Late October 2003. 80% of the Top 50 recruits in the country have issued verbals indicating which school they plan to attend in the fall. Several top schools have multiple verbals. UConn has zero. One by one, players who seemed to share mutