Where you're from is who you are

J RApr 6, 2009

Alright, so on Saturday when I was watching the Michigan State-Connecticut basketball game, there was something about the game that really infuriated me. I was watching the game with some people who really don’t follow sports, but since UConn is their school and since it’s Tournament time, of course they decided to watch the game.

These newbies, however, didn’t know who Connecticut was playing, and I can’t blame them for it.

During a time when you represent a city, school, or state, such as a sports contest, there is no business why you can’t have the location of where you’re from on your uniform. This is something I have been battling with as a Connecticut fan. I hate the fact that our home jersey says “UConn” and not “Connecticut”.

UConn is an institution so you can’t say that you represent a whole state or city if it doesn’t say that on what people see during a game - the uniform. Therefore, I remember when Connecticut won the title in 2004 and Jim Calhoun said something to the effect of, “This is for the entire state of Connecticut,” well if the title is for the whole state of Connecticut, then the jersey’s should show it.

Bottom line is by displaying “UConn” on the front and not “Connecticut”, you’re showing that all the success the program has if for the university only and not the state.

Apparently having UConn on the front of your jersey represents the state of Connecticut.

A few years ago on my trip to Houston to visit a friend, we went to a party and I met some people from Houston. They asked me what college I went to and I replied, “UConn”. I got puzzled reactions like, “Where, like Alaska?” I was seething with anger at that point that these people didn’t know my school.

Did you ever hear, you know, of one of the top basketball programs in the nation? Stupid people from the South always thinking the South is where it’s at and no where else in the country matters. Yet, the more I thought about it, the more I softened my stance.

People don’t know about UConn because it’s a Connecticut created thing and somehow that crept onto our uniforms. (It’s kind of like when someone says pop for soda in the North, we’re like huh?) However, they know about Connecticut because it’s a state.

Connecticut Football, not UConn.

I had a conversation with my boss a few years back on why the Connecticut football team doesn’t use the Husky logo like the rest of the sports teams here, and instead uses the “C”.

He told me when Coach Edsall took over the football team, he wanted the people of Connecticut to know that the success he was going to build for the football program was going to be for the whole state and not just UConn.

That showed even people who didn’t go or know anyone who went to UConn can revel in the success of the program as well. Personally, I don’t like Coach Edsall, but he garnered a lot of respect in my book when I heard that.

As mad as it gets me that UConn doesn’t put “Connecticut” on their jersey’s, Michigan State takes it to a whole new level. They just have the word “State” on their jersey’s. What does that even mean?

All I hear about is how great of a job Tom Izzo is doing, and how much the success of Michigan State’s season is beneficial to a state that has fallen on hard times during this economic mess, yet the citizens of Michigan are fine that their jersey just says “State”?

As common sense as I thought it was for everyone I watched the game with to know who Connecticut was playing, it really hit home that if you don’t know the game, you’re not going to know who “State” is. If I lived in Michigan and Michigan State was representing the state I lived in, then is it so damn hard to put “Michigan” before “State”?

He's from "State".

I got news for all you people from Michigan—Michigan State is not representing the state of Michigan. They’re representing “State”. As proud as you are for the Spartans to bring much needed light to a state in distress, most people watching Monday night who don’t follow basketball are not going to know who you are and where you’re from without commentary and the scoreboard.

It’s disrespectful to the state of Michigan that apparently their team is embarrassed they’re from Michigan and fail to show that when they’re in the spotlight.

This may seem like a pointless article to all of you, but think about it - how many of you went on spring break or went on trips where you meet people who asked where you’re from? I know it’s not just me, but there’s a sense of pride that goes into your answer. I want people to be able to say, “Oh wow, he’s from Connecticut,” and not, “What’s UConn?”

The Baltimore Orioles went back to having "Baltimore" on their road jersey's.

The Baltimore Orioles changed their road uniforms this year to say “Baltimore” and not “Orioles” because the franchise was criticized for losing touch with their citizens and because that’s what the uniform said in the past. When you’re on the road, you’re representing Baltimore and not the Orioles. Props to them for realizing this.

"
It has always been a hot button issue with fans, who use the Orioles’ failure to make the change as proof that the club has lost touch with its most ardent and local supporters.
“I don’t think some of us would mind a uniform change,” said second baseman Brian Roberts, the second-longest-tenured member of the current club. “Whether it says ‘Baltimore’ or ‘the Orioles,’ I think some of the guys may not know the difference. But for what it means to the fans and the city because it may go so far back, I think the change can be good. It’s not going to matter that much to us, but it helps the fan base, and that’s what they want to do. Let’s go for it.”
"

I’m fine with using nicknames on the home uniforms, but not a slang nickname. If you want your uniform to say “Orioles” at home, that’s perfectly all right, but when you travel it should say where you’re from.

I draw the line with nicknames such as “UConn” because if you’re not going to say “Huskies” and are going to say “UConn”, why not just put “Connecticut” on the front like the road uniforms? After all, isn’t it the front of the jersey that matters more than the name on the back?

If you’re just going to have “UConn” on your uniform, than you can’t say that uniform represents Connecticut because it doesn’t; it represents a school in Storrs.

Hopefully “State” and “UConn” can remember the past as well and go back to putting the whole names on their jersey’s.