton, counting down the clock, always hitting the game winning basket. Sometimes I think I’d want to tell my younger self just how instrumental they would be in my life. I created a bond with my father over the simple words “UConn Wins”. And Maybe Adam still isn’t able to witness Uconn in all their glory, but his son Luke is, and I’ll be damned if he isn’t screaming at the TV and jumping up and down after a UConn win just like his father would.
Growing up as a kid with a love of sports in Connecticut hasn’t always been easy. There are no professional sports teams in the state. I’ve always enjoyed pro sports and Being a red Sox, bruins, Celtics, and Giants fan I’ve enjoyed success over the past 10 years, but my love and passion for UConn basketball has always trumped the aforementioned teams. People sometimes ask me what my favorite sports team is of any sport, and without hesitation my answer is always UConn Basketball. Watching UConn games are some of my earliest memories, they helped me create a bond with my dad that nothing else could have, and they helped me through a tragedy I will never forget.
The year was 1999 and I had just turned 8 years old. I had spent all winter sitting on the couch in the living room watching UConn throttle teams left and right to 28-2 record. They had a short stocky point guard by the name of Khalid El-Amin who did things with a basketball I never thought were possible for someone of that stature. They had a six foot eleven center Jake Voskuhl who blocked everything. And, lastly there was Richard Hamilton, an outstanding guard who I emulated in my driveway during half time of every game until I eventually got the call “Dave! The game’s back on.” Uconn got a number one seed in the NCAA tournament and breezed through their first 5 games right to the championship game. Uconn had never been to National Championship before, and now they were finally there, but waiting for them on the other side was Duke, a perennial powerhouse that had already knocked them out of the tournament twice before. How could UConn possibly win this game? Duke was favored by 9 and a half points. They were already being crowned national champions! Monday night was finally here and the 8:30pm tip off was way past my bedtime, and to add to it, I was sick as a dog. Halfway through the game I was sitting on the floor (as I always did) and was so sick that I vomited on carpet. My dad, so emotionally invested in the game, said we’d clean it up at the next time out, and sure enough he rolled it up and threw it outside and back to the game we went. The score was 75-74 with 10 seconds left, duke with the ball and a chance to win, Trajon Langdon penetrates through the lane and is called for traveling! El-Amin gets fouled and hits both free throws. Langdon brings the ball up the court, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. He trips, and doesn’t get a shot off! Uconn are National Champs! 77-74, as Khalid El-amin said in jubilation “we shocked the world.”
While some of my earliest memories are of Uconn basketball, my dad is somewhere always in the picture, he fathered my love for them, a university in which he didn’t even attend. I guess it was state pride. We would watch every single game together on the couch, and even to this day when I’m home we do the same thing. There are certain things in my family that you don’t miss, and a high profile Uconn game is one of them. So when my dad picked up the phone and called me last March and said, “Over spring break how about we drive down to D.C. and see Uconn play in the first two rounds of the tournament?” I Jumped at the opportunity. I had been to a lot of games, but never an NCAA tournament game, and for someone who is obsessed with college basketball in general, a chance to see March Madness live? What could beat that? We arrived and D.C. and on Thursday, the first day of the tournament, we got to see 4 games. Uconn was the late game and won theirs easily, they would be playing Cincinatti on Saturday. On Saturday, Uconn again easily won their game and the next day we were headed back home. Those four days were some of the best four days of my life. During this time my dad and I talked, a lot, and about anything and everything. We saw our favorite team win two games, two buzzer beaters, and a one seed lose to an 8 seed, but what I’ll take away most from it is the time I spent with my dad. As he said “I’ll remember this for a long time”.
The day was March 26th 2011, my birthday, and Uconn had just beaten Arizona by two points to advance to the final four. The fourth final four in their history. I was elated and was ready for a night to celebrate, afterall, my 20th birthday and a UConn elite eight win, what could be better? Little did I know what was staring me in the face. After a night of partying I went to sleep and around 8am my roommate woke me up, he said campus safety is at the door. Campus Safety said “don’t worry you’re not in trouble, but you need to call your sister.” I immediately looked at my phone and saw 17 missed calls, and right away my mind turned to Adam. Adam my oldest sisters husband, had been diagnosed with cancer 4 years prior. He had spent all week in the hospital, but was getting better and suppose to go home that day. I picked up the phone and called my sister, and she said you need to come home right away. So I did. As I walked towards the emergency room doors, my dad greeted me said “Adam didn’t make it.” I thought to myself how is this possible, I just watched the UConn game with him last week and he was doing fine. I had talked to him yesterday and he told me happy birthday. It didn’t sink in for a while, and still in some ways still hasn’t. Uconn went on to win the National Championship and I knew they would. This one was for Adam, this one was for my family. You see, the team I love won their battle, but the person I love lost theirs.
In summary, Uconn Basketball isn’t just an obsession with a sports team. My passion for them isn’t tangible, but it’s always there and never dies. Sometimes I still envision myself as an 8 year old pretending to be Richard Hamilton, counting down the clock, always hitting the game winning basket. Sometimes I think I’d want to tell my younger self just how instrumental they would be in my life. I created a bond with my father over the simple words “UConn Wins”. And Maybe Adam still isn’t able to witness Uconn in all their glory, but his son Luke is, and I’ll be damned if he isn’t screaming at the TV and jumping up and down after a UConn win just like his father would.
