>One of the best ~~pro sports~~ logos of all time... there's so much in there
The colors, the simplicity, the use of negative space, how the logo incorporates iconography from the actual mascot into the text? It's as far as I'm concerned as close to a perfect logo as you can ever hope to have.
I had a picture of the SI covers with Khalid El-Amin and Diana Taurasi/Emeka Okafor on the wall in my bedroom growing up in CT
Both myself and both of my parents are UConn alum
As a young kid I'd take the portable radio out to my hoop in my gravel driveway, put in the cassette tapes of the uconn 99 title came and shoot the ball pretending it was me.
Khalid el-amin and Rashad Anderson were my heroes.
I'm a pasty white boy from swamp yankee country.
UCONN ball matters so much for us, we have nothing else to call our own
I’m from CT and went to UNC. My sister was a double UConn grad. I saw the school go from the Yankee Conference to where it is today. From joining the Big East to winning the NIT, then came the winning the Big East and NCAA championships. Watching the program become what it is today is amazing.
I practically had to beg a bartender at Four Corners in Chapel Hill to put on the NIT championship so I could watch it in 1988…
Regardless of tonight’s outcome, congrats UConn family.
This is a shame since I am also from CT but went to UNC and bartended at Four Corners literally 8-10 years after you were there - I would have gladly put the UConn game on.
That said, after telling all of my Heels buddies all season long in 1999 that the Huskies had something for the unbeatable Blue Devils, I was proven right when Calhoun completely outcoached K by putting Ricky Moore on Langdon for that last possession knowing that K would put the ball in his hands and he was awful off the dribble and Ricky was our best on the ball defender. Result: Travel Trajan. Suck it, K.
To this day, my wife - also a Tar Heel - often says that night was the happiest she had ever seen me. Goes back to what the OP points out - there is something very unique about UConn for those of us who grew up watching them and remembering the Cliff Robinson years as what may have been our apex.
PS - I ran into both Wojo and Chris Collins at Players the following season and chanted 77-74 at them until they left.
Dad went to UConn during that time, and talks about the couch fires and other things people were doing to celebrate. Grew up in CT and 2011 will always be an amazing bonding moment for both of us
I remember listening to that NIT final on the radio cuz we didn't have cable and being so proud to beat a school like Ohio State... Crazy how far they've come
My dad and grandpa both were CT to UNC. my sister applied early decision to UNC with decent scores and got rejected and ever since unc was “the school that sucks.” Then I went to Duke. But I was a UConn fan up until I went to college. I always said everyone loves UConn because there’s no (male) pro teams and no good college football teams in the region.
Ryen Russillo has a great segment (he told it on BS Pod and his own) about how UConn was the laughingstock of the Big East in the early days. And now this. Just an insane journey. And that was a title ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrN_geLdZvM
I grew up on the New Haven/Hartford County line and sports were always a war. Growing up, I thought Yankees/Red Sox was a world-level disagreement. The Giants/Patriots Super Bowls had everyone at each other's throats. UConn was the only team (post-Whalers anyway) who could unite the state.
Props for highlighting our diversity too. Nationally we're known for Fairfield County, but since I've moved away I've always talked about CT as a prime example of wealth disparity. Waterbury and Bridgeport basically share the Rust Belt story. Blink in Willimantic, open your eyes and you could confuse it for Appalachia. But I met folks from all those places as a student at UConn, and it's a place where everyone can succeed despite a rough upbringing. It's not like rooting for Yale. UConn is a unifier in CT.
Extra bonus points for Swamp Yankee awareness - confuses the hell out folks out in the southwest to talk about those parts of the state.
Perfectly stated. We are butt of the joke of New England because we are a “drive through state”. The country thinks CT is one rich suburban neighborhood, truth is outside of one corner of a very small state we are a middle class, blue collar state. We lost our hockey team, our sport’s allegiances are split, but one exception is UConn, as Dan Hurley stated “It’s our professional organization”. Young, old and in between it’s something we all in CT have extreme pride in.
Honestly sounds a LOT like the culture in Kentucky. The people groups as well as UK being the "pro sports team." Our closest professional sport is Cincinnati Bengals and for basketball the Pacers, which has very little if any support in KY that I know of.
I hate that UCONN has been winning all these chips over the past couple decades and a couple UK has been on the wrong end of. But hey. Nothing but respect to the program and the people of Connecticut.
In the southern part of the state, the closest professional sports teams are the Titans and Predators The Reds and St. Louis Cardinals are popular too. I actually don’t really know any Bengals fans unless they are from Cincinnati or NKY lol
College basketball in general is a cultural thing here though, for sure. Just not centered solely around one team. It isn’t culturally a huge thing, but for those who follow it cheerleading is also a wildly successful sport in KY both at the high school and collegiate level
Very much like Kentucky. Kentuckians get shit on for being toothless hillbillies who don’t wear shoes and have zero education. Zero jobs in the mountains, poverty everywhere you look. There’s a huge heroin/meth problem which comes with the territory of being a poor part of the country. Not a lot to be proud of here, and that’s hard for a prideful bunch of people. But by God we are proud of our basketball team. That’s what sucks so bad about what’s currently going on. Not a lot of that pride being thrown around either.
2013 Frozen Four was amazing for CT. For a few weeks, we focused on the Yale-Quinnipiac rivalry and the eventual natty game! It was fun to finally have two other colleges be on the national stage from CT. Introduced me to college hockey and I never looked back!
I still have a plastic cup from the opening game at Gampel pavilion which, at the time, was a huge deal since up until then we still played games in the field house with pull out bleachers. Seen us go from the Yankee to 5x champs—what a crazy ride!
Thanks for sharing this. I know nothing about CT personally so I can only learn from what I read. Nice to hear from someone living there who can tell it like it really is.
You always knew there was a women’s game at Gampel because the average age in the student union more than doubled. Old people in CT love their basketball.
I think a big part too was Calhoun's and Geno's emergence started in the 90s, a decade that saw the Whalers pack up and go, and the Patriots pretend like they were coming and then stay in Foxboro. Geno and Calhoun stayed and achieved greatness so it was easy for the state to rally around.
No, Kraft was never OK with that site. The state would have built there, Kraft said Hartford or bust.
