Why UConn bball matters to CT natives

[FluxTZ]

Yeah, Katie. A photo shows her in The Garage in Santa Monica. Had a wonderful time there watching the semi-final and drinking car bombs.

Glad you had fun! Bummed I wasn't there to meet you in person but at least one of us had to be in TX!

 

[kingofkatie]

Thanks for wrapping up, what a lot of us have felt for years, into one nice, neat package. I might just have to print out your blog and when people ask what is it about UConn, I can just hand it to them. Again, thanks.

Haha, I'll make a wallet-size version of it you can pass around - or you could always just pull up the blog and email it to them! Glad I could speak for you

 

[NightDog]

pull up the blog and email it to them!

This, and I'm going to post it to my FB acct.

 

[BugsyCT]

Great read Katie - I'm not a UConn alum, but attended UConn from '89 through '91 (eventually transferred to CCSU) and had season tickets as a student. Those were great years to be part of UConn as the Dream Season captured the fever of the state, so I've always been a diehard before & since. (I also have family members who are UConn grads.)

I'm glad you posted this pic - I remember collecting these cards from Petro Pantry for the 1990-91 season. Still have them buried in a drawer somewhere.

Great memories.

 

[mauconnfan]

Great post katie…….also a CT native, not a UConn alum but have followed them since I can remember back 45 years or more. George Erlich in the transistor under the pillow during the week with Wes B making shots and also always checking to see how the baseball team was doing. So many memories in so many ways I couldn't even begin.

Huge Yankee fan, huge Giant fan, pretty big Celt's fan - but NONE compare to the Huskies. My year as a fan of anything has been complete with what happened Monday night…..it's that simple!! I don't have tears if the Yanks win the WS or if the Giants win the Super Bowl, that's the difference!!

These kids fight for MY university….not because I went there but because I grew up there!

 

[BostonHusky3]

As a lifelong UConn bball fan who's frequently asked by non-CT'ers, "You didn't even go to UConn? Why are you such a big fan?" I wrote this blog as a response to that question, as well as to describe why our unexpected win this week was so galvanizing for all of us:

http://kingofkatie.tumblr.com/post/82232595721/connecticut-is-uconn

What a great post. I was 9 years old during the "Dream Season", did not attend Uconn (except for one summer class) and have lived out of state since I graduated high school (have been in Boston 13 of the past 16 years) and completely agree with this post. Sometimes it is hard to explain to outsiders what Uconn means to our State and that that bond stays with you even if you haven't officially resided in Connecticut for a long time. I have very fond memories of watching the 99 Title game against Duke in a BU dorm room with about 10-12 others from Connecticut.

I also agree with how important the Big East was to not only Uconn's direct success but also to me growing up as basketball fan. Attending the Big East Tournament during my high school days was such a great experience. I was lucky enough to be a the MSU game at the Garden two weeks ago with my childhood best friend and his father and we were all saying how it felt like Deja Vu from the times where the three of us where at MSG for the Big East Tournament.

I also think that loyalty of Connecticut natives to Uconn basketball is one of a lot of reasons why Ollie was such an important hire. Even if Ollie hadn't just won a national championship and was due for a huge pay raise, I think the fact that all Uconn fans (alums and non-alums) can relate to him as former player and that all of the other former players wanted him as well meant that the Kevin Ollie hire (and now retention) is so important because it keeps everything in the "family" and lets us carry on that tradition as fans (as well as for the former players).

 

[djct1999]

Thank you for this. You said it perfectly. As a kid, the Cliff Robinson led team meant the world to me. People always ask me why Uconn matters so much to me.....this is why!

 

[uconNYC]

Left CT after high school. In high school a large number of students were UConn fans (and I lived in Fairfield County) - so obviously it was a matter of state pride for most.

 

[Lefty2one]

I don't know, I feel like this is pretty standard. I don't think I've ever met an Ohio State or Notre Dame football fan that went to either school (and sadly I've met a lot of them). Same goes for Duke and UNC basketball. At least we're natives of the state and don't have a completely arbitrary fanhood like the Duke and UNC fans I know up here.

I grew up watching UConn just like I grew up watching the Yankees, Knicks and Jets. They were one of the local sports teams, didn't matter that they were collegiate. Most of my friends from HS are still big UConn fans and not a single one of us went there.

 

[OkaForPrez]

Nice Job on the post and the retweet from KO!

 

[Palatine]

An out of focus "Garage" in Santa Monica at halftime of the Florida game. There are probably another 20 folks in the bar area not in the photo.

 

[Marat]

Good stuff. I'm in the same boat. I became a UConn fan during late middle/high school years in CT after JC arrived - never attended UConn, but became die-hard during the dream season. Then moved out to NJ/NYC areas since, and can't believe its been almost 25 years since the dream season.

 

[uconnsouth]

 

[tykurez]

Great write up! More power to your father for letting you expand your horizons

I applied to other colleges and universities (admittedly not many) but I knew I ultimately wanted to attend UConn. Not sure how I'm going to handle it if my kids don't want to go there. My obsession with the program is bordering on unhealthy.

