UConn 2002-2003 Super Show
Gampel Pavilion, UConn, CT - 10/26/02

 

It was supposed to be a good time for my friend and I to browse around UConn, but the weather was not friendly at all!!! We got there about 3:45, drove around the campus and saw people waiting in line to get into Gampel Pavilion for the Super Show. Considering the waits, coldness and empty stomach, we decided to get back on the main road and find some place to eat.

We got back a little after 4:30, parked the card and walked towards the pavilion. It was packed!!! We went around the stadium to find the shortest line to get in. We were impressed of how many people showed up for this event. Cheerleaders and dance team opened up the show, followed by some contests. There was a guy who walked around the stands holding up a sign that says "Hi Liz!" on one side and "Welcome to Sherwood Forest!" on the other.

The crowds went wild when they introduced Sue Bird as the Emcee for the evening. She gave a little speech to welcome everyone to the Super Show. It's always great to hear her voice, especially when she introduced the entire UConn Squad. She was excellent!!!

They showed video clips from UConn 2001-2002 season with the Fab Four. It was so glorious as well as sad, since they are no longer playing for the Huskies. All the memories from 0-0 to 39-0 were flashing on the screen. During the senior night part, each name of the fab four was on the screen followed by a clip where they were giving Geno or each other a hug. With the music and everything!! Thank God I was able to convinced my tear drops to stay put. I wonder what the players, especially Sue felt like watching clips like that. Those are some of the memories that will always be in our hearts! We will never forget! But now it is time to move on, welcome and support the 2002-2003 Huskies.

As I have mentioned earlier that Sue did a great job on introducing the Huskies. All the players seemed to enjoy the attentions. They came out and showed their dance moves as Sue commenting on them. I thought it was really funny! Diana Taurasi was great as usual! She was loving every second of it. Geno Auriemma was introduced the last, and he grabbed Sue in a hurry. He said to the crowds that Sue had more words as the Emcee than her entire freshman year. From a fan point of view, it is strange to think of her as a quiet person, since she is very well spoken. She's marvelous during interviews, and her major was communication. I guess she's saving the best for last. Anyway, she was rushing out from the gym and Geno continued his speech about the new team, and thanked everyone for coming.

Before the scrimmage, they had 3-point shoot out contest among the huskies. If I'm not mistaken, Maria Conlon won the contest. Well, Diana made more shots, but she missed the last ball that has the most points. Then they started their shoot around, and my friend and I were so focused on scouting the new players, we did not even realize that Sue Bird was part of the opposite team. We saw bunch of guys, but all of a sudden, my friend was like "OMG! Sue Bird is playing with the guys!" I turned around and saw her on the other side of the floor, practicing her shots. I was literally laughing through out, since it was strange watching her among the guys. At some point during practice, Sue was shooting consecutive 3-pointers without missing any of them. The crowds were doing the "Ooh.. Aaah.. and Wow.." She finally missed the last one, and we could see big smile on her face knowing that the whole crowds were amazed that she hasn't missed a shot until then.

The game was a competitive one. Sue was directing traffic for her team, and I think she was the better player than most of the guys on the floor. The huskies were trailing at first, but they were able to keep their composure and won the scrimmage. They even knocked Sue Bird down once.

Autograph session was to follow the scrimmage. We decided to stick around for that, since we wanted to get Diana Taurasi's autograph. I was not too excited when I saw the line outside. The weather was cold and windy! I had to jump around just to keep myself warm. They set up 2 separate locations for the autograph session, and we were a little bit disappointed hearing that Diana is not in the location that we are in line for. Guess who came out from one of the doors near us??? Sue Bird!!! Of course, she was stormed by fans immediately. I tried to take some close-up pictures of her, but it was certainly a tough task to do, since she was surrounded by a lot of people. I managed to take one at the end though. Then, she was rescued by the assistant coach, who escorted her to the car. Sue certainly cheered everyones up. We all got back to the line and waited there patiently. We finally arrived to our destination, got autographs from Ann Strother, Barbara Turner, Stacey Marron, Jessica Moore and Maria Conlon. It was a long drive back home, but we had a lot of fun, and hoping to catch some of the UConn games. At least now we know where to go.