Husky Life

I have returned to college after a one week Thanksgiving hiatus. A full week — many of my friends didn’t have that much time off but they had an extended weekend in October known as “Fall Break”. There’s two weeks left in the semester. Then one week of finals lies ahead rather ominously like dark skies over Long Island Sound. Once that weather passes, I’ll experience one month of vacation!
Anyway, I had a great Husky moment on the Amtrak train up to Hartford today. While I was reading a book for class, I heard the polyphonic ring of a cell phone. It was the UConn fight song. Husky Pride on the 5:13 to Springfield: made my day.

It’s 3 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, why am I not in my dorm sleeping?
Curiosity.
On Facebook a few weeks ago I learned that around that time there would be an opportunity to see many shooting stars during one of the largest Leonid meteor showers ever.  And I had never seen a shooting star before so, of course, I went when my dormmates decided to stay up late and see it.
We walked to the top of Horsebarn Hill, one of the most elevated spots on campus far from light pollution. With only a few lights from the Towers dorm across the cow field,  the cold grass provided a relatively unobstructed view. There were many people around — I couldn’t see them because it was dark — but the environment was festive. People called out random names for fun, a musician played a guitar and some enthusiastic fans still happy from the UCONN men’s game tried to start the UCONN Husky Cheer. The highlight — no pun intended — were the shooting stars which dashed across the sky disappearing into a veil of darkness within seconds. Beautiful.
Then clouds began to cover the sky and after watching the outdoors show for two hours or so in 30 or so degree weather we decided to return to our dorms. I was amazed that I actually managed to fall asleep before daylight.
Anyone else see the light show?

When you’re in the student section at a basketball game here you’re not on the court yet you feel part of the game.

At my first game today, I learned that my fellow Huskies have many rituals and traditions. The first is that the entire student section stands during playing time. Aside from the occasional cheer — I believe it goes UCONN-Huskies, UCONN-Huskies, UCONN-Huskies, Huskies-UCONN, Woof — the student section puts their hands up in the air when UCONN has a foul shot among other rituals. I enjoyed the experience because these activities made me feel a part of a larger group – it’s like a cheering team. Students really get into it. And for the first time in my life I think that I might be becoming a sports fan.

Reader Question: Do you remember watching your first college basketball game? Are you still a fan? Any Husky fans out there?

*I ran my four-mile route around campus today for the first time in awhile. Usually, I run on the weekends but I only had one class on Friday so I ran in the morning before class. Towards the end of my run I usually run a lap on the E.O. Smith High School track. Being a school day there was a P.E. class on the field. And I remembered for a second what it was like to actually have a full day of school on a Friday and actually have a scheduled P.E. class. Unlike high school, UCONN currently does not have a P.E. class requirement (though one of my friends takes a one-credit jujitsu class and he enjoys it). However, a few weeks ago I talked to a UCONN alum waiting in line at Gampel for Opening Night. He said that back in his day the university required that students take P.E. He also recalled that he got points for P.E. class by attending a basketball game — so they could fill up the seats — back when the school was smaller and the games were held in the field house. Now only if I got academic credit for running…

*Today I realized how much more fun it is to walk to class instead of drive. While I enjoyed having a car in high school, one thing that I don’t miss is waiting fifteen minutes in traffic on Fairfield Road to get to GHS. Listening to the car radio is fun but walking on an sidewalk past Mirror Lake glistening in the sun is much more soothing…