basketball

Bonehead: the secret history of UConn hoops

/ boz bozeman / Leave a comment

The first time I saw Patty she glowed. We met at the bar Bourbon Street in Hartford CT, and the night was like Mardi Gras for us: partying, dancing and laughing. I’ll leave any “beads business” to the imagination. I was immediately struck by her, and we started dating right away. 

It was March when we met, and Patty and I bonded over our shared passion for UConn basketball. The men’s and women’s programs were just beginning a climb to national prominence, but Connecticut already had a case of “Husky Fever”. Sharing their triumphs was an early joy, and the pain of defeat in March Madness stung us both immensely.  

Our relationship flourished along with many basketball triumphs. One day, I was looking for something in the closet of our condo and I found something that looked like a bone. Made of foam, it was bone white, and it said “Husky Hoops” in black letters. It was a dog bone! And it was made to be worn as a hat. 

We had just scored season tickets for the 98-99 men’s home games. When I saw the bone, I knew it was destiny! I would wear the bone to games. Maybe Coach Calhoun would spot me in the crowd! 

But then I thought: what if Patty doesn’t want to be sitting next to the guy with the bone on his head? Maybe this is not something that adults do. 

When she came home from work, I greeted her with the bone on my head. She laughed and said, “Where did you find that? I won it in a raffle years ago.” 

I told her how I found it, then said, “I want to wear it to games.” It seemed forever waiting for her reply.

Continue reading →

Who Knows

/ boz bozeman / Leave a comment 
You don’t know who was a baller 
A dancer
Hip hop trip dancing  
On stages  
Synchronous with teammates 

Grown 
In grown up clothes: 
Workpants, 
Dresses, 
Neckties, 
Orange vests 
Bright green labor shirts. 

Grown. 
Identified by jobs, 
Families, 
Pastimes and hobbies, 
Passions and problems. 

Grown. 
But who knows what is in there still? 
The dancer, 
Hours of practice after hours of school 
Hip hop dancing  
That skip stop swaying 
With a synchronous stomping 
With the tuff dressed team.  

The baller,  
Lane shifting spinning swisher 
Grunting sweating D in your face 
Floor slapper, chest bumper 
Feels teammates all around 
Without seeing them 
Connected by the ball 
Courageous for the ball 
Getting rejected by the ball 
Then craving it more 

It’s still inside them 
You will see it 
When he grabs the cup 
Just as it starts to fall
without seeming to look; 

When the ball dribbles 
off the court, 
And she scoops it up 
But instead of tossing it 
Back to the players 
She takes a shot 
Her dress swishing with the net.

UConn Hoops

/ boz bozeman / Leave a comment

We went to the first game of the season last night. I feel so fortunate to have UConn sports in my life. It connects me to my wife, family and so many friends. The communal feeling of being a fan is so valuable to me. I treasure moments, like being in an airport wearing some gear and a stranger says, “Go Huskies!”