What kind of fan are you and why?

[Roadtrip]

I attended UMass in the early 70s but did not graduate from there. From 76-90 I lived in Idaho and Montana, and moved back to Mass in 1991. I began going to games that year, and even though I moved away from there in 99, I still go to any away games that are within reason, and to at least 2 home games a year. Charlotte and X are on my schedule for this season, and I made it to the UCF game. Why am I a fan? I love UMass basketball, the kind DK says he wants to play. I was born and raised in the Brightwood section of Springfield just like DK's dad. I want him to succeed. The final four run is not the greatest moment for me. Seeing them beat North Carolina, Arkansas, and Temple a number of times are my best memories. I hoped we would not fade through the Bru years, anguished through the ratface years, enjoyed the Ford wins, but thought he was not building for the future. DK is not the perfect coach. Who is? Doubt his ability to coach various aspects of the game if you will, but until I see that he just can't get the job done, I will support him, the team, the University, and this board (Thanks Mike) in whatever way I can.

[theguru]

wow, first of all. Roadtrip i currently live in the Brightwood section,where were you?

as far as my fan(hood) , i have no affiliation as far as attending the university , but was luckily introduced to UMass Basketball through a good friend @ age 7 (1989) his grandparents had season tickets,still do i belive, they brought me to almost every home game till i was 12. still only missed a handful since .

[bharms08]

great idea for a running umass thread in a tough bball season

went to UMass and graduated in 2008 with a Sport Management degree. went to pretty much every home game during my 4 years, and lots of away games in nyc, boston, philly, and atlantic city. but I didnt become a fan because I went to school there. I consider myself a pretty passionate UMass fan. for crying out loud, I made 2 youtube videos, and working on another (shameless plug: Where UMass happens video link posted in my signature at the bottom) to hype the team

I'm a UMass fan because of my childhood. In 1996 i was in 4th grade and living in eastern mass (Newburyport to be specific). on the playgrounds we would always pretend we were superstars like Michael Jordan or even Shawn Kemp, but for that year I wanted to be Marcus Camby. He was my idol, and as a kid I thought it was so cool that he played basketball just 2 hours away from me. I think during 1995-96 I wore the same UMass tshirt to school at least 3 out of the 5 school days every week. when UMass made the final 4 I went downtown and EVERYONE was wearing something UMass. We already have the 4 pro sport teams doing pretty well, but I think MA is still craving a college team they can get behind come March. I really hope we can be that program someday

Highlight as a UMass fan so far (besides 1996): Seeing so many people in NYC before those NIT games with UMass gear, reminded me of when everyone did the same in 1996. it didnt even matter how we did in MSG, because I knew then that the potential is there (and still is even after Ford)

Lowlight as a UMass fan so far: The A10 tourney game against Charlotte. I was at the game, and this is by far the worst sports moment of my life (including the '03 ALCS and 18-1 Patriot Superbowl). It still eats me up inside, possibly because we still havent won a game there in a long time. I remember thinking at halftime what seed would we be in the tourney, and if i could afford airfare to follow the team. If I was a Sports God and could reverse any outcome of any game, id pick that UMass/Charlotte game

[SoCal]

I am also a Spfld homey, East Forest Park by the Friendly's at Sumner and Abbott. Used to go to games with dad growing up, especially at the civic center. We had football season tickets for years. Ended up at UMass from '86 - '90. Two of our darkest years (Ron Gurlfson) and two very encouraging years under a new, young head coach Cal. With Ron, my girl and I would be only two of maybe a hundred people at the Cage during break (the Blues Brothers were always there). Chris Bailey, also of Spfld, was on the team those four years. Under Ron, he did not see the court. On the Southwest hoop courts no one could stop him. Under Cal he started and helped to change the program. I knew then we had a coach. Jim McCoy came with Cal and brought some excitement. I remember Sean Neelan, member of the team and from Northampton, telling me with such excitement about the arrival of Will Hernden. That's when things really took off for me. Been a fan ever sense. Wish I could get back for more home games, but God bless Al Gore and the Internet, I don't miss much.

[OutlawPete]

Don't have much of a story but I figured I would add my post to the thread. I guess I have been a fan for a year and a half now, the amount of time I have been at UMass. One of the reasons I came here was because it was a large state school with a good athletic program and being a big sports fan, it was a good fit. I'll be a UMass fan the rest of my life, but I'm still new I guess

[Mrbaseball220]

I hoped we would not fade through the Bru years, anguished through the ratface years, enjoyed the Ford wins, but thought he was not building for the future. DK is not the perfect coach. Who is? Doubt his ability to coach various aspects of the game if you will, but until I see that he just can't get the job done, I will support him, the team, the University, and this board (Thanks Mike) in whatever way I can.

