jskwrite
2nd String
Posts: 406
Joined: May 2014
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I Root For: UConn, OhioSt
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RE: "Uconn being bled dry"
(01-18-2015 01:00 PM)nzmorange Wrote: (01-18-2015 12:25 PM)HuskyU Wrote: (01-18-2015 12:15 PM)nzmorange Wrote: (01-18-2015 11:33 AM)jskwrite Wrote: (01-17-2015 04:38 PM)nzmorange Wrote: I get the excitement of playing UNC and Duke every year, but posts these ones make me miss playing round ball in a true northeastern conference. Imagine UConn, BC, Syracuse, and Georgetown being in the same basketball conference again. Other than BC-SU, which is a mostly amicable rivalry, you could cut the hostility with a knife. Heck, throw in St. J and Villanova, too.
In my honest opinion, BC-UConn might be the best rivalry in sports. It's not that the two schools hate each other. It's that they actively want the other to stop existing, and they would love to literally tear their counterpart down and salt the earth where it was. Texas-Texas A&M, Alabama-Auburn, Ohio State-Michigan, Clemson-Southern Carolina, UCLA-USC, PSU-Pitt, and WVU-Pitt all have hatred, but only BC-UConn has true, absolute, and unending loathing.
Desperate is to UConn as pompous is to BC. Yes, BC is a better program. Neither one of these teams are elite programs. Imagine being an Ohio State listening to these two schools ***** and moan. In Edsall's last 3-5 years at UConn, they were better than BC, although BC certainly was solid then as well.. UConn won a game at Notre Dame, BC won a game at Florida State - both of those home programs were in major slumps at the time. UConn also has a conference championship and more time in the top 25 the past 10 years.. but that's another arbitrary metric. UConn would outdraw BC if they were in a P5 league because Boston is like NYC - there's a hundred other things to do in Boston and nothing to do in Hartford. Every time UConn wins a men's basketball, everywhere but the southwest corner is frenzied in the state. If BC was in an ACC title football game the same weekend as a Patriot football game, the buzz would be the Patriots. Connecticut lacks that true major league sports which really is an advantage for UConn. BC and UConn both have the advantage of being competitive in other sports, which is what everyone is missing out as a huge advantage when "the cord is cut".. it's going to be all about live sports content.. Men's basketball, baseball and other regional sports (hockey, lacrosse, baseball and even soccer) content is going to be more valuable when Joe Viewer is being every service a la carte.
The breakdown is this... BC is a slightly larger fish in a much larger pond and the current state of college athletics with their superior football program makes them more valuable. UConn has more growth potential... but it hasn't happened yet.
Not to take a side - purely out of the interest of correctness:
1. The New England Patriots
2. I'm guessing that you haven't spent a ton of time in CT. Yes, the Yankees and Red Sox (and Giants) are each technically a state over, but such arbitrary distinctions only matter in internet forums. Both teams (as well as a couple of others) might as well play in Hartford.
The Pats may be called New England, but they are not Connecticut's team. There are just as many Giants fans in Connecticut as there are Pats fans.
I disagree. I think that there are more Pats fans, just like there are more Sox fans. That said, it completely depends on where you live in CT. IMHO, like NJ, CT is two states - NY continued, and Massachusetts continued. Unlike NJ, the dividing lines tend to blur a lot.
You're right that the state isn't dominated by one team, though (which is why I mentioned the Giants). Although, I can see how you might have thought that from my reply. Point 1 was a literal answer. He said that CT didn't have a pro sports team. CT literally does - the Pats.
The Courant has often done polls on Yankees/Red Sox and it's pretty much split down the middle. I think the same is probably true of the Patriots/Giants but you also find a ton of non-local team fans in CT (Packers, Cowboys, Dolphins... etc... typical stuff you see in an area that actually lacks a true "local" team). I'd say of my friends that are real sports fans locally, there are slightly more Patriot fans but I'd put my numbers at 35% Pats, 30% giants, the rest Jets and everyone else.. needless to say, not one of them dominates unlike baseball where 95% are either Yanks or Sox. Growing up I was the only kid who wore the Patriots parka to school (remember when that was popular in the 90s? don't judge... I didn't wear Zubaz pants at least)... there were a lot of Giants, Bears, Eagles and Cowboys... I think this is mostly because the Patriots were awful then, though.
Even when the Red Sox won their first world series in anyone's life time, it still didn't compare to the local coverage of UConn's national title in 1999 or even their second national title - because there are so many Red Sox-hating Yankee fans.
The one existing BC/UConn rivalry that is blossoming is hockey... the UConn coach was a BC guy and is building that program from nothing to at least a middle-of-the-pack Hockey East program... The BC/UConn game in hartford was sold out and UConn did get the upset win. UConn needs that rivalry more than BC, for now...
A whole other can of worms would be to bring up which of those two schools has the better football coach... I'd ruffle feathers by saying BC is way ahead there too...
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