What kind of fan are you and why?
I was in high school during the mid 90s... so that's what got me interested in Umass Basketball. I was also a fan of Michigan State and actually wanted to go there for college but since it's cheaper to go to your own state I went to Umass last minute. Best decision I ever made. I later went to Michigan State for grad school (hence the name).... but so glad I went to Umass, not only the education and friends I made, but honestly some of the best years I'll probably have. I am completely a Bruiser era, so I was there for the tail end of the good years. I remember living on the same floor with Ketner, Rhymer, and some of the others. I always supported most of the programs. I even went to all the football games in 97 when there were literally 1,000 people at the game. At least I can say I was there when Umass won a National Championship in 1998. I remember taking the bus down to UConn for the The "U" game. I still remember Charlton Clarke hitting that 3 to send it to OT against Odom, Mobley and Tyson Wheeler led URI team. With Lappas there , I don't think I went to any basketball games... can't remember. I did go to a couple of football games though. Living in the midwest for the past 6 years now has always been tough, but since 2005, I made it to at least one game whether it was when I home for the holidays (@BC 09, Vanderbilt 08) or traveled to either St. Louis, Dayton, or Xavier. Hoping to be able to go to Dayton this year. I see 10-11 making the NIT for sure and maybe squeaking into the tourney. 11-12... we should be making the tourney!! But here's to hoping they win the A10 tourney this year!! (actually I would just be happy if they win 1 game in Atlantic City)
Yes I am a Minuteman!! Best 60 seconds of your life!!
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Robertorell
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- Location: Birmingham, AL
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Plano Minuteman
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I graduated UMass in '91. Didn't really pay attention to the team too much until my Junior year, when they started out A-10 play on fire. Road
tripped to the A-10 final at Temple, and I was hooked! Attended every home game my senior year, except for the midnight game vs. BU. Also traveled to Fordham and Siena for those NIT games. The Siena one is one of my most memorable games ever.
Had season tix for the 1st couple of seasons at Mullins until moving to Dallas, Texas in November '94. No biggie because they were on TV all the time.
Road tripped it to Atlanta for 1996 Regionals vs. Arkansas and Georgetown! Truly a unforgettable experience!
Back then, the Dallas UMass group was very active in watching games at sports bars. DocMoonlight was also a frequent attender of these gatherings.
The Lappas years I knew very little about the program, other than from this site. The only game I got to in person was their upset win vs. GW, but forget the exact year. I was basically reduced to looking at the gametrackers on yahoo or whatever. I was in a class while tracking the UMass-UConn game, when UMass blew a 42-20 lead, and exclaimed way too loudly, "you've got to be sh!tting me!", and got a lot of weird and evil looks in my direction.
Moved to Colorado in 2004, a great move personally, but not very helpful in attending more UMass games.
Their recent NIT run really got me following the program a lot more closely. As did last year's upset over KU. Got to attend that one in person. Met Crooks in KC. Got to visit with DocMoonlight once again.
Channelsurfing has been a game changer as far as following the program goes. It can be torture sometimes watching that little screen, but it beats not ever seeing them play.
UMass hoops is definitely my #1 team in all of sports, nothing else comes close.
tripped to the A-10 final at Temple, and I was hooked! Attended every home game my senior year, except for the midnight game vs. BU. Also traveled to Fordham and Siena for those NIT games. The Siena one is one of my most memorable games ever.
Had season tix for the 1st couple of seasons at Mullins until moving to Dallas, Texas in November '94. No biggie because they were on TV all the time.
Road tripped it to Atlanta for 1996 Regionals vs. Arkansas and Georgetown! Truly a unforgettable experience!
Back then, the Dallas UMass group was very active in watching games at sports bars. DocMoonlight was also a frequent attender of these gatherings.
The Lappas years I knew very little about the program, other than from this site. The only game I got to in person was their upset win vs. GW, but forget the exact year. I was basically reduced to looking at the gametrackers on yahoo or whatever. I was in a class while tracking the UMass-UConn game, when UMass blew a 42-20 lead, and exclaimed way too loudly, "you've got to be sh!tting me!", and got a lot of weird and evil looks in my direction.
