The 3 moments

I don't really know how to explain this but there are moments that sporting events create in your memory. Moments that mean something to you, moments that you share with your friends who were at the game. They are special moments for some reason or another, they are games that maybe define your love of a certain sport or team. I'd say that for me, my obsession with sports would mean that there are 3 games that have helped define my college experience so far.

When people ask me about college or about UConn I inevitably start talking about sports. Yes a large part of college are my teachers, experiences and classes, but for me my friends and sports are the largest part of my college experience.

I'd say that there are 3 games that have defined college for me so far. The first and most obvious one would be the Women's Basketball National Championship game. I always, always, always wanted to be able to see a National Championship won by my school while I was in college. I didn't care what team won it. I would celebrate if any of them won it. I always thought that Women's Basketball had a chance to win a championship. In 2007 I thought maybe Field Hockey and Men's Soccer could deliver one. Finally as a junior that National Championship came. Since I went to the school and had met people on the women's basketball team and program it almost felt as if I had won a national championship. It was as if WE were the champions (This is completely normal by the way...I BIRG...Bask In Reflective Glory)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basking_in_Reflected_Gloryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basking_in_Reflected_Glory

I will forever remember being in Gampel Pavilion watching the National Championship game. The anticipation of the game. Watching it on the screens and being with other UConn fans. It was great. It was memorable. It's something I tell everyone about and will talk about for years to come when asked about college. I loved the feeling, the emotional high that I got from thinking that we were the champions. I remember tons of students running on to the floor. I just remember being so happy. I couldn't wait to buy the National Champion T-Shirt and DVD. I took 6 Daily Campuses and bought the Hartford Courant the day after the game. This was a real highlight of my life. Sad, but true. I also remember the celebration for the team the next day. I spent probably 5 hours waiting for the team and watching the celebration for the team when they got back to campus. It was a lot of time out of my day, but I knew that it was a once in a life-time opportunity and I knew that this event and the National Championship game would be something that I remembered forever.

I also don't understand how many people just didn't care about it. It was extremely disheartening that more people didn't understand just quite how impressive it is to go undefeated in a sport. We beat every team by atleast 10. I wish the whole school got behind the team rather than just have the attitude of "so what." The team deserves much more respect than that.

I also remember having the National Championship trophy displayed at Midnight Breakfast. I have to say that the memories that this game created will be something that I cherish and attempt to relive forever. I know that I will be talking about this championship until the day I die.

The next game that created a lot of memories for me was the South Florida football game. This game is probably the haziest one in my memory. The details aren't as good as basketball because this game happened about two years ago.

Anyway, as a college football fan I wanted to see UConn be ranked atleast once during my years at school. After a 4-8 record or something dreadful in 2006 that didn't seem too promising. 2007 was a completely different story. That football season was so memorable. It was so amazing. The football team started off really hot. We went 5-0. We barely lost to Virginia at Virginia. We beat Louisville in an amazing game in East Hartford. We started to receive votes. We started to get some respect. In came a top 15 South Florida team for a game in East Hartford on ABC the day before my birthday. We didn't rush the field the week before against Louisville, as many of the players had hoped that we would. (well Tahirah Williams and Mel Thomas did manage to rush the field) We wouldn't squander the next opportunity.

We as fans were so ready for the South Florida game. We were amped up. We were crazy. I was crazy. I am not the most emotional or demonstrative person, especially as a fan. I was on this day. I got loud, I did whatever I could to help our defense out. I even encouraged the rain gods to keep dumping water on our field in hopes that it would help our running game and defense.

Andre Dixon was unstoppable that game vs. South Florida. He had us in the Student Section going nuts. Scott Lutrus picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown. We were in complete control of the game at halftime as I recall. As fans we got antsy. We got louder, more animated, more pumped up. The anticipation of winning, of being ranked, of rushing the field kept us energized and excited. We'd look up at the clock and just hoped it would keep running.

The game got close at the end. Our defense came through. We had a sack on Grothe late in the game and then the last pass of the game fell short. The student section went absolutely crazy. We were so excited.

I think every college student hopes that their team pulls off an upset and is able to rush on to the field. I think its great for the game. It creates great memories and it shows off school spirit. When done safely and orderly it is great.

It was scary at first. The rushing the field part. As someone who was closest to the entrance I was basically pinned against the railing. People were pushing and shoving. It was not the most comfortable feeling in the world. I waited a bit because I saw the first couple people tackled by security. Once security let things go I jumped down and joined everyone. It was a great scene. UConn students, football players, alumni and Connecticut residents of all ages just running on to the field in shock that our football team had just defeated South Florida. Shocked that in less than a decade our team was about to be ranked. It was a defining win in our programs history. It legitimized our football program. It brought us pride as students that our team had achieved a great victory. We were running around, patting football players on their back. They were raising their helmets up high and everyone was congregated around our C at midfield. We had so much school pride at that moment. I had no voice from screaming. I remember going up to friends and in a weak and sore voice going "do you believe it...were going to be ranked!!!!"

