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Two Smooth Characters
When I left Hartford Sunday after covering the UConn Women Huskies victory parade and rally, I was thinking what great "presence" Coach Gino Auriemma and Gov. M. Jodi Rell possess. They know how to turn on a crowd; they're naturals at it.
People usually hate to hear from politicians at sports events. Often the politicos are booed. But the crowd Sunday loved their governor. This is bad news for any Democrat who wants to unseat her.
Rell was down-to-earth and almost folksy as she confessed that watching the Huskies play ball in her home over the past few months was great therapy for the state's budget troubles. (We can all relate.) She talked about having to leave the room when a game got close (I know, it didn't happen often). She would be saying to herself, "Oh, please! Oh, please!" Then, she noted with a smile, she would return to her TV room and find the Huskies up by 10 points.
Rell praised the team for representing the state so well, for being poised and prepared. She noted they showed respect for the game and respect for their opponents.
The final speaker at the rally was Auriemma and he scored a slam dunk. First he just stood at the podium and laughed at a sign in the crowd which said "Geno Is God." Then he said playfully, "Come on, put that sign down!"
He reminded us the Huskies aren't perfect, despite their 39-0 record and winning the national championship. But he said the people at the parade and rally had made the day perfect "for these kids."
"Whether you're 5 or 75," he said, "these players represent something you all can appreciate. They're the kids next door, the kids you saw in the playground."
He also reminded us how hard these players have to work, day after day, to make a championship possible.
And he finished with a beautiful sentiment, that it is so meaningful for these young women "to have this in their memory banks, to be able to (some day) tell their kids that on a sunny afternoon in April in Connecticut, they felt what it really means to be a Connecticut basketball player."
Geez, this guy could run for office too, and he could waltz in -- as long as he didn't try to be governor.
People usually hate to hear from politicians at sports events. Often the politicos are booed. But the crowd Sunday loved their governor. This is bad news for any Democrat who wants to unseat her.
Rell was down-to-earth and almost folksy as she confessed that watching the Huskies play ball in her home over the past few months was great therapy for the state's budget troubles. (We can all relate.) She talked about having to leave the room when a game got close (I know, it didn't happen often). She would be saying to herself, "Oh, please! Oh, please!" Then, she noted with a smile, she would return to her TV room and find the Huskies up by 10 points.
Rell praised the team for representing the state so well, for being poised and prepared. She noted they showed respect for the game and respect for their opponents.
The final speaker at the rally was Auriemma and he scored a slam dunk. First he just stood at the podium and laughed at a sign in the crowd which said "Geno Is God." Then he said playfully, "Come on, put that sign down!"
He reminded us the Huskies aren't perfect, despite their 39-0 record and winning the national championship. But he said the people at the parade and rally had made the day perfect "for these kids."
"Whether you're 5 or 75," he said, "these players represent something you all can appreciate. They're the kids next door, the kids you saw in the playground."
He also reminded us how hard these players have to work, day after day, to make a championship possible.
And he finished with a beautiful sentiment, that it is so meaningful for these young women "to have this in their memory banks, to be able to (some day) tell their kids that on a sunny afternoon in April in Connecticut, they felt what it really means to be a Connecticut basketball player."
Geez, this guy could run for office too, and he could waltz in -- as long as he didn't try to be governor.
posted by Randall Beach at
9:12 PM
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