Game #139 of 364 38% complete

I have been a UConn fans since the late 1960’s when my Dad would take me to the New Haven Coliseum to to see the Huskies play another Yankee Conference league opponent. I have lived and died with this team for some 50 odd years. I have attended all their Final Four victories except for the last one when I made a promise to my daughter to watch the grandkids that weekend,

So to say that I was pumped for this game was an understatement. However, I was very pessimistic of our chances. We were 7.5 point underdogs playing the 11th ranked team in the country on their home court. To make matter worse, it was Marquette Day which occurs on annually on February 1st.

From a Marquette web site:

National Marquette Day is a tradition dating back to the 1960s that brings the Marquette nation united together in pride and spirit to honor the values of the University.

This was evident as I toured the campus during the day before the game on the day before. Families, alumni and students were all abuzz throughout the campus.

I paid $146 thorough TickPick for a seat in the second row of the arena. I arrived early as Marquette fans with their yellow attire filled in around me. My introverted self was evident in that I was not going to be that one loud mouth opposing fan who stood out from everyone else in that section.

My how things changed!

Shortly before the game began, I look over and a see a row of fellow UConn fans marching in behind me. I was shocked to say the least. Since I was not wearing any UConn attire, I introduced my self and we then became the UConn horde of Section 217. I yelled and celebrated with high fives with my new friends as UConn started the game on an unbelievable roll. The pessimist in me knew that the Golden Eagles would make a run but it was fun to watch the stunned crowd sit there in disbelief. We did incur a lot of disgusted and angry looks for the Marquette fans in our section.

Solo Ball for UConn has established himself as one of the premier shooters in the country. He torched and silenced the Marquette crowd with a 25 point performance including seven three pointers and 11 rebounds. My boys had a great night shooting: UConn shot 59.5 percent (25-42) from the floor and 62.3 percent (12-19) from 3-point range – both season bests. Conversely, Marquette finished at 39.7 percent (25-63) from the floor and 31.8 percent (7-22) from 3-point range.

Alex Karaban, the UConn All -American, has suffered some barbs from the Husky faithful this year especially from the two missed free throws against Villanova to win the game. However, he is a steady presence and the leader of this club. His contribution to the team does not always show in the stats sheet but he is still their MVP in my opinion.

The Marquette fan next to me admitted that they are lacking a big time center which I agree with. The Marquette fans were civil and left us alone. After the game, one fan suggested place to visit in Milwaukee next time we were in town. I hope that we respect the opposing fans when they visit Gampel.

I am a sucker for animals in half time shows.

Here are some pictures of the Marquette campus:

When I walking into the arena, I was behind a bunch of Marquette fans. One guy mentioned that he wanted to beat UConn because he hated Hurley. I guess Dan with his antics does bring some of this on but I would not want my coach to be any less passionate.

To the UConn fans in Section 217, you made my day special. I shared my Operation 351 mission story with some of them. They seem genuinely interested and promised to follow me. I even saw some mentions on the UConn Boneyard. This day was an absolute blast. Creighton is the one Big East arena left to visit but not this year. Perhaps I will brave enough to wear the UConn colors there.