Spring Break
I wouldn't trade this weekend for anything
Kevin Meacham
Issue date: 4/3/09 Section: Sports
Let me be honest with you: I've dreamed about this weekend for four years. I've imagined myself screaming at the top of my lungs, along with thousands of my peers. Hell, I've even imagined a small tear dripping down my cheek while "One Shining Moment" played as my team celebrated.
When I was searching for colleges, I knew I wanted a northeastern school with a journalism major. Beyond that, all I knew was that I wanted to experience and cover big-time Division I sports.
That thought process went through my mind throughout December 2004, when I sent in my application. Eight months earlier, of course, UConn made history by winning dual national championships. I couldn't help but be interested.
And I couldn't be happier with my choice, quite frankly. I know such a gushing column will probably put me on the short list for a donor letter starting in, oh, say, three months. (Don't worry - there's still plenty of time to make fun of you, UConn.)
But consider this: the wonderful game of basketball - this national craze we call March Madness - has turned Storrs into the center of the college hoops world.
The fact that Storrs is the center of anything, much less one of America's most popular collegiate sports, is astonishing.
The UConn men will have a chance to assert themselves as one of the elite all-time programs when they travel to Detroit. The UConn women are already elite, but they are long overdue for an exhibition of dominance on the ultimate stage.
So what I ask of you, humble reader, is this: is there any school, at any time of year, where you'd rather be? Storrs on Dual Final Four Eve Weekend (Part II) is everything I thought it would be. There's a buzz in the air.
And with all due respect to the contributions of Lexington, Ky., Bloomington, Ind., or Lawrence, Kan., there is no better basketball town in America than Storrs, Conn. We all knew it in 2004, and we know it now.
For all the tradition of those college towns and their hoops teams, they don't have two Hall of Fame coaches on the sideline. They don't have two teams capable of making great runs into March every year.
When I was searching for colleges, I knew I wanted a northeastern school with a journalism major. Beyond that, all I knew was that I wanted to experience and cover big-time Division I sports.
That thought process went through my mind throughout December 2004, when I sent in my application. Eight months earlier, of course, UConn made history by winning dual national championships. I couldn't help but be interested.
And I couldn't be happier with my choice, quite frankly. I know such a gushing column will probably put me on the short list for a donor letter starting in, oh, say, three months. (Don't worry - there's still plenty of time to make fun of you, UConn.)
But consider this: the wonderful game of basketball - this national craze we call March Madness - has turned Storrs into the center of the college hoops world.
The fact that Storrs is the center of anything, much less one of America's most popular collegiate sports, is astonishing.
The UConn men will have a chance to assert themselves as one of the elite all-time programs when they travel to Detroit. The UConn women are already elite, but they are long overdue for an exhibition of dominance on the ultimate stage.
So what I ask of you, humble reader, is this: is there any school, at any time of year, where you'd rather be? Storrs on Dual Final Four Eve Weekend (Part II) is everything I thought it would be. There's a buzz in the air.
And with all due respect to the contributions of Lexington, Ky., Bloomington, Ind., or Lawrence, Kan., there is no better basketball town in America than Storrs, Conn. We all knew it in 2004, and we know it now.
For all the tradition of those college towns and their hoops teams, they don't have two Hall of Fame coaches on the sideline. They don't have two teams capable of making great runs into March every year.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
morgan
posted 4/04/09 @ 6:21 PM EST
You should be very excited! As a student at U. of South Florida I can't help but be jealous of the hype that must be everywhere on your campus!
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