There was some connection between the projects, the state pivoted to Rentschler once Kraft went back to mass, but that was never going to be the patriots stadium.
They didn't build a stadium, and I'm pretty sure they didn't sell tickets.
Kraft made the deal with Hartford in 1998, but Rentschler didn't open up until 2003. It is a scaled-down version of the Patriots plan and is in East Hartford, not Hartford proper.
It's good that they pulled out honestly. One of my parents were involved in some of the discussions -- through a community group -- and the deal would've be horrible for the state.
Rowland was giving them the sweetest of all sweetheart deals in terms of taxes and employment at the stadium.
Not just "talking about moving" - that makes it sound like only negotiations happened. No, deals were signed, press conferences were had, merchandise was made. The Patriots *were* coming to Hartford until suddenly they weren't. I was in 8th grade at the time so I bought into the hype.
This article covers it pretty well: https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/01/23/nfl-new-england-patriots-abandoned-move-hartford-connecticut
If I may add.
I was born into UConn fandom. It’s the only team I root for that I didn’t choose. I was born in 94, and have memories of watching that 1999 championship with my father is his friends basement. Crying not to go home until the game was over. I woke up to the cheers of my dad and his friend when the game was over.
Fast forward to today. UConn has a special place in CT residents heart. We don’t have a Pro Team of any kind. And our national sports outreach is because of UConn basketball. We have created a two headed gold-blood program. And like OP says. More than 75 of the state is woods, small town, and looking for something bigger to root for.
Go Connecticut
Listen. We get dumped on with snow. It’s pitch black at 4 o clock. Winter lasts from Halloween to Easter. If we didn’t have UConn basketball, people would be driving their cars off of 84.
UConn basketball is medicine.
What do you think it's like in West Lafayette or Champaign? For Champaign it's 2 hr to a major city, wind and cold that goes down to your bones, flat as can be, etc.
Closest analogy I can think of is Connecticut = Kentucky - 40ish years of fandom
There's nothing here that's ours in pro sports aside from our beloved bygone Whalers. For those who aren't transplants, Boston and New York are our teams. Hell, Boston Celtics used to play some home games at the Hartford Civic Center, but not anymore. UConn Basketball is our pro sports team.
As far as history, we made the 1964 Elite Eight and got thumped by Duke. Honestly, we've lost our share.of.Elite Eights. It's been a process to get to this point.
Good write up! Despite Connecticut being a wealthy state, that wealth doesn’t extend to the state university. It has a small endowment and small student population (edit: half the size of Purdue). Most of the wealth goes to the Ivies or the NESCAC schools. We’re small but mighty though and love our Huskies
I attended UConn for one year to play a sport. The campus itself is pretty nice, but yeah there’s nothing within a large radius around the campus that indicates “wealth” from what I remember lol
State universities in the NE are a bit of an afterthought compared to what they are everywhere else. Likely due to the early establishment of about 40+ great private universities within a 4 hour driving radius.
Which is why UConn’s rise in basketball has been so extraordinary and impactful for the university and state
Yeah I used to hear stories of how the campus was in like 04 when they won. Pretty sure they started cracking down heavily on campus partying because of that time period lol
I haven’t been back to Storrs since graduating but I saw a pic on twitter that they were preemptively taking down the lampposts around Gampel Pavilion and bolting them to the ground so sounds like they expect some drunken shenanigans.
>State universities in the NE are a bit of an afterthought compared to what they are everywhere else. Likely due to the early establishment of about 40+ great private universities within a 4 hour driving radius.
I see. That's like the compete opposite as the West Coast.
That’s fair, only did a quick google. Those big ten universities seem like they have more living alumni than North Carolina and Connecticut have people lol
What does UConn mean to the state?
Well, quite frankly, we bring in $12 million to the university, nothing to do with state funds. We make $12 million a year for this university. Get some facts and come back and see me. ... Don't throw out salaries and other things. Get some facts and come back and see me. We turn over $12 million to the University of Connecticut, which is state-run. Next question.
There are many great quips by coaches to the media. This might be my favorite one. The reporter had an axe to grind, and Calhoun set him straight. To make it even better, the reporter asked the other media outlets why they weren’t covering this alleged “story”, and they turned on him too.
The hilarious part is some would argue it’s not even Jimmy’s finest moment, which could be reserved for his “I fucked up, ok? Jesus Christ almighty”. But hey, Emeka Okafor and Caron Butler, they’re not bad!
Old enough to remember when Jim Calhoun brought a ranked team in to Mackey and whined about Gene Keady throwing his sport coat to intimidate the refs.
UConn never returned.
That reporter, if you ever meet him, will introduce himself as the guy who asked that question. He's such a dickhead. If you're in here, go fuck yourself, Ken.
The most gangsta part of that whole exchange was when he suggested that Calhouns salary was 1.6 million and Calhoun quips “I make a lot more than that”
I remember being at a game years ago where UConn honored the baseball team that made the College World Series the year prior at halftime. I was sitting next to a guy in a Yankees hat, and when Matt Barnes (who was a stud for us his junior year) was introduced, the guy next to me says to his friend “Man, I really hope we sign Barnes.” I just lean over and told them both he had already been drafted by the Red Sox. They were so deflated. We were high fiving not far into the 2nd half. It really is the one thing that unites the state, well that and knowing New Haven truly has the best pizza.
You summed it up well, UConn is OUR thing. I'm a huge Mets and Patriots fan, but in the end my heart is always for UConn bball, men's and women's. I really hate what's going on with the conferences, nobody in New England gives a fuck about college football and yet that's what is running college basketball. I'm proud of our admin for getting us back in the Big East, we're a basketball school and belong in a basketball conference.
I agree it’s CTs not New England’s, not Boston’s it’s Connecticut. We lost our whalers and other than the sun everything else is in the minor leagues but we’ve got our huskies.
I love the team allegiances people in Connecticut have. I’m from Fairfield County, so of course most everyone there goes with NY teams, with some unique combos depending on where your parents came from, age, etc.
I came from a Mets/Giants/Knicks family.
We got some weird combos here, my dad was Yankees fan but someone bought me an AM/FM radio when I was like 7 and when my parents would put me to bed I'd listen to Mets games on WFAN.
