UVM Hoops

When my almost-wife picked me up at 1:00 p.m. to go to a UVM Men’s Basketball game last week, I’d been up since 4:30 a.m. and working since 6:30.

Yet, strangely, I wasn’t tired; I was pumped.

I’ve wanted to go to see this squad University of Green Mountains in action since before we moved into this town.

To make things better, the tickets were free. Hard to beat free… all I had to do was sell out, “like” the Heritage Auto group on facebook, and promote them through at least one social media venue. Ok, so I’m not proud.

They say you learn something new everyday. The first thing I learned at the February 25 game is that traffic control at the UVM athletic center apparently doesn’t do a thing.

Seriously, we saw three groups of workers just sitting in or standing around their cars. To be fair, they did point in the general direction of a parking lot, once we pulled over and asked.

The second thing I learned is that there is no such thing as “Row 1.” As I tried to politely kick people out of my seat, they calmly let me know that I my seats were in “Row I.”

Fair enough. Still pretty solid seats. I took this picture standing on the floor and the girl waving is sitting in my seat. I tried to kick her out too but she wouldn’t move either.

The best thing about a ball game is getting in a nice, quality meal.

I was gonna rush the floor if I didn’t get something to eat first, so we settled into our seats about a minute after tip-off. We enjoyed ourselves right away.

One of the cool things about watching UVM hoops is the venue.

If not for the quality of play, I may have thought I was at a high school basketball game.

Spectators sit shoulder to shoulder on the old fold-out style bleachers. You know the ones…there’s always a sign posted telling you not to climb on them when they are folded up, but you do anyway. Or maybe that’s just me…

But I digress. This sort of seating really puts the crowd on top of the players, and makes for an interesting environment for spectating. I thought Vermonters were a quiet people until an opposing player took out the legs of a Catamount player attempting a layup. For a second there I thought I was back in Cleveland.

And you know the players can hear you…they are like 20 feet away. I damn well hope that the ref heard me yell too…I’ve never seen so many ticky-tack fouls called.

Buckets.

Beside the obvious benefit to hecklers and boo-birds, the seating makes it a great place to watch because there really doesn’t seem to be a bad spot in the gym.

At halftime, Vermont was up nine but it was pretty clear that UMBC  was hanging on by a thread. (I still don’t know what that stands for, it wasn’t written anywhere.) They had been giving up open shots and easy buckets all half.

Halftime was typical, with time split between a dance team and a cheer squad. No, I did not take pictures. A) I felt a little creepy. B) Hello…my fiance was with me?!? I’m stupid but I’m not dumb.

One of the cheerleaders DID check me out though. Honest. My fiance saw her stare me down, smile… and then throw the free t-shirt to another jackass jumping up and down about 10 seats to the left of me.

The second half was actually more fun to watch as UVM started to pull away. Normally I don’t like to watch a route unless it is Notre Dame beating the snot out of another team.

However, in the second half, two of the seniors caught fire and each put on a clinic for a little while.

It was senior day and when the coach finally took them out, the air was electric as the crowd gave them each a standing ovation.

It was also fun to watch a freshman get some playing time. I watched as he came into the game and scored two points, grabbed two boards and had a steal in two minutes.

When all was said and done, Vermont won by over 30 and the boo-birds left pretty happy.

I left happy too, and I am bound and determined to watch this team play again next year. And though I am thankful to Heritage for the tickets, maybe next time they can hook it up with a spot in the recliner…Until Next Time,

A Stranger Observing Vermont – Elek

P.S. In case you’re as confused as I was when I moved into town, my tickets were to watch a game at the University of Vermont, who’s Latin name is Universitas Viridis Montis hence the UVM. It stands for University of the Green Mountains. Don’t ask.