Moved to Colorado in 2004, a great move personally, but not very helpful in attending more UMass games.
Their recent NIT run really got me following the program a lot more closely. As did last year's upset over KU. Got to attend that one in person. Met Crooks in KC. Got to visit with DocMoonlight once again.
Channelsurfing has been a game changer as far as following the program goes. It can be torture sometimes watching that little screen, but it beats not ever seeing them play.
UMass hoops is definitely my #1 team in all of sports, nothing else comes close.
Camby4Life was asking if I had ever seen a college team besides UMass, and my answer got to be so long, I decided I should post it in this thread.
I'm originally from NYC and I'm one of the geriatric crowd. But I do make a LOT of noise at games. Had a sore throat after the latest one.
When I was in high school, I went to Madison Square Garden every year when to watch the NIT, saw Jim Valvano in the backcourt for Rutgers, Don Chaney playing for WKU, among others. Went to just about every game in college (Penn), all of them Big 5 double headers at the Palestra, always sold out. If that wouldn't hook you on college hoops I don't know what would. The one player I remember most vividly from that era was Bill Bradley. Too bad he played for the wrong team. Same for Billy Melchionni of Villanova. My buddy went to NYU, they had a pretty good team back then, sent Barry Kramer to the NBA for a couple of cups of coffee. Used to go to some of those games, too. After graduating college, went to a few Penn games at Columbia and Princeton. They were a real good team in those days, made it pretty far into the Big Dance one year until they ran into Magic Johnson. Then, a long hiatus for live hoops that ended when I moved to Amherst and went to the Cage.
As far as watching on TV, too many games to count or recollect. I grew up in Queens, so St Johns was the first team I rooted for. Watched them on TV whenever I could. Always watched the NCAA tournament--I remember Bill Walton taking UCLA to the championship, even though he wasn't allowed to dunk. Also watched Texas-El Paso go to the championship, now a famous story in the movies. So, in anwer to Camby's question, yeah, I've watched some other teams beside UMass. Also learned to play the game in NYC schoolyards. If you didn't play defense, box out for rebounds, set picks, then forget it, you weren't gonna play. Good schooling in the fundamentals.
Although I was an all sports fan for many years, I have to say that it pretty much boils down to UMass Hoops at this point. I live just a few miles from the Mullins, so it's easy to get there, and I love the live games. I've had a wonderful girl friend, Annie, for the past three years (previous long marriage ended in 2004), and she's caught the bug, too, so we have a great time at the games, reading umasshoops.com, watching the clips at umassathletics.com, etc. Life is good!
edit:Life is not so good after the Baylor game.
I'm originally from NYC and I'm one of the geriatric crowd. But I do make a LOT of noise at games. Had a sore throat after the latest one.
When I was in high school, I went to Madison Square Garden every year when to watch the NIT, saw Jim Valvano in the backcourt for Rutgers, Don Chaney playing for WKU, among others. Went to just about every game in college (Penn), all of them Big 5 double headers at the Palestra, always sold out. If that wouldn't hook you on college hoops I don't know what would. The one player I remember most vividly from that era was Bill Bradley. Too bad he played for the wrong team. Same for Billy Melchionni of Villanova. My buddy went to NYU, they had a pretty good team back then, sent Barry Kramer to the NBA for a couple of cups of coffee. Used to go to some of those games, too. After graduating college, went to a few Penn games at Columbia and Princeton. They were a real good team in those days, made it pretty far into the Big Dance one year until they ran into Magic Johnson. Then, a long hiatus for live hoops that ended when I moved to Amherst and went to the Cage.
As far as watching on TV, too many games to count or recollect. I grew up in Queens, so St Johns was the first team I rooted for. Watched them on TV whenever I could. Always watched the NCAA tournament--I remember Bill Walton taking UCLA to the championship, even though he wasn't allowed to dunk. Also watched Texas-El Paso go to the championship, now a famous story in the movies. So, in anwer to Camby's question, yeah, I've watched some other teams beside UMass. Also learned to play the game in NYC schoolyards. If you didn't play defense, box out for rebounds, set picks, then forget it, you weren't gonna play. Good schooling in the fundamentals.
Although I was an all sports fan for many years, I have to say that it pretty much boils down to UMass Hoops at this point. I live just a few miles from the Mullins, so it's easy to get there, and I love the live games. I've had a wonderful girl friend, Annie, for the past three years (previous long marriage ended in 2004), and she's caught the bug, too, so we have a great time at the games, reading umasshoops.com, watching the clips at umassathletics.com, etc. Life is good!
edit:Life is not so good after the Baylor game.
Last edited by uz2b-len on Sun Jan 24, 2010 8:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
"All credit to my teammates, all glory to God."-- Chaz Williams
When I a student at UMass, we were losing to AIC and Brandeis, so thinking of UMass as a powerhouse was about as logical as a date with Sophia Lauren
However, I was always a hoops fan....attended my first Final 4 in 1987 at the Superdome (Indiana) and then in 1989 in Seattle ....(followed by 5 more in the 90s)
I was involved with the school of management when I met Cal at a luncheon (1991)....he advised getting tickets because they were going to be good...
I was also a Celtics season ticket holder and missed Larry Bird night to be at the opening night of the Mullins Center in February 1993
Living on the South Shore and being a season ticket holder approached stupidity, but I made 6-10 games a year for about five years....
When I retired and moved to Cape Cod, the two hour trip to Amherst became a three hour trip....so the approach to stupidity reached its destination....that and Bruiser and Lappas era were enough to become an
occasional November or December attendee
I still follow games on the internet, but these are tough times
However, I was always a hoops fan....attended my first Final 4 in 1987 at the Superdome (Indiana) and then in 1989 in Seattle ....(followed by 5 more in the 90s)
I was involved with the school of management when I met Cal at a luncheon (1991)....he advised getting tickets because they were going to be good...
I was also a Celtics season ticket holder and missed Larry Bird night to be at the opening night of the Mullins Center in February 1993
Living on the South Shore and being a season ticket holder approached stupidity, but I made 6-10 games a year for about five years....
When I retired and moved to Cape Cod, the two hour trip to Amherst became a three hour trip....so the approach to stupidity reached its destination....that and Bruiser and Lappas era were enough to become an
occasional November or December attendee
I still follow games on the internet, but these are tough times
It was the Fall of 1990. I was a freshman at UMass. I remember living in Washington (Southwest) and some other guys on my floor in November were saying they were going to the basketball game in some place called "The Cage".
I asked them if we had a team that was any good. One guy said "Yeah, we're ok but its fun to watch". That was enough for me to get down to the Cage and watch.
Immediately hooked. And what a ride it was the next 4 years.
Fan enough to sleep out for the 1991 A-10 finals outside the cage vs. W Virginia, and got one of the first choice of seats, right under the basket.
Fan enough to travel to Philly (LaSalle, McGonigal), Fordham, GW, Preseason NIT, Great 8 Tourney in Detroit, bunch of NIT games, and of course the great NIT run in 2008 in MSG.
Looks like another great ride coming up.
I asked them if we had a team that was any good. One guy said "Yeah, we're ok but its fun to watch". That was enough for me to get down to the Cage and watch.
Immediately hooked. And what a ride it was the next 4 years.
Fan enough to sleep out for the 1991 A-10 finals outside the cage vs. W Virginia, and got one of the first choice of seats, right under the basket.
Fan enough to travel to Philly (LaSalle, McGonigal), Fordham, GW, Preseason NIT, Great 8 Tourney in Detroit, bunch of NIT games, and of course the great NIT run in 2008 in MSG.
Looks like another great ride coming up.
I've probably responded to this before but I'm not going to bother looking. The SOLE reason I even looked at UMass was because my dad suggested it and said "It's where Dr. J went" so I said I'd go take a look. I stepped foot on campus and said to myself "This is where I'm going to school." So basically Dr. J was the reason I went there because he went there. That and we had lunch at Delano's after the campus tour and that was, to me, the coolest bar I'd ever been in. Wonder why I spent a good amount of time in that place when I was on campus......
