dannykuconn
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The game has been a work in progress for a couple years, and was actually proposed by Dan Burt, the Duquesne coach, who had previously played against Notre Dame, when they had Natalie Achonwa.The location has historical significance, especially for hockey fans. From their website:
Built in only seven months, it was the largest arena in the country at the time. The venue saw some of the most breath taking moments of the century, hosting legends such as Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali and Winston Churchill. Built by Conn Smythe in a time that meeker men wouldn’t have dared, the monument on the corner of Church and Carlton ignited a flame in an economically dim time. The Gardens represented more than the teams and figures it hosted; it gave Canada a place to showcase and take part in the groundbreaking popular culture that was shaping the Century.
It opened in 1931, and fans witnessed ten, count 'em, ten Stanley Cups, between 1941 and 1967. Can you imagine a sports team winning their season ten times? I wonder if anyone else can say that? They hosted the first NHL All-star game in 1947.
It also plays a big role in basketball history. How many people know that the very first NBA game was played in this arena, between the New York Knickerbockers, and the Toronto Huskies (Go Huskies!) November 1, 1946?
Enough history, let's fast-forward to today. OK, day before day before yesterday. My friend Phil witnessed the birth of his first grandchild on the 18th, then took the train to Stamford, where I picked him up, We drove to Mohegan Sun, stopping for some bird watching in Old Saybrook, then on to the arena for a nice meal with some friends at the Mexican restaurant. Then we made our way to the packed arena to watch the UConn-Oklahoma game. The atmosphere was electric, it had a Final Four feeling as we walked around the arena. You probably know what happened next. Our team hit 60% from the floor in the first half, then had a stretch where we forgot how to put the ball in the basket, but then remembered, and went on to win, giving Geno his 1000th victory. Nice post-game festivities, and Geno got a little choked up with all the attention. It was nice to see Dee Rowe helping Geno into the Naismith ceremonial jacket, even if it was orange. Looked burnt orange to me, so that made it OK.
There were a lot of former UConn players in attendance, and in a very special treat, the member of his first team were introduced individually. After the game, ran into Ann Strother, and got a picture with her.
Left Stamford Thursday morning at 5. On schedule to get to Niagara Fall before noon, but the check engine light went on in Phil's car, and it was running very rough. Took some time to find a place that could help, but found a place and a mechanic named Jason seemed to locate the problem and fix it. Unfortunately, the problem re-occurred a couple miles later, but we decided to press on. Visited the American Falls first, then crossed into Canada and saw the Horseshoe Falls. The Canadian side is better, except that the mist was intense, exactly on the spot where the views should have been spectacular. It was close to freezing and the mist felt like rain, so we didn't stay long. Saw a nice barrel, and thought it would be fun to ride it over the falls, but with the mist, decided against it.
We got to our hotel which a friend got for me,So lucky to have great friends. I had a room at another hotel but this was right next to the arena and was a lot nicer..After checking in, we got a call from our friend John, who invited us to dinner at his house. He lives here in Toronto but is a serious UConn fan. How serious, I hear you asking? Serious enough to buy 130 tickets to the game. After an amazing meal, we headed back to our hotel for the evening. A light snow was falling, and a few inches, sorry, several centimeters of snow fell overnight.
I thought about visiting the CN tower today, but you can barely see the tower from the ground, so it is unlikely to have much of a view, so decided against it. Stopped in at the arena to check on seats. The ticket said “general” which sounded like ti was general admittance, but confirmed that we do have reserved seats. We were able to walk into the arena and walk around, checking the view from the seats. We had a nice chat with the people working at the desk. I “accidentally” bumped into the guy working there and he said “sorry”. We had head that Canadians apologized when others bump into them, and this confirmed it. They said they don;t say “eh” as much as Americans think, at least not in Toronto. Maybe in the western provinces. The woman who worked at the counter knew the students who put together the multi-part Final Quarter TSN special feature. She was surprised we even knew about it. Sorry, I mean aboot. Yes, they do say it that way.
Believe it or not, we went to lunch at McDonald's and had a great experience. The store manager stopped to say hello, then we had a long talk with their guest experience manager - yes, they do have such a position, and his job is to talk to the customers to make sure their trip is great. Went back to room for a while got ready and took the 30 second walk to the arena. Talked to friends including Kia's parents and just waited for the game to begin. I did predict the score to be 100-50, so I was close. UConn played UConn basketball. Seen them play in US hundreds of times and 3 games in Cancun Mexico and now I have seen them play in Canada. I could go on but it was a long wet drive back home and then just spent hours on the photos so this is it. Need to get some rest so I can enjoy my day tomorrow with friends. Happy Holidays everyone. Link to photos-UConn In Canada | Facebook To see the video click on blue bird to see it on twitter.
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