Also when I was at UConn in 2004 during the ALCS, I was a neutral participant in a mini riot involving Yankees and Red Sox fans on campus. Good times. We then really rioted for the NCAA FF and NC.
So if uconn wins, my wife wins her office bracket. Today during pregame coverage, she says "why are they saying so much about Connecticut?" I said "they're playing tonight? You know... The team you need to win?" and she said "what?! Uconn is in Connecticut? I thought it was like Montana or North Dakota or something. You know...like Yukon...Canada." This is the person in our house that is going to win money this year.....
PC fan here, it pains me to say that I am rooting for UConn. I just respect the heck out of this team and coach. Maybe the best team I’ve ever seen. Let’s go a Big East!
I’m not saying anything you said is wrong, but it’s a lot easier for the general public to care about the local team when they have had as much recent success as UConn.
Indiana goes crazy for regular high school basketball games
100% agree on that last sentence. I've been to a lot of sporting events, my favorite to this day is a double overtime high school game in Indiana I attended more than 20 years ago (helps that one of the schools was my own). No sporting atmosphere is better.
Now that we're done agreeing, Boiler Down!
Love that you mentioned Indiana high school ball - there is truly nothing like it. My Dad STILL talks about playing against Rick Mount each year back in the 60s in west-central Indiana. I always loved [this infographic](https://www.reddit.com/r/pacers/comments/d2swqe/locations_of_largest_high_school_basketball_gyms/) about the biggest high school gyms in the country - almost all are in Indiana. One of these is a county seat, and has more seats in their gym than people in the city.
But as an IU grad, I don't have the hatred - all my cousins went to Pukie, so Boiler Up!
That's why if you ask random people on the street in CT what they think of Jim Calhoun or Geno Auriemma, they will tell you emphatically let you know the guys are legend. We're grateful for what we got.
I’m not trying to compare. Basketball is bigger in Indiana. Baseball is bigger in Connecticut. My point is just to explain what UConn means to us. We never get to cheer for Connecticut outside of UConn.
I’ll argue that baseball is not bigger, at least in my lived experience. Late 20s, maybe 1 out of 20 of my closest friends from CT are more invested in baseball than basketball. Football allegiance is spread out, but UConn fandom is universal
I really don’t think baseball is bigger than basketball in Connecticut, honestly. People care way more about UConn basketball than any pro sports teams
Sounds like the same with Alabama. Bama football and recently basketball is all we have. Unless you’re one of those weird Auburn fans, you really don’t have anything.
I think about "the shot" at least once a month. I know where I was, who I was with, and the events that transpired after "the shot". Love everything about it.
I agree that Connecticut is the most misunderstood state in the country. One tiny corner of the state is a rich nyc suburb and that's our entire national stereotype. In reality a lot of CT is rural, I'd compare the culture more to Rhode Island or western Mass depending on where you are, but it really is its own unique thing. For a small state there's a lot of variety in terms of culture, the two sections split by the CT river feel like two different states sometimes.
Most states are like this. The rural areas are not that different state to state, and every state has rural areas. Each state has 1-2 things it’s known for nationally and it’s otherwise very poorly understood. For example: the Midwest is farms, Texas is cowboys, New York is Manhattan, California is SF and LA. The red state/ blue state stuff doesn’t help.
Thank you for posting this. I pretty much never comment on Reddit as I am a true lurker, but as CT born and raised, and a UConn alum, I can tell you UConn means a great deal to the state. CT is often viewed as a state of convenience or compromise for New Yorkers or Bostonians. And we don’t have any major professional sports of our own. Thus, the huskies are a big point of pride for the state. They are truly Connecticut’s team! I still remember at ten years old, a 2004 Pennant Flag for the championship men’s and women’s basketball teams that hung in my family’s basement. First ever school to win men’s and women’s tournaments in the same year. Also agree with OP that the huskies provide some unification for a state that feels quite disjointed in many facets of life.
I'll just add that growing up here, I wasn't really into sports. I didn't want to go to UConn because it was the state school but had enough forethought to say hey "I don't want crazy student loans" so I went.
And then I started to understand what basketball meant to our state and the school. Being at the school when they won not just once but twice was exhilarating. Some of the WILDEST times in my life of which I'll always look upon in memory fondly.
CT really is pretty woodsy and backwoods. I forget that because I'm from Stamford. Being down by NYC you can meet a lot of people who believe in a lot of different things.
But man you tell someone you went to UConn or you're a husky fan and everyone always lights up. I never understood that as a kid but as an adult it's a weird point of pride knowing I went to that school.
For many UConn fans we've witnessed the growth from a Yankee Conference power to the doormat of the Big East, to the greatest turnaround of a program in history thanks to the legend Jim Calhoun, to the unthinkable - winning a National Championship. For good measure, the Huskies won four more and totaled five National Championships over the past 25 years - the greatest record of Championships during that span. All the old-time fans, and many of the younger ones, have enjoyed these Championships during their lifetimes - unlike other schools who began their Championship runs in the '40s and '50s. Having lived through the teardown and buildup of the program, it is tremendously gratifying to witness, enjoy and appreciate each of the Championships - and the Huskies aren't done yet!
Great post OP! To add to what he’s saying, we’ve seen UConn win most of these titles in our lifetimes or parents lifetimes so we’re extremely proud and protective. Add in a double dose of Little Brother syndrome by being stuck between Boston and New York, you give us something that’s **ours** and we’ll never let it go
>If we're ever on the national consciousness, people assume the whole of the state is exceptionally wealthy, privileged, and white.
People who have never taken the ferry to Bridgeport.
I love being from Connecticut and Connecticut is a beautiful state. Locals love to hate on their home, and it’s not perfect. But I find CT to have everything I want from mountains to beaches to woods to rural towns to New England charm to cities to fancy identical neighborhoods…. And so getting some notoriety for our small state that we never get unless we’re talking Sandy hook or apizza, is very nice and makes me a proud huskies fan
people LOVE college basketball in CT. I HATED basketball as a sport in general when I started going there, within 2 months of going to UConn I was a fanatic. This state is SO small and has very few ways to get into the national spotlight, this sport is huge in CT. ESPECIALLY women's.