Fan enough of both hoops and lax (since the fall of 1958) to sit in my barcalounger today with hoops on the tv and lax on the laptop, checking on lax audio and gametracker every hoops time out, and then staying with lax for their fourth quarter and OT win.
"Jack didn’t have any envy in him," Calipari said. "He was the greatest coach to ever coach here."
Glad this thread is back. I graduated in 78 (duh) and have always been a fan of UMass everything. I loved my time at the Cage and watching the initial years of the Eastern 8 - now the A10. I fell in love with guys like Mike Pyatt, Booby Eldridge and Derrick Claiborne, and the hoops team has always been number one with me. UMass sports also has been a great bonding experience for me and my almost 18-year-old son. I started taking him to games when he was 6 or 7 and he still remembers many of the cool things, like meeting Bruiser at The Hangar, or hanging out in the Pond Club at hockey games, or the heartbreaking triple overtime loss in the Hockey East finals to Maine or watching UMass win the FCS championship. Almost every UMass game I have attended the last 10 years my son was with me and that is pretty cool. My son will be attending college beginning in 2013 and even if he does not attend UMass, he will always love the school and its teams.
We have gone to hoops, hockey, soccer, lax and football games over those 10 years.
I also should add that I covered sports for The Collegian and wrote about lax, softball and baseball along side Steve Buckley.
On another note, I have met a great group of guys through this board and UMass sports and for that I am extremely thankful.
We have gone to hoops, hockey, soccer, lax and football games over those 10 years.
I also should add that I covered sports for The Collegian and wrote about lax, softball and baseball along side Steve Buckley.
On another note, I have met a great group of guys through this board and UMass sports and for that I am extremely thankful.
Bamford has erased McCutcheon
Did not start out as a good fan in the least. I grew up in the Boston area in the 90s and remember seeing UMass on tv around '94 or so when I was 9 years old and jumped on the bandwagon. I knew nothing about UMass being anything other than an elite team.
After Coach Cal left I don't remember following the team that much. I caught some games and I think the coach's show was on WLVI for a few years during the Bruiser era, watched that once in a while. Then I saw that UMass made it to the A10 final against Temple in 2001, that was the last UMass game I watched for 3 years.
Then in 2004 I entertained the thought of transferring to UMass and visited the campus. It was on the same day that UMass was playing a home game against (I think) St. Bonaventure and it was almost as if they weren't playing at all. Was very easy to find parking on Campus even near the arena and off on the tour I went (I didn't attend the game). I remember asking my dad on the way home "What the hell happened to this program?"
Ended up at UMass in January of 2005 and went to every game the rest of the season (while watching or listening to every game from the start of the '04-'05 season). I remember joining this board in '04 and someone posted that HWSNBN met with a group of students right before the season started and urged them to go to the games, I remember thinking at that time I couldn't wait to get on campus and start going to games. For the rest of the '04-'05 season I think there may have been about 15 or 20 of us in the student section for those home games. I also remember watching the coach's show at that time on ABC 40 and seeing myself in the stands when they showed the highlights.
Ended up being at UMass for just two years to finish my degree and went to just about every game, only missing a few games that conflicted with classes. Been listening or watching just about every game since graduating. Finally was able to make it back out to Amherst this year for the URI game and I plan on making at least a few trips out there next year. I'm at the point where my interest in UMass has definitely superseded my interest in any pro team. Definitely appreciative of the community we have here as well.
After Coach Cal left I don't remember following the team that much. I caught some games and I think the coach's show was on WLVI for a few years during the Bruiser era, watched that once in a while. Then I saw that UMass made it to the A10 final against Temple in 2001, that was the last UMass game I watched for 3 years.
Then in 2004 I entertained the thought of transferring to UMass and visited the campus. It was on the same day that UMass was playing a home game against (I think) St. Bonaventure and it was almost as if they weren't playing at all. Was very easy to find parking on Campus even near the arena and off on the tour I went (I didn't attend the game). I remember asking my dad on the way home "What the hell happened to this program?"