We need more fans like this! I think that we were all spoiled when Umass had it's great run and now we think we should just be an overnight success with DK! I first became a fan of Umass because a good friend of mine and his parents had season tickets when Cal first got here. I was probably about 11 or so and am now 32 and have and always will love Umass. I understand the frustrations with how things currently are, but negativity on this board and in the fans will not help this program. We need to continue to be positive and support this program and DK! It has been a long time that we've all been waiting to return to respectability, but I believe DK will get us there!

Go Umass!

[shovelhd]

I am not an alum. I am one of the local fans who loves basketball at any level. My daughter is playing varsity ball in 8th grade this year, and I was her terrible, rotten CYO coach for a year (they went 14-5). I'm from southern CT, but moved to MA to go to Emerson and eventually Northeastern where I got my Engineering degree. I was at NU during the Jim Calhoun years, and just missed Reggie Lewis. My disdain for Calhoun started there and continues to this day. We moved to central MA for a while, and I lost touch with basketball, until we moved out to western MA to send the kids to school. I've had Umass men's season tickets since Bruiser's last year, and now share four seats in Section U with a friend. We've had countless chances to move to the cushy side but nothing beats being able to watch the coaches up close and be able to stand up all game without some numbnut yelling at me to sit down. Although I watched the Final Four appearance on TV, I wasn't connected to UMass until we moved here. The highlight for me was the road trip to the NIT finals, getting kicked out of the team bar because the cops shut it down for tax evasion, meeting Dr. J at the bar next door, yelling and screaming myself hoarse during the game, and doing my best to keep seated because there was a woman with a cane right behind me. Fear the cane. Even though we lost, it was the best college bball experience I've been a part of, even better than beating the Cons at home.

I may be critical at times, but it's because I've seen where this program can go and I want to get back there soon. I don't have a lot of great things to say about DK, but I have nothing invested in him either. He will get his chance at this program. A good, long chance, longer than anyone except a top tier coach with a pedigree. I can count on one hand the games I've missed since getting season tickets, and one or two lousy seasons isn't going to change that.

[Floyd]

Been a fan since the Ray Wilson years. You think it's bad now, those 2 years were the ultimate low. Watching the long slow climb back was satisfying, but don't want to wait that long again.
Encouraged by the young kids, but not a fan of this offense. Will give DK 5 years to make significant steps, and will continue to make the games no matter what. No reason we shouldn't be an elite A-10 team with a nice deep post season run every 5 years or so.
Absolutely loved the Harper Williams/Lou Roe/Will "The Thrill" Herndon /Dana Dingle type lunchpail guys who left everything on the floor. I think T. Vinson can be that type of player for us

Consider myself a diehard UMass fan who gets into the games, but not necessarily a screamer.

[philosopher]

I started going to UMass hoops games when I was a senior in high school, 1967-68. So this is year 42 of my loyalty to UMass Hoops. Fortunately, I was able to attend almost 80% of the homes games during my 4 years, 68-72. While in grad school in Kansas City, I made it back to NYC for NIT games. During 78-82, living in South Jersey, I was lucky to get to a couple of games in Philly each year. Then it was down to Texas, and I stayed a long range "readership" fan. 88-95, living in State College Pa, there were games at PSU, Olean, and Philly. Just incredible ups and downs. But the maroon and white were a constant. My work schedule kept me from Amherst, so this year has been my first chances to visit the Bill, having relocated to Natick from Houston, TX.

Admittedly, I still follow the Longhorns, having done grad work there. But when the Minutemen eventually hook up with the Horns, I will be wearing my "saw 'em off" t-shirt!

Long Live UMass Hoops!

[Zangzigger]

I became a UMass fan when I realized that's where I was going to go to school. It was right around the time that Travis Ford got hired in 2005. I grew up a big Syracuse fan because that's where my father went to school. Once I knew I was going to UMass, I changed my loyalty 100%. Going to the sporting events would always be the highlight of my week as a student, whether it was basketball, football, softball, hockey, or lacrosse. It got my mind off of the stress of school work.

Derek Kellogg's news conference as the new coach was the day of my 21st birthday. It was definitely one of the highlights of that weekend. Whether we make the final four or lose every game, I'll always support UMass because it's my school and nothing can change that. I'll always remember the sporting events that I went to in college (I made a list of top 10 games that I attended while a student and have it hanging up in my room), but I won't necessarily remember the stuff I learned in chemistry class.

Highlight of being a UMass fan: I went to Chattanooga for the 2006 National Championship game in football which was awesome. There's something special when your entire season comes down to one game, and you know that nobody else is playing except for you. Being from NYC, that whole NIT run was amazing. Seeing people walking around in midtown Manhattan with UMass across their chest was awesome.