I was able to say that I got to rush the field for our football team. I was there when our program had our program legitimizing win. We proved to everyone that Connecticut football should be respected. I think the fact that we can start a tradition in football is a great thing too. I think its much cooler to be there when it first starts to get good then it is to be there when it's expected to be good.

Going from the 2006 team to a ranked team was unbelievable and so memorable. It's another sporting event that defined my college career. It's a game that I will cherish forever. A game that I will bring up with people at UConn forever. It created school spirit and a bond between myself and the football program. Besides winning the National Championship, this game vs South Florida made me so proud to be a UConn student and resident of Connecticut.

The last game is a game that I feel got overlooked when the Daily Campus put out their list of the best games of 2009. I must say that the Daily Campus sports staff is really good when it comes to ranking games and athletes. They are extremely fair and are not biased towards just the big teams. They do their best to cover all the teams well. I respect what they do and respect their rankings because I know that they have sent people to report on all the games on campus. (I don't respect the people who talk about the best games in terms of just two teams. Too many sports talkers focus on football and men's basketball. They ignore everything else and can't possibly say that other sports had memorable moments. They proclaim that these two teams games were the best even though they never venture out to see UConn's other 20 or so teams. You can say they were the best games for football and basketball, but you can't say they are the best at UConn if ignore all sports but those two.)

Anyway the last memorable moment from a game at UConn came from Women's Soccer vs. Yale. This was the first game that I ever gave up on my team winning. I didn't see how it was possible to win with 10 seconds left, even though I am one of those "It's not over until its over people." Kacey Richards came up big with her hustle and Cory Bildstein came up with a clutch kick that created a great moment in my college career. It's the game I talk about the most from 2008-09. People often ask why I care about soccer or about other sports. Why do I attend all these games. Maybe it's because I crave the emotional high that I got from watching the first two games I mentioned and this game that I am talking about now.

The end of that entire game was unbelievable. This is cliche, but it was as if it was scripted from a Hollywood movie. You could turn that play into a feel good story. It's something you almost had to have seen to believe. It looked as if UConn was about to lose. Then with the help of great hustle on Kacey Richards and a Yale hand, things got interesting. What had seemed totally impossible 10 seconds earlier now became possible but still improbable. I remember the people who were in the stands with me hoping that things would turn around on this one kick, the only realistic chance to tie the game in 3 seconds. Dan Willis came to the game and he was talking about how much he hated having a wall of defenders right in front of him when he was a goalie in youth soccer because it blocked his view of the ball. Ryan Grace, Wintana Araya, Greg Mihailides and whoever else was there were all hoping for the best. We anticipated this kick. It was drama at its best. I don't remember if it was heart pounding for me, but I certainly remember paying attention to this moment. We'd get one chance to score. Bildstein knocked it into the back of the net and we the fans went crazy. We were stunned, the student section started dancing around. The people in the stands were stunned and going crazy with their cheering. Morrone felt electric at that moment. There was so much positive energy coming from the fans and the team.

I think my friends and I were like "We just saw THAT happen?" 1.1 seconds were left and we finally tied the game. I have honestly never seen a crazier way to end regulation...to force overtime. It was so unbelievable to me. I think its better than a game tying shot in basketball or game tying field goal in football. We see that happen so often. You score a lot in those sports. You don't score that easily in soccer. You don't usually score with that little time left. That moment was so amazing that I almost forgot that Bildstein didn't win the game, (Annie Yi did) but it felt like she did. I still think of Bildstein and Women's Soccer when any game comes down to an unbelievable finish.

The Women's Soccer vs. Yale game taught me that you can see amazing things in sports anywhere at anytime. It made me fall in love with soccer. It made me even more of a sports fan. This game, for the 1200 of us there, is something that we will never forget. It's not possible to forget this game if you were there. I still talk about the game, as did Kaili McLaren. 6 weeks after the kick Kaili and I spoke about how amazing that game was. She said it was unbelievable.

The way that game ended and the fact that I was surrounded by so many of my friends made that Yale game so memorable to me. It was a great moment in sports that I will always cherish and always be able to bring up with my friends. It's a game that you can take so many life lessons from. Most importantly to never give up.

Those 3 games mean a lot to me. All of those games created moments that I cherish. They are games that I will remember and talk about forever. They are 3 great memories that I can always take with me from college.