UConn All Star Classic Game
Springfield Civic Center, MA- 10/18/02

 

I had a mission coming to the UConn All Star Classic, which was to give Sue Bird a birthday card with wishes from more than 30 fans. I planned to get there early enough to catch her before the game. My friends and I got there around 6 PM, picked up our tickets and walked around the area to get a quick bite. Unfortunately, it was not a quick one! We had a rough time on finding a place nearby with a reasonable waiting time. All of us craved for burgers and french fries, but ended up eating at a Middle Eastern Restaurant. The food was quite good, and we were able to get french fries anyway. We kept talking and didn't realize that it was almost 7:30 PM! We picked up the pace from then on.

The set up at Springfield Civic Center was a bit different than Mohegan Sun. I had everything planned out, but could not execute any of them. First of all, Sue was doing the shoot around the whole time when I got there, not like at Mohegan Sun where she was either sitting at the bench, standing around talking to some people or giving out autographs. I didn't feel like interrupting her, and opted to catch her later on.

Like usual, Sue Bird received the most cheers during the introduction. The first half was like any other charity games, where the players kind of joking around and having fun. The crowds went wild whenever Sue does one of her fancy passes. Kara Wolters and Rebecca Lobo played well that night. Rita Williams also showed some awesome moves of her own. Blue team (with Sue and Kara) had a comfortable lead against the white team (with Rebecca and Rita) until Kara decided to donate 4 points by putting the ball in their own basket twice. She of course didn't know that her team would ended up losing the game because of it. The second half was more exciting as the players raised their competitiveness, which came down to a sudden death overtime (to cut the time short). The white team got the best of it and won the game.

Sue was being interviewed during the half time, and one of my friends had an idea to give the card before she heads to the locker room, but it didn't work out since Sue finished the interview before he even got near the tunnel. My friend came back with the card, and promised to give another try when the players coming out for the second half. He did get there on time, but of course the players walked straight to their respective benches without looking back. I was ready to tell him about sticking to the original idea of giving her the card after game, but I did not see the card on his hand when he got back. He gave the card to the assistant coach of the Springfield Spirit, and she put it in Sue's locker. Suprisingly the coach didn't even know that October 16 was Sue's birthday. Anyway, I was a bit upset, since I wanted to give the card to Sue in person.

Right before the overtime, my friend once again had another crazy idea. He walked all the way to the other side of the arena, talked to the owner of the Springfield Spirit, Steve Fox and a minute later they annouced Sue Bird's birthday. I was like "Oh My God!" I couldn't believe he did that! Sue looked so surprised, and we could see from her reaction that she didn't seem too excited about it. She did a simple wave to the crowds and the overtime began. It was an awkward time to announce her birthday, but without my friend, it wouldn't be announced at all.

The autograph session was different than other games. They set up booths with different players, and you basically have to be at the right place to get your fav. player autograph. We walked to one of the booths, took a glance at the line and tried to stay away from it as we weren't trying to get autographs anyway. Then, the door was opened and a security guard came out, followed by Sue and another player. My friends and I stood still while Sue walked right in front of us. I still cannot believe we didn't do or say anything!!! Other people came rushing in and the line became much longer than it was. Everyone cheered when Sue finally sat down and the autograph session ready begin. I tried to take a lot of pictures of Sue for the web site, but my digital camera acted up. The battery was low, and it kept saying card is full. I was so mad! Anyhow, I managed to take two close-up pictures of Sue when she was signing autographs. I felt bad that Rita Williams walked around without anyone asking for her autograph, since everyone was basically occupied on getting Sue Bird's.

I was still upset about the card during our ride home, and my friend kept trying to convince me that Sue got the card! He wanted to contact the coach who was supposed to put the card in Sue's locker and confirm that with her, but I stopped complaining in order for him not to do so. I'm pretty sure Sue got the card, especially after the announcement, which was a good reminder for the coach. I put together all the wishes as I received them. I printed them out, cut the wishes to a reasonable size, and grouped them accordingly. Who knows that Sue might send an email to one of you!

Besides the birthday craziness, I had fun at the game and glad that I wasn't the one who had to drive (hehehe). However, it was a bit dissapointing not being able to see Cash, Williams, Jones and Sales. It would have been awesome to see them in addition to Sue Bird.

Now it is time to make a plan on seeing some of the UConn games and of course the Springfield Spirit!