 

[Adios]

UConn was the only school I applied to. That was after I was already a fan. Somehow, I was accepted.

I still can't believe I only applied to just Pyongyang-era UConn out of all schools...

 

[BrassBonanza]

I am another example of a non-Uconn grad that bleeds blue. I even went to a rival big east school and loved seeing Uconn come to my school and win (and they ALWAYS did).

I grew up going to the civic center for the huskies and my beloved whale. I do think that Uconn has had to carry the mantle of both fan bases after the whale broke CTs collective heart. Uconn is the one team that unifies our state and that is why Connecticut fans have a different level of passion when it comes to the Huskies

 

[mcatrage]

Explaining this to people can get annoying.

Even though I did a cardinal sin and went to Villanova (sorry better engineering school) I was always a UCONN fan. Even rooting against Nova when they played. That didn't make me popular though.

 

[Robertelamin]

Great write up! More power to your father for letting you expand your horizons

I applied to other colleges and universities (admittedly not many) but I knew I ultimately wanted to attend UConn. Not sure how I'm going to handle it if my kids don't want to go there. My obsession with the program is bordering on unhealthy.

Same here. Looking back, I wasted my parent's money applying for other schools because I knew I was going to UConn as long as I was accepted. I didn't even have a 'reach' school or whatever they called it.

 

[kingofkatie]

What a great post. I was 9 years old during the "Dream Season", did not attend Uconn (except for one summer class) and have lived out of state since I graduated high school (have been in Boston 13 of the past 16 years) and completely agree with this post. Sometimes it is hard to explain to outsiders what Uconn means to our State and that that bond stays with you even if you haven't officially resided in Connecticut for a long time. I have very fond memories of watching the 99 Title game against Duke in a BU dorm room with about 10-12 others from Connecticut.

I also agree with how important the Big East was to not only Uconn's direct success but also to me growing up as basketball fan. Attending the Big East Tournament during my high school days was such a great experience. I was lucky enough to be a the MSU game at the Garden two weeks ago with my childhood best friend and his father and we were all saying how it felt like Deja Vu from the times where the three of us where at MSG for the Big East Tournament.

I also think that loyalty of Connecticut natives to Uconn basketball is one of a lot of reasons why Ollie was such an important hire. Even if Ollie hadn't just won a national championship and was due for a huge pay raise, I think the fact that all Uconn fans (alums and non-alums) can relate to him as former player and that all of the other former players wanted him as well meant that the Kevin Ollie hire (and now retention) is so important because it keeps everything in the "family" and lets us carry on that tradition as fans (as well as for the former players).

I totally agree about Ollie - I didn't disagree with the decision for Calhoun to retire, but I was worried about what it would mean since he's the only coach I'd ever known and was such a part of the program's identity. Ollie was a great choice on so many levels, and I hope he stays as long as Calhoun did!

 

[hthusky74]

As a lifelong UConn bball fan who's frequently asked by non-CT'ers, "You didn't even go to UConn? Why are you such a big fan?" I wrote this blog as a response to that question, as well as to describe why our unexpected win this week was so galvanizing for all of us:

http://kingofkatie.tumblr.com/post/82232595721/connecticut-is-uconn

Absolutely fantastic blog Katie!!!!

 

[Jax Husky]

Yeah, Katie. A photo shows her in The Garage in Santa Monica. Had a wonderful time there watching the semi-final and drinking car bombs.

Perhaps therein lies the reason you don't remember her

 

[Jax Husky]

As for me, not a UConn alum either. Went to SCSU to play baseball at a lower level, and just had a bunch of friends and relatives that went to UConn. I was up there partying all the time, including being with my Pike friend at Voskuhl's house the night of the final in '99. Have been a big-time UConn bball fan since the 90s, even though I didn't go there.

Didn't go to LSU either, but am a huge fan of them having spent the first 10 years of my life in Baton Rouge. My grandfather was their OC for 20 years too, so that was sort of bred into me. Love both schools. Attended neither, lol.

 

[RioDog]

I´m a CT native who got my BA at the U. of Southern Maine in Portland, but returned to UConn for grad school. I was there for the first womens and mens National Championships. During my tenure as a Grad TA some of those great players were my students! I did attend but much of my pride and fandom derives from my being a CT native. I love my state, the state flagship university and the exemplary student athletes that represent them both.

 

[kingofkatie]

I'm not a UConn alum. But, I'm a CT native who watched games religiously since I was a kid. Monday I found myself at the National Championship screaming for UConn. My friends in Colorado don't get it.

My brother lives in Colorado if you ever want someone to watch the games with you over there Jealous you got to go to the NC game, wish I'd been there too!

 

[ColoradoUCFan]

My brother lives in Colorado if you ever want someone to watch the games with you over there Jealous you got to go to the NC game, wish I'd been there too!

Is he on the boneyard? I've connected with a few folks here. Watched the Florida game with 100 or so UConn fans, mostly alums, in Denver. Any chance he was there?