A Guide to Being a Better UConn Fan

Here in Connecticut, we haven’t been able to root for a local professional sports team since the Whalers peaced out for warmer climes. What we do have, however, is the best damn college basketball program in the country. Our UConn Huskies are the defending National Champions in both men’s and women’s basketball. They should be playing in front of packed houses filled with rabid fans losing their goddamn minds on every possession. But, unfortunately, they don’t. This is especially true when games are played away from campus and the Huskies’ loyal (and vocal) student fan base.

I attended the Temple game at the XL Center as a fan, and guys, we need to do better. I realize the conference realignment means we’re not playing familiar teams like Syracuse who we know how to get up for. But I don’t think people got the memo that Temple is a real team. That was the conference home opener. There shouldn’t have been an empty seat in the place. But there was. So get it together Husky fans. This is especially important because there is a game at 11 in the morning for reasons utterly passing understanding this Saturday in Hartford between the UConn men and Cincinnati.

But have no fear; I’m not just going to chastise you. I have helpfully created a list of ways we can all be better UConn fans.

1. Come to the game
   If you have tickets you need to make sure there are butts in your seats. The butts don’t have to be yours, but if you have a ticket you have to either, 1) go to the freakin’ game or 2) make sure someone else is going to the freakin’ game. Now I could complain about the fact that UConn sells tickets for seats along the sidelines to rich boosters when those seats should go to students, but I’ll save that for another time. Seeing empty seats in the lower bowl of home games is completely and totally unacceptable. UConn would do well to make it easy for ticket holders to resell/return their tickets for games they can’t attend. But if you own a ticket, you make sure it gets used. That’s on you. And, no, you don’t get to use the crappy conference or the fact that UConn is playing Central as an excuse. If you want to call yourself a UConn fan, you go to see UConn regardless of who they’re playing. None of this fair-weather fan nonsense.
2. Stay for the whole game
   I shouldn’t have to spell this out, but apparently I do. Because against Temple, with a minute and a half to play and UConn down six PEOPLE STARTED TO LEAVE. What the hell is wrong with you???? “Beating the traffic” is not and never will be an acceptable reason to leave a sporting event that close. And, hey, guess what? UConn came back and the game went to overtime. And, really, traffic? This is Hartford. It’s so not an issue. There are many fine establishments within walking distance of the XL where you can enjoy a beverage or several and wait out whatever “traffic” you’re concerned about. But don’t leave early. That’s amateur hour.
3. Make some noise
   The XL Center was dead quiet for most of the Temple game. There was no energy there. Except when free t-shirts were available. (And, seriously? If you can cheer for a crappy t-shirt with a corporate logo on it – barf – you can cheer for the game. It’s kind of pathetic watching people lose their minds over free giant t-shirts.) At Gampel against Texas (with a full contingent of students, not coincidentally) the place was absolutely rockin’. And while I could rail about the fact that all home games should be played on campus, I’ll save that for another time. If UConn is going to play half its home games in Hartford, we have to make it a place worth playing. That means actually getting into the game, and, you know, cheering. I want to hear the whole place doing the U-C-O-N-N cheer when Big Red gets on his feet. And speaking of being on your feet…
4. Stand the hell up
   This nonsense about sitting during basically the entire game needs to stop. It shouldn’t take a bunch of students yelling “Stand up, Gampel” to get your rear out of the seat. When something awesome happens, you should be on your feet screaming your head off. If we want our Huskies to play with energy, we gotta give it back to them. Players feed off of the crowd, so give them something to work with. So for the love of Jonathan, get your ass out of your seat for more than just snack runs.
5. Show some team pride
   There is so much amazing UConn swag. As the proud owner of multiple Heritage Edition UConn t-shirts, and many, many other articles of clothing adorned with the words “UConn” and “Huskies,” I promise you, there is some Husky gear to suit your tastes. So go to the co-op, visit online or (shameless self-promotion alert) the A Dime Back Store, stock up on some UConn stuff and wear it to the game. It looks so much cooler when we’re on TV all in team colors. Every game, the stands should be a sea of blue and white.

Now I don’t want you all to think this comes from an angry place. This comes from a place of love. UConn basketball is the best thing we’ve got going for us, so we should act like it. We can be better fans. We should be better fans. And I want to see you all being better fans this Saturday in Hartford. I’ll be there, decked out in Husky blue and white, standing and cheering my face off. And I better see you doing the same.

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