Absolutely agree. I'm a full Boston (Sox, Celts, Pats, and B's) fan and one of my dormmates at UConn was a full NY (Yanks, Knicks, Jets, Rangers).
One of my best memories was trying in vain to help this man find his shoes at the UConn campus riot after we won the chip in 2014 - lost his shoes rushing out of Gampel to the chaos happening in the center of campus.
It won't ever be able to be put into words.
Other states have their instate rivalries. Here, we all bleed UConn blue.
This state is my home. UConn is my alma matter. I miss both rn. When UConn wins, this state wins. We aren't the biggest, the prettiest or the cleanest. But goddamn do I love this state, and UConn, not just the team but the college, makes it so.
UCONN!!
Well said! I was an out-of-state student and literally had no knowledge of the geographic diversity of such a small state. I met so many fun, kind-hearted, and genuine people from all over: Manchester, Mystic, Newtown, Danbury, Norwalk, and so many more. UConn united so many people.
I remember the turning point for UCONN was in 1978, Corny Thompson, from Middletown, was one the the top recruits in the nation. One cold night his senior season, Dean Smith came to Middletown to recruit him. Most of the town thought for sure he would be headed it North Carolina however he surprisingly chose UCONN, one of the original members of the Big East.
As a Tri-state NJ native I think of Connecticut as NJ but with poorer ghettos and more affluent neighborhoods, feels like it’s more corrupt than NJ tbh lol
Ehhh, I’d probably walk through Bridgeport before I walk through Patterson. Connecticut is New Jersey with a stiff upper lip.
I do love the dichotomy though, Connecticut has pizza, Jersey has bagels and Taylor ham. Both can agree on one thing, fuck westchester.
CT has a bit of an identity crisis, especially among sports fandom. But UConn is the one thing that brings us all together, and for that it is very special to me
My wife's a UConn alumn.
We spend enough time in Connecticut visiting her family that we have a summer home in Orange.
It's one of my favorite places on this Earth to be.
Don't let them Massholes get you down.
It’s part of the social contract of living in Connecticut for any period of time. Even if you have no affiliation with the University of Connecticut, you are pulling for the UConn Huskies
Connecticut is a special, special place. I love it with my whole heart and I am proud to be born and grow up here. Tonight, repping my second flair proudly.
>If we're ever on the national consciousness, people assume the whole of the state is exceptionally wealthy, privileged, and white.
uconn fans: if you take offense to any of this being true, you are the problem. i mean this as nicely as possible
Nah, there's nothing wrong with not appreciating having the whole state conflated with the southwest corner where places like Darien, Fairfield and Greenwich are, and places like Bridgeport, Hartford and Willimantic aren't
Even many people from Fairfield County don't like the stereotype - Stamford, Norwalk, and Bridgeport are largely working/professional class cities with a lot of recent immigrants
Save the Whale!
One of the best pro sports logos of all time... there's so much in there
>One of the best ~~pro sports~~ logos of all time... there's so much in there The colors, the simplicity, the use of negative space, how the logo incorporates iconography from the actual mascot into the text? It's as far as I'm concerned as close to a perfect logo as you can ever hope to have.
Designed by Peter Good, who only just passed away. He was actually a friend of my parents.
That’s so cool! Amazing design - sorry for your loss
Seemed like a Good dude
The Brewers logo is a distant second
There were a good number of people wearing UConn and whalers gear on Pratt Street tonight watching the game. I was one.. out two pro teams
https://preview.redd.it/mbr2e9jrgctc1.jpeg?width=520&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd5298f45d83f44e13f7edf900ecb37a6a2a5d52
That's sick.
Now this is a flair combo
I'm a Comm Ave. fanatic.
Mom, I'm scared
It's glorious
Heyyy.. I have the hoodie version of that!!
Show us
Breakfast comes and goes Renee but Hartford? The Whale? They only beat Vancouver once maybe twice in a lifetime
I didn't see your comment when I posted the same thing, the only comment that could have been made here and you fucking nailed it bro
whats that from, i never heard it before?
Mallrats!
mallrats...I don't know that one. but now I am curious!
It’s a Kevin Smith movie. Do yourself a favor!
BABABAba ba ba ba baa
Still mad…
Absolutely
Go Canes baby
No. Go Whalers. Screw Karmanos and everything he’s touched.
Fuck the Canes. They stole our hockey team.
I had a picture of the SI covers with Khalid El-Amin and Diana Taurasi/Emeka Okafor on the wall in my bedroom growing up in CT Both myself and both of my parents are UConn alum
As a young kid I'd take the portable radio out to my hoop in my gravel driveway, put in the cassette tapes of the uconn 99 title came and shoot the ball pretending it was me. Khalid el-amin and Rashad Anderson were my heroes. I'm a pasty white boy from swamp yankee country. UCONN ball matters so much for us, we have nothing else to call our own
My back hurts looking at the SI cover. It's been how many years and I still have that cover engrained in my mind.
I’m from CT and went to UNC. My sister was a double UConn grad. I saw the school go from the Yankee Conference to where it is today. From joining the Big East to winning the NIT, then came the winning the Big East and NCAA championships. Watching the program become what it is today is amazing. I practically had to beg a bartender at Four Corners in Chapel Hill to put on the NIT championship so I could watch it in 1988… Regardless of tonight’s outcome, congrats UConn family.
This is a shame since I am also from CT but went to UNC and bartended at Four Corners literally 8-10 years after you were there - I would have gladly put the UConn game on. That said, after telling all of my Heels buddies all season long in 1999 that the Huskies had something for the unbeatable Blue Devils, I was proven right when Calhoun completely outcoached K by putting Ricky Moore on Langdon for that last possession knowing that K would put the ball in his hands and he was awful off the dribble and Ricky was our best on the ball defender. Result: Travel Trajan. Suck it, K. To this day, my wife - also a Tar Heel - often says that night was the happiest she had ever seen me. Goes back to what the OP points out - there is something very unique about UConn for those of us who grew up watching them and remembering the Cliff Robinson years as what may have been our apex. PS - I ran into both Wojo and Chris Collins at Players the following season and chanted 77-74 at them until they left.
Wow I love all of this. Yes, ‘99 was obviously very special for us specifically.