Ended up at UMass in January of 2005 and went to every game the rest of the season (while watching or listening to every game from the start of the '04-'05 season). I remember joining this board in '04 and someone posted that HWSNBN met with a group of students right before the season started and urged them to go to the games, I remember thinking at that time I couldn't wait to get on campus and start going to games. For the rest of the '04-'05 season I think there may have been about 15 or 20 of us in the student section for those home games. I also remember watching the coach's show at that time on ABC 40 and seeing myself in the stands when they showed the highlights.
Ended up being at UMass for just two years to finish my degree and went to just about every game, only missing a few games that conflicted with classes. Been listening or watching just about every game since graduating. Finally was able to make it back out to Amherst this year for the URI game and I plan on making at least a few trips out there next year. I'm at the point where my interest in UMass has definitely superseded my interest in any pro team. Definitely appreciative of the community we have here as well.
I grew up in Brighton, 600 yards from the BC campus - which we called back the 'high school on the hill". I turned down BC to attend UMASS.
I am class of '76 - the glory days of the Cage, Jack Leaman, and those great teams that fought every year for Yankee Conference lead with PUKEONN, and had great rivalries with BC, Providence, Holy Cross, among others. My now wife, and about half my dorm Brooks house would troop down to stand in line, sometimes hours early, to get the good seats.
So many great players back then - Skinner, Murphy, Pitino, Endicott, McLaughlin, then later adding Eldridge and Claiborne.
Best memories are beating BC in the Cage in 73-74 season (I think), where the Cage ceiling was so saturated with sweat, it 'rained' on us. Also the NIT in 1973 where we beat Missouri, and drank at a nearby Irish bar (McCann's?) with Notre Dame fans.
After graduation, and the start of the Eastern Eight, I went to some games, but lacked a car, so usually only when UM was in Boston area. I left the area in early 80's, team also fell on hard times, and work/travel interfered with going much, so it was mostly the occasional football game.
I re-engaged with UMASS through giving guest lectures in economics, started getting involved with Alum relations, and attending the occasional games as the team with Calipari got better. Unfortunately, my time on campus never calibrates with weekday games, I was attending or coaching my son's games, and lately my teaching schedule prevents me from attending many games in person - so I subscribe to the online viewings, which I have done for years.
I am glad to see the team now is one that is fun to watch - for about 9 or 10 years, they were not much fun- but very exciting now. I still cringe when HWSNBN is on tv.
I am class of '76 - the glory days of the Cage, Jack Leaman, and those great teams that fought every year for Yankee Conference lead with PUKEONN, and had great rivalries with BC, Providence, Holy Cross, among others. My now wife, and about half my dorm Brooks house would troop down to stand in line, sometimes hours early, to get the good seats.
So many great players back then - Skinner, Murphy, Pitino, Endicott, McLaughlin, then later adding Eldridge and Claiborne.
Best memories are beating BC in the Cage in 73-74 season (I think), where the Cage ceiling was so saturated with sweat, it 'rained' on us. Also the NIT in 1973 where we beat Missouri, and drank at a nearby Irish bar (McCann's?) with Notre Dame fans.
After graduation, and the start of the Eastern Eight, I went to some games, but lacked a car, so usually only when UM was in Boston area. I left the area in early 80's, team also fell on hard times, and work/travel interfered with going much, so it was mostly the occasional football game.
I re-engaged with UMASS through giving guest lectures in economics, started getting involved with Alum relations, and attending the occasional games as the team with Calipari got better. Unfortunately, my time on campus never calibrates with weekday games, I was attending or coaching my son's games, and lately my teaching schedule prevents me from attending many games in person - so I subscribe to the online viewings, which I have done for years.
I am glad to see the team now is one that is fun to watch - for about 9 or 10 years, they were not much fun- but very exciting now. I still cringe when HWSNBN is on tv.
Feeling entitled is JUST a feeling...