Your First UConn Game In Person | The Boneyard

Your First UConn Game In Person

Huskybass

Huskybass

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Seeing Patrick Ewing on the court the other night made me think about all the games I've seen over the years and how great the old Big East was. It also made me think back to my first UConn game in person.

It was a January 14, 1984 Saturday game against Seton Hall and Coach PJ Carlisemo. UConn, coached by Dom Perno, won 76-68 in the old Field House. That UConn team included Earl Kelley, Tim Coles and Karl Hobbs. UConn went 5-11 in the Big East that season and 13-15 overall. Notable Big East opponents that season included Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin and Pearl Washington.

I can't believe I didn't go to any home games my first semester. It was literally $1 and your student ID to get in. Anyway, do you remember your first UConn game?
 
95. My sister and Ray Allen's sister were close friends. Then I went to many many games after when she started dating one of the players for more then 2 years.

But my most memorable was the George Mason upset. I was sitting in the 2nd row from the floor talking trash only to put my tail between my legs at the end. #bestseatsever
 
January or February of 1981. Corny Thompson era. I was a senior at Trinity, by chance had just been accepted into UConn law and went to the Civic Center on a Saturday afternoon to see them beat St. Johns on the ECAC Game of the Week, well before every game was on cable, on a Corny Thompson elbow jumper at the buzzer. The win was either our first after moving into the Top 25 or moved us into the Top 25. But then the season turned into disappointment.
 
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I have no idea the exact date nor do I remember the opponent. But it was a looong time ago. I was a kid, in 1957. The star was Jack Rose who later got into big trouble along with other teammates and players in a bunch of other programs in a betting scandal. Didn’t know at the time I’d wind up at UConn and a classmate of Wes B. But that game made me a lifelong UConn fan.
 
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2-26-94 HCC vs Pitt. My older sister by nine years got into UConn early acceptance and her boyfriend at the time was a big sports fan. He'd take me to tons of Yankees game and that day we drove up to Hartford to catch the game.

All I remember is the halftime show was a bunch of mascots playing basketball. My personal favorite was the Bob's Discount Furniture mattress, whose stubby arms had no business dribbling a basketball or receiving a pass, but he was a monster at setting picks.
 
My Dad brought me to the UNH game in 67 for my first UConn game. We sat in the first couple rows right on the floor behind the UNH bench. I remember walking up the hill from North Eagleville Road. I had the program for a long time but wound up getting rid of it as time went by and with many moves things were thrown overboard to make moving easier. Wes was unreal and trying to be Wes in my driveway kept me busy every afternoon after school.
 
Huskybass said:
Notable Big East opponents that season included Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin and Pearl Washington.
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So obviously this was the same the following season when i was a freshman, but your mention of Pearl reminds me of the game that hooked me: February 20, 1985 71-69 over Syracuse at the Civic Center. The place was going nuts; people were chanting “Earl Kelly is the real pearl” and it was the most exciting sporting event I had ever attended. I actually called my father from a pay phone in the hallway so he could hear the mayhem.

Huskybass said:
I can't believe I didn't go to any home games my first semester. It was literally $1 and your student ID to get in.
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This is exactly why I went to that UMass game and any others at the Field House. It was a no-brainer.
 
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UConn v Pitt in early 80s at the Hartford mall(aka HCC) . Pitt had a monster team.
Had seats up in the rafters. It was my 1st encounter with tradition I still hate to this day. Standing waiting for UConn to score…it was no less than 7 minutes.
 
Improviser said:
December 4, 1965 at the Field House. UConn bet Yale 95-73 and Bialosuknia looked great.
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I was there. Wasn’t Yale led by Bobby Trupin, a pretty good guard?
 
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Storrsbred said:
LOL- so long ago. Vinny Yogobaskas (sp?) was playing. Hawley Armory, with a track around the upper floor. Don’t remember the opponent, but probably a Yankee Conference game. When Storrs was a legitimate hick place and a wonderful spot to grow up.
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Finally someone older than me. Hawley Armiry was already a relic when I started at UConn. These are all fun recollections.
 
Storrsbred said:
LOL- so long ago. Vinny Yogobaskas (sp?) was playing. Hawley Armory, with a track around the upper floor. Don’t remember the opponent, but probably a Yankee Conference game. When Storrs was a legitimate hick place and a wonderful spot to grow up.
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So to paraphrase Lou Holtz, you remember Storrs before they built the second one.
 
Spaceman213J said:
I was a kid. It was at the Civic Center and I think it was Syracuse. It was a tight game. It was anti-climatic for the UConn fans. Syracuse stole the ball on a half court entry with a few seconds left and went in for a layup as time expired to win by 1. It was a long drive home to Morris, CT.
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Yup! That was February of 1988. I was a freshman at UConn. Cuse was ranked #12 and Jeff King (RIP) threw the ball away and Stevie Thompson scored the game winner. That SUCKED!
My first UConn game was in 1983 at the Curry Hicks Cage at UMass. My dad is a UMass grad and brought me. UConn lost by two points. Karl Hobbs had a shot to tie it at the buzzer.
 
Dove said:
HCC in the early 80s vs Ewing, Michael Graham and Co. We got crushed.
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Same. 1982. We had beat them earlier in the season in DC, the Civic Center started out rocking, but that G'town team had come together and we had no shot. I was 12 and had been hooked for 5 or 6 years, finally got my parents, who only later became fans in the Calhoun era, to take me to a game. Nosebleeds, but I didn't care.
 
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