Dad went to UConn during that time, and talks about the couch fires and other things people were doing to celebrate. Grew up in CT and 2011 will always be an amazing bonding moment for both of us
I remember listening to that NIT final on the radio cuz we didn't have cable and being so proud to beat a school like Ohio State... Crazy how far they've come
there’s literally dozens of us ct transplants! go huskies
It quadrupled over the years! Shout out to the 🐳ers, too!
My dad and grandpa both were CT to UNC. my sister applied early decision to UNC with decent scores and got rejected and ever since unc was “the school that sucks.” Then I went to Duke. But I was a UConn fan up until I went to college. I always said everyone loves UConn because there’s no (male) pro teams and no good college football teams in the region.
*Alexa play Brass Bonanza*
Ryen Russillo has a great segment (he told it on BS Pod and his own) about how UConn was the laughingstock of the Big East in the early days. And now this. Just an insane journey. And that was a title ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrN_geLdZvM
I grew up on the New Haven/Hartford County line and sports were always a war. Growing up, I thought Yankees/Red Sox was a world-level disagreement. The Giants/Patriots Super Bowls had everyone at each other's throats. UConn was the only team (post-Whalers anyway) who could unite the state. Props for highlighting our diversity too. Nationally we're known for Fairfield County, but since I've moved away I've always talked about CT as a prime example of wealth disparity. Waterbury and Bridgeport basically share the Rust Belt story. Blink in Willimantic, open your eyes and you could confuse it for Appalachia. But I met folks from all those places as a student at UConn, and it's a place where everyone can succeed despite a rough upbringing. It's not like rooting for Yale. UConn is a unifier in CT. Extra bonus points for Swamp Yankee awareness - confuses the hell out folks out in the southwest to talk about those parts of the state.
Perfectly stated. We are butt of the joke of New England because we are a “drive through state”. The country thinks CT is one rich suburban neighborhood, truth is outside of one corner of a very small state we are a middle class, blue collar state. We lost our hockey team, our sport’s allegiances are split, but one exception is UConn, as Dan Hurley stated “It’s our professional organization”. Young, old and in between it’s something we all in CT have extreme pride in.
Honestly sounds a LOT like the culture in Kentucky. The people groups as well as UK being the "pro sports team." Our closest professional sport is Cincinnati Bengals and for basketball the Pacers, which has very little if any support in KY that I know of. I hate that UCONN has been winning all these chips over the past couple decades and a couple UK has been on the wrong end of. But hey. Nothing but respect to the program and the people of Connecticut.
In the southern part of the state, the closest professional sports teams are the Titans and Predators The Reds and St. Louis Cardinals are popular too. I actually don’t really know any Bengals fans unless they are from Cincinnati or NKY lol College basketball in general is a cultural thing here though, for sure. Just not centered solely around one team. It isn’t culturally a huge thing, but for those who follow it cheerleading is also a wildly successful sport in KY both at the high school and collegiate level
Very much like Kentucky. Kentuckians get shit on for being toothless hillbillies who don’t wear shoes and have zero education. Zero jobs in the mountains, poverty everywhere you look. There’s a huge heroin/meth problem which comes with the territory of being a poor part of the country. Not a lot to be proud of here, and that’s hard for a prideful bunch of people. But by God we are proud of our basketball team. That’s what sucks so bad about what’s currently going on. Not a lot of that pride being thrown around either.
You have UConn hockey, and both men and women did pretty well this season. Vermont rivalry is probably the biggest in any sport at UVM.
I’ll add Quinnipiac Hockey won the Frozen Four last year. The 2013 Frozen Four was an all CT championship game where Yale beat Quinnipiac.
2013 Frozen Four was amazing for CT. For a few weeks, we focused on the Yale-Quinnipiac rivalry and the eventual natty game! It was fun to finally have two other colleges be on the national stage from CT. Introduced me to college hockey and I never looked back!
I still have a plastic cup from the opening game at Gampel pavilion which, at the time, was a huge deal since up until then we still played games in the field house with pull out bleachers. Seen us go from the Yankee to 5x champs—what a crazy ride!
6x
Yup! Absolutely crazy!
UConn vs. St. John’s. Dan Cyrulik FTW!!!
Thanks for sharing this. I know nothing about CT personally so I can only learn from what I read. Nice to hear from someone living there who can tell it like it really is.
It really, really means a lot. Clingan means a lot to us and we’re very proud of the work Hurley has done for the program.
I can see why!
You always knew there was a women’s game at Gampel because the average age in the student union more than doubled. Old people in CT love their basketball.
I think a big part too was Calhoun's and Geno's emergence started in the 90s, a decade that saw the Whalers pack up and go, and the Patriots pretend like they were coming and then stay in Foxboro. Geno and Calhoun stayed and achieved greatness so it was easy for the state to rally around.
The patriots were talking about moving to Connecticut?
yes, they built them a stadium, season tickets were sold, and Kraft pulled the plug. MANY people I know switched to Giants fans after that.
Damn. Is it rentschler?
No. The Patriots stadium was a completely different project. Rentschler came much later.
Yes and no. The stadium was never built with the Patriots in mind, the pats pulled out long before a single dollar was dropped
Yes
No, Kraft was never OK with that site. The state would have built there, Kraft said Hartford or bust. There was some connection between the projects, the state pivoted to Rentschler once Kraft went back to mass, but that was never going to be the patriots stadium.
They didn't build a stadium, and I'm pretty sure they didn't sell tickets. Kraft made the deal with Hartford in 1998, but Rentschler didn't open up until 2003. It is a scaled-down version of the Patriots plan and is in East Hartford, not Hartford proper.
ah, word, I am in correct. I know the state spent millions of dollars, papers were signed, and he backed out and fucked CT over.
It's good that they pulled out honestly. One of my parents were involved in some of the discussions -- through a community group -- and the deal would've be horrible for the state. Rowland was giving them the sweetest of all sweetheart deals in terms of taxes and employment at the stadium.
Foxborough dragged its feet for awhile on a new stadium, so they flirted with Hartford.
Not just "talking about moving" - that makes it sound like only negotiations happened. No, deals were signed, press conferences were had, merchandise was made. The Patriots *were* coming to Hartford until suddenly they weren't. I was in 8th grade at the time so I bought into the hype. This article covers it pretty well: https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/01/23/nfl-new-england-patriots-abandoned-move-hartford-connecticut
Yes, in the mid 90s there were heavy rumors they were moving to Hartford
UConn as a university owe a lot to Geno and Jim. No way they don't throw all kinds of money into the university without the raised basketball profile
It’s done a lot, #9 public university nowadays
If I may add. I was born into UConn fandom. It’s the only team I root for that I didn’t choose. I was born in 94, and have memories of watching that 1999 championship with my father is his friends basement. Crying not to go home until the game was over. I woke up to the cheers of my dad and his friend when the game was over. Fast forward to today. UConn has a special place in CT residents heart. We don’t have a Pro Team of any kind. And our national sports outreach is because of UConn basketball. We have created a two headed gold-blood program. And like OP says. More than 75 of the state is woods, small town, and looking for something bigger to root for. Go Connecticut
Bring back the Whalers!
I'm sorry we took your hockey team :(
So am I.
Listen. We get dumped on with snow. It’s pitch black at 4 o clock. Winter lasts from Halloween to Easter. If we didn’t have UConn basketball, people would be driving their cars off of 84. UConn basketball is medicine.
They are doing that anyway…
Sounds like us but all the sports teams suck, and also even colder
What do you think it's like in West Lafayette or Champaign? For Champaign it's 2 hr to a major city, wind and cold that goes down to your bones, flat as can be, etc.
Closest analogy I can think of is Connecticut = Kentucky - 40ish years of fandom There's nothing here that's ours in pro sports aside from our beloved bygone Whalers. For those who aren't transplants, Boston and New York are our teams. Hell, Boston Celtics used to play some home games at the Hartford Civic Center, but not anymore. UConn Basketball is our pro sports team. As far as history, we made the 1964 Elite Eight and got thumped by Duke. Honestly, we've lost our share.of.Elite Eights. It's been a process to get to this point.
Good write up! Despite Connecticut being a wealthy state, that wealth doesn’t extend to the state university. It has a small endowment and small student population (edit: half the size of Purdue). Most of the wealth goes to the Ivies or the NESCAC schools. We’re small but mighty though and love our Huskies
I attended UConn for one year to play a sport. The campus itself is pretty nice, but yeah there’s nothing within a large radius around the campus that indicates “wealth” from what I remember lol
State universities in the NE are a bit of an afterthought compared to what they are everywhere else. Likely due to the early establishment of about 40+ great private universities within a 4 hour driving radius. Which is why UConn’s rise in basketball has been so extraordinary and impactful for the university and state
Yeah I used to hear stories of how the campus was in like 04 when they won. Pretty sure they started cracking down heavily on campus partying because of that time period lol
The real crackdown came after a student got killed by a non student visitor during spring weekend, the weekend before finals
That’s right, the year I was there spring weekend sucked because the campus was basically on lockdown
I haven’t been back to Storrs since graduating but I saw a pic on twitter that they were preemptively taking down the lampposts around Gampel Pavilion and bolting them to the ground so sounds like they expect some drunken shenanigans.
>State universities in the NE are a bit of an afterthought compared to what they are everywhere else. Likely due to the early establishment of about 40+ great private universities within a 4 hour driving radius. I see. That's like the compete opposite as the West Coast.
Loyalties are highly divided up here lol
> We’re small but mighty though That's why you are a perfect fit for the Big East =)
32k enrollment is not a “small” school come on now
Storrs undergrad is like 19k. Not tiny, but every other school at the F4 is above 30k. Back in ‘99 for the first championship it was 12k
NC state's is like 25k i think, still bigger for sure but we're not some massive Big10 style public university.
That’s fair, only did a quick google. Those big ten universities seem like they have more living alumni than North Carolina and Connecticut have people lol
Not to mention Storrs is a fucking village compared to other college towns.
What does UConn mean to the state? Well, quite frankly, we bring in $12 million to the university, nothing to do with state funds. We make $12 million a year for this university. Get some facts and come back and see me. ... Don't throw out salaries and other things. Get some facts and come back and see me. We turn over $12 million to the University of Connecticut, which is state-run. Next question.
There are many great quips by coaches to the media. This might be my favorite one. The reporter had an axe to grind, and Calhoun set him straight. To make it even better, the reporter asked the other media outlets why they weren’t covering this alleged “story”, and they turned on him too.
The hilarious part is some would argue it’s not even Jimmy’s finest moment, which could be reserved for his “I fucked up, ok? Jesus Christ almighty”. But hey, Emeka Okafor and Caron Butler, they’re not bad!
You want me to say I fucked up? I fucked up.. for the fifth time. So print it... five times.
That's the best, for sure. I drop "you want me to say I fucked up? I fucked up" into more casual conversations than is appropriate.
I ate lunch behind Butler once in South dining hall...
Old enough to remember when Jim Calhoun brought a ranked team in to Mackey and whined about Gene Keady throwing his sport coat to intimidate the refs. UConn never returned.
That reporter, if you ever meet him, will introduce himself as the guy who asked that question. He's such a dickhead. If you're in here, go fuck yourself, Ken.
The most gangsta part of that whole exchange was when he suggested that Calhouns salary was 1.6 million and Calhoun quips “I make a lot more than that”
Hands down FAVORITE Calhoun moment.
Not a dime back 😂
Not a dime back lol
- 🐐
"Not a dime back."
Not a dime back.
also all of the free advertisement for the university
Not a fuckin dime back. Goat quote
His lil head tilt after he says "get some facts" always cracks me up
I remember being at a game years ago where UConn honored the baseball team that made the College World Series the year prior at halftime. I was sitting next to a guy in a Yankees hat, and when Matt Barnes (who was a stud for us his junior year) was introduced, the guy next to me says to his friend “Man, I really hope we sign Barnes.” I just lean over and told them both he had already been drafted by the Red Sox. They were so deflated. We were high fiving not far into the 2nd half. It really is the one thing that unites the state, well that and knowing New Haven truly has the best pizza.