[carrierustothepromiseland]

I grew up in Syracuse and was a big Orange fan. I transferred to UMass during Bruiser's swan song, and was actually really excited when Lappas got hired because my college basketball universe revolved around the Big East, man was I wrong. I followed the team a bit during the magical years. I liked Cal a lot, and loved Marcus Camby (still do), so when I became a student my affiliation with Cuse began to dwindle (still a big Cuse lacrosse fan though). It seemed like a natural transition since I already hated UConn and BC (naturally), and thus the love affair began. I have to admit that I was still a rooting pretty hard for Cuse when Melo was there, but he was the best freshman ever.

On a side note, looking at Cuse now I have been trying to figure out if they recruited as many dirtbags when I was a fan or is this a recent development, because in my opinion they recruit the biggest scumbags around these days. McNamara, Devendorf, Rautins are some of the biggest assclowns. Did anyone see McNamara wearing his gold rimmed sunglasses sitting at the end of the Cuse bench a couple of weeks ago like he is bigtime. Lawrence Moten is still one of my all time favorite college basketball players of all time, and Luke Jackson one of my favorite Orangemen, and neither of them were douches, from what I can remember.

[wsjer88]

I have a similar story to bharms. My father was a Umass graduate and born in Holyoke. We had to relocate to Washington D.C. because of his job and my first memory was sitting in the living room watching the teams of 95 and 96 pound. I still remember watching Umass beat Iverson and Georgetown and then running outside and pretending I was Travieso nailing threes from all over the floor. I use to run around amongst all the Terp fans wearing my little Travieso jersey and Umass hat. (He is still my all-time favorite player)

We ended up moving back up here in 1999 and my dad used to take me to a few basketball games every year to keep up with the team. I ended up transferring to Umass after one semester at another school. I got hurt and decided that I couldn't keep my athletic scholarship if I was not able to run, but making the transfer was the best decision of my life. Not only was I able to reconnect with my all-time favorite team, I met my girlfriend and got her involved in the team as well. In my three and a half years of being a Umass student I missed two games. I traveled to both games in NYC, games in Syracuse, St Bonnies, and the Clowe game winner in Rhode Island.

Now as a graduate living in West Springfield, I am a season ticket holder and I am excited no matter how the team is playing. I've grown up with college basketball and Umass and I look forward to it every year. If there is a game and a time, I will be there. It's the best time of the year, and even my gf (hopefully fiancee soon!) loves coming to the games with me at any chance she gets!

[xlgman]

What kind of fan am I? The kind that seriously needs an intervention. It's unhealthy really. I do not make it to more than a handful of games each year because of the drive and family but I follow everything about the team religiously.

It all started as an undergrad from '88-'92. I loved basketball, having played in high school and missed playing so much that I simply had to go to every game and live vicariously through the team. I felt like I was bonding with them since there were so few fans in those days and you could sit right behind the bench and hear everything Cal was saying. I loved it.

Then we started winning and it was like drugs. We had such tough, likable, hard working players like John Tate, Harper Williams, Will Herndon. The defining moment when I knew I was addicted for life was the 1990 triple OT loss to Temple in the Cage. I was in the endzone and at the end of one of the OT's, my heart literally felt like it stopped for a second. It was the most exciting sporting event in my life and I couldn't imagine sports being any more enjoyable than that game. And we LOST.

I will continue to follow UMass hoops forever. I'm not a huge football or hockey fan. I follow them and I'm always happy to see any UMass team do well. I iimagine if I went to an exciting UMass hockey game that rivaled that Temple game from long ago, I'd get similarly hooked again because I love my school. Probably better for me and my family that I keep my addiction to one team and one sport.

I believe that the next time we reach the upper echelon will be even sweeter having suffered so long through highs and lows. Maybe it'll be a few years from now or on my 50th reunion. I'll enjoy the ride and the eternal hope to feel my heart skip a beat again in a sweaty, raucous, sold out gym full of crazy UMass fans.

I do not enjoy watching bad basketball though and when the team plays lousy, I go less often. It's a long ride home after you watch a really poor performance with a quiet Mullins crowd. I still like to sit near the bench when I can.

I love analyzing the hell out of things. I'm an engineer (B.S '92) and I like to dig into problems, look at the numbers, come up with solutions, and use knowledge and info to predict success or suggest a better moustrap. So I spend a lot of time looking at stats, breaking things down, re-watching games, etc. I share some stuff I discover here since I can tell some of you are as wacked out as me.

[alan]

(still a big Cuse lacrosse fan though).

You're out of the club.

[Quann]

I have an entire family to blame for my UMass fandom. Both of my parents attended UMass in the 70s, along with one of my aunts. I graduated in '03. Like Ktabz and many others on here, I was appalled that the only games the students (outside of the diehards) showed up for were the big tv games. Seeing good D1 basketball for free was a blast and I made it to almost every game as an undergrad (not to mention countless roadtrips to see the team play). My first UMass game in person was the A-10 championship game at the cage against West Virginia. Just an unbelievable experience. I was hooked on UMass basketball ever since. Now I wallow in misery with all of you guys!