Sunday, January 20, 2013

Defining Legacy: What Does Jim Calhoun’s Career Really Mean To The Fans He Said Goodbye To?


The following essay was written on my Facebook Page on September 20, 2012

Articles galore have been written about the retirement of University of Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun. As a fan for a majority of my life, I had to wait a few days to put my thoughts together, partially for reasons of denial, but primarily because immediate reactions to the retirement announcement focused on the man himself, the teams he coached and the program he ran. Taking a breath allows us to consider a more expansive view of a body of work, and in this case, that means the impact he had on a wide range of people, most of whom he has never (and will never) meet.

There are very few fan bases that can comprehend what Jim Calhoun and the work he did over his career at UConn truly means to those that lived through it. In fairness, it isn’t their fault. Here is why.

In general, states fall into one of three categories:
  1. States that have universities with marquee athletic programs and professional sports teams.
  2. States that have multiple universities with marquee athletic programs.
  3. States that are jealous of the first two.
For a long time, Connecticut was in that third category. We had pride in our schools like UConn, Yale and the University of Hartford (and of course, the Hartford Whalers), but for us to be part of something that others beyond the Nutmeg State cared about – or even better, feared – we had to leach off of the fan bases in New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, LA… We had affiliations based on family legacies or hero worship, but nothing because of geographical location that could be seen as truly ours.

But then Jim Calhoun led the effort to grow a fourth category: States that have universities that grow a marquee athletic program from scratch.

Starting a quarter century ago, Connecticut sports fans were presented with something that was more than just a quality athletic product. Coach Calhoun gave us something of our own to cheer for. Something others looked at with hate (which we all knew was envy). Something that was homegrown that forced people around the country to take notice of that land between Massachusetts and New York.   

Fans, critics, spectators and others can have their views of who they believe Jim Calhoun really was or how he should be perceived, and they will likely do this based on statistics or headlines. The truth is that it is fair of them to do so because, from their stand point, that is how coaches should be based. But for us – the people that lived and breathed UConn since before it was the only mainstream show in town – we know that what Jim Calhoun left behind can’t be defined by wins and losses, but rather by the feeling we have (and will continue to have ) every time we see the Huskies take the court.

That is how you define legacy.

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