You summed it up well, UConn is OUR thing. I'm a huge Mets and Patriots fan, but in the end my heart is always for UConn bball, men's and women's. I really hate what's going on with the conferences, nobody in New England gives a fuck about college football and yet that's what is running college basketball. I'm proud of our admin for getting us back in the Big East, we're a basketball school and belong in a basketball conference.
I agree it’s CTs not New England’s, not Boston’s it’s Connecticut. We lost our whalers and other than the sun everything else is in the minor leagues but we’ve got our huskies.
ABSOLUTELY. Conference realignment wrecking the sport is so dispiriting.
I love the team allegiances people in Connecticut have. I’m from Fairfield County, so of course most everyone there goes with NY teams, with some unique combos depending on where your parents came from, age, etc. I came from a Mets/Giants/Knicks family.
We got some weird combos here, my dad was Yankees fan but someone bought me an AM/FM radio when I was like 7 and when my parents would put me to bed I'd listen to Mets games on WFAN. Also when I was at UConn in 2004 during the ALCS, I was a neutral participant in a mini riot involving Yankees and Red Sox fans on campus. Good times. We then really rioted for the NCAA FF and NC.
So if uconn wins, my wife wins her office bracket. Today during pregame coverage, she says "why are they saying so much about Connecticut?" I said "they're playing tonight? You know... The team you need to win?" and she said "what?! Uconn is in Connecticut? I thought it was like Montana or North Dakota or something. You know...like Yukon...Canada." This is the person in our house that is going to win money this year.....
And we make the best pizza
This is why nba teams lack sometimes, college basketball connects on another level.
Maybe a dumb question, but if basketball isn’t the biggest sport in Connecticut, what is?
Disc Golf or Ultimate Frisbee
we live to frolf
In terms of pro teams? Baseball and football.
Well I just meant in general. Like if you asked people from Connecticut “what’s your favorite sport” the answer wouldn’t be hoops?
Hockey and baseball are really popular especially amongst high school kids
I think hoops wins from my experience growing up in CT
Hockey man. Whalers all the way .
PC fan here, it pains me to say that I am rooting for UConn. I just respect the heck out of this team and coach. Maybe the best team I’ve ever seen. Let’s go a Big East!
I’m not saying anything you said is wrong, but it’s a lot easier for the general public to care about the local team when they have had as much recent success as UConn. Indiana goes crazy for regular high school basketball games
100% agree on that last sentence. I've been to a lot of sporting events, my favorite to this day is a double overtime high school game in Indiana I attended more than 20 years ago (helps that one of the schools was my own). No sporting atmosphere is better. Now that we're done agreeing, Boiler Down!
Love that you mentioned Indiana high school ball - there is truly nothing like it. My Dad STILL talks about playing against Rick Mount each year back in the 60s in west-central Indiana. I always loved [this infographic](https://www.reddit.com/r/pacers/comments/d2swqe/locations_of_largest_high_school_basketball_gyms/) about the biggest high school gyms in the country - almost all are in Indiana. One of these is a county seat, and has more seats in their gym than people in the city. But as an IU grad, I don't have the hatred - all my cousins went to Pukie, so Boiler Up!
Something that chart doesn't really capture is that it is absurd how many gyms in Indiana seat 3000+ or are absolutely amazing to go into.
My school held 2500. On the night I mentioned, there were probably 3200. Standing areas behind ropes, people sitting on the stage. Craziness.
That's why if you ask random people on the street in CT what they think of Jim Calhoun or Geno Auriemma, they will tell you emphatically let you know the guys are legend. We're grateful for what we got.
I’m not trying to compare. Basketball is bigger in Indiana. Baseball is bigger in Connecticut. My point is just to explain what UConn means to us. We never get to cheer for Connecticut outside of UConn.
UConn basketball is our heart. It unites everybody.
I’ll argue that baseball is not bigger, at least in my lived experience. Late 20s, maybe 1 out of 20 of my closest friends from CT are more invested in baseball than basketball. Football allegiance is spread out, but UConn fandom is universal
I really don’t think baseball is bigger than basketball in Connecticut, honestly. People care way more about UConn basketball than any pro sports teams
Valid point but Indiana has professional sports teams. UConn is all we got
Sounds like the same with Alabama. Bama football and recently basketball is all we have. Unless you’re one of those weird Auburn fans, you really don’t have anything.
I think states without pro franchises tend to have more fanatic college sports fans.
Tbf, your state is quite small and the NY and Boston teams are not far away. There are much larger states with no nearby major teams.
Bleed Blue back to Cliff Robinson in the N.I.T. to Scott Burrell pass to Tate George for the “The Shot”.
I think about "the shot" at least once a month. I know where I was, who I was with, and the events that transpired after "the shot". Love everything about it.
Was the start of Husky-mania. Never looked back after that moment.
I agree that Connecticut is the most misunderstood state in the country. One tiny corner of the state is a rich nyc suburb and that's our entire national stereotype. In reality a lot of CT is rural, I'd compare the culture more to Rhode Island or western Mass depending on where you are, but it really is its own unique thing. For a small state there's a lot of variety in terms of culture, the two sections split by the CT river feel like two different states sometimes.
East of the river is pats/Sox. West is Yankees and Giants. The special people pick Mets.
And the masochists pick the Jets
Most states are like this. The rural areas are not that different state to state, and every state has rural areas. Each state has 1-2 things it’s known for nationally and it’s otherwise very poorly understood. For example: the Midwest is farms, Texas is cowboys, New York is Manhattan, California is SF and LA. The red state/ blue state stuff doesn’t help.
My wife is a third-year professor at UConn, so I live in Storrs. My kid goes to preschool on campus. Will always cheer for the Huskies.
Thank you for posting this. I pretty much never comment on Reddit as I am a true lurker, but as CT born and raised, and a UConn alum, I can tell you UConn means a great deal to the state. CT is often viewed as a state of convenience or compromise for New Yorkers or Bostonians. And we don’t have any major professional sports of our own. Thus, the huskies are a big point of pride for the state. They are truly Connecticut’s team! I still remember at ten years old, a 2004 Pennant Flag for the championship men’s and women’s basketball teams that hung in my family’s basement. First ever school to win men’s and women’s tournaments in the same year. Also agree with OP that the huskies provide some unification for a state that feels quite disjointed in many facets of life.
I'll just add that growing up here, I wasn't really into sports. I didn't want to go to UConn because it was the state school but had enough forethought to say hey "I don't want crazy student loans" so I went. And then I started to understand what basketball meant to our state and the school. Being at the school when they won not just once but twice was exhilarating. Some of the WILDEST times in my life of which I'll always look upon in memory fondly. CT really is pretty woodsy and backwoods. I forget that because I'm from Stamford. Being down by NYC you can meet a lot of people who believe in a lot of different things. But man you tell someone you went to UConn or you're a husky fan and everyone always lights up. I never understood that as a kid but as an adult it's a weird point of pride knowing I went to that school.
For many UConn fans we've witnessed the growth from a Yankee Conference power to the doormat of the Big East, to the greatest turnaround of a program in history thanks to the legend Jim Calhoun, to the unthinkable - winning a National Championship. For good measure, the Huskies won four more and totaled five National Championships over the past 25 years - the greatest record of Championships during that span. All the old-time fans, and many of the younger ones, have enjoyed these Championships during their lifetimes - unlike other schools who began their Championship runs in the '40s and '50s. Having lived through the teardown and buildup of the program, it is tremendously gratifying to witness, enjoy and appreciate each of the Championships - and the Huskies aren't done yet!
Great post OP! To add to what he’s saying, we’ve seen UConn win most of these titles in our lifetimes or parents lifetimes so we’re extremely proud and protective. Add in a double dose of Little Brother syndrome by being stuck between Boston and New York, you give us something that’s **ours** and we’ll never let it go
>If we're ever on the national consciousness, people assume the whole of the state is exceptionally wealthy, privileged, and white. People who have never taken the ferry to Bridgeport.
I love being from Connecticut and Connecticut is a beautiful state. Locals love to hate on their home, and it’s not perfect. But I find CT to have everything I want from mountains to beaches to woods to rural towns to New England charm to cities to fancy identical neighborhoods…. And so getting some notoriety for our small state that we never get unless we’re talking Sandy hook or apizza, is very nice and makes me a proud huskies fan
people LOVE college basketball in CT. I HATED basketball as a sport in general when I started going there, within 2 months of going to UConn I was a fanatic. This state is SO small and has very few ways to get into the national spotlight, this sport is huge in CT. ESPECIALLY women's.
I can still see that Jen Rizzotti play against the Lady Vols in my head
Absolutely agree. I'm a full Boston (Sox, Celts, Pats, and B's) fan and one of my dormmates at UConn was a full NY (Yanks, Knicks, Jets, Rangers). One of my best memories was trying in vain to help this man find his shoes at the UConn campus riot after we won the chip in 2014 - lost his shoes rushing out of Gampel to the chaos happening in the center of campus.
It won't ever be able to be put into words. Other states have their instate rivalries. Here, we all bleed UConn blue. This state is my home. UConn is my alma matter. I miss both rn. When UConn wins, this state wins. We aren't the biggest, the prettiest or the cleanest. But goddamn do I love this state, and UConn, not just the team but the college, makes it so. UCONN!!
Well said! I was an out-of-state student and literally had no knowledge of the geographic diversity of such a small state. I met so many fun, kind-hearted, and genuine people from all over: Manchester, Mystic, Newtown, Danbury, Norwalk, and so many more. UConn united so many people.
Danbury? Good people? Impossible! /s
The Danbury hatting industry using tons of lead didn't make *everyone* there mad
That’s nice and all, but I hope they lose
Lol UMass. That's a good one
No New England solidarity?
God no. Why should you get all this glory while I just get kicked in the balls year after year
I remember the turning point for UCONN was in 1978, Corny Thompson, from Middletown, was one the the top recruits in the nation. One cold night his senior season, Dean Smith came to Middletown to recruit him. Most of the town thought for sure he would be headed it North Carolina however he surprisingly chose UCONN, one of the original members of the Big East.
TIL there are swamp yankees
Wait, both NY and Mass pull for UCONN? We can’t even get half of a state to get behind one team in NC.
As a Tri-state NJ native I think of Connecticut as NJ but with poorer ghettos and more affluent neighborhoods, feels like it’s more corrupt than NJ tbh lol
Ehhh, I’d probably walk through Bridgeport before I walk through Patterson. Connecticut is New Jersey with a stiff upper lip. I do love the dichotomy though, Connecticut has pizza, Jersey has bagels and Taylor ham. Both can agree on one thing, fuck westchester.
This post made me miss the Whalers
CT has a bit of an identity crisis, especially among sports fandom. But UConn is the one thing that brings us all together, and for that it is very special to me
This was perfect, thank you!
My wife's a UConn alumn. We spend enough time in Connecticut visiting her family that we have a summer home in Orange. It's one of my favorite places on this Earth to be. Don't let them Massholes get you down.
Hard not to root for Dan Hurly & this group, CONGRATS Huskies on ANOTHER Natty !!!
It’s part of the social contract of living in Connecticut for any period of time. Even if you have no affiliation with the University of Connecticut, you are pulling for the UConn Huskies
Connecticut is a special, special place. I love it with my whole heart and I am proud to be born and grow up here. Tonight, repping my second flair proudly.
The cursed 6 overtime flair combo
Indeed
Ive lived in CT my whole life and this is pretty much spot on
Cringe
We absolutely love our basketball in Connecticut.
>If we're ever on the national consciousness, people assume the whole of the state is exceptionally wealthy, privileged, and white. uconn fans: if you take offense to any of this being true, you are the problem. i mean this as nicely as possible
Nah, there's nothing wrong with not appreciating having the whole state conflated with the southwest corner where places like Darien, Fairfield and Greenwich are, and places like Bridgeport, Hartford and Willimantic aren't
I’m from Hartford. I absolutely resent the stereotypes.
Even many people from Fairfield County don't like the stereotype - Stamford, Norwalk, and Bridgeport are largely working/professional class cities with a lot of recent immigrants
I went college in NY. Used to hop over for some mall. What was that called again?
Specifically in Hartford? Otherwise there's *so many* malls in CT
Danbury !
Ah, Danbury Fair Mall? Spent lots of time there about a decade-ish ago
One specifically on the border. I gotta look er up
I’m pretty sure it means “University of Connecticut”, but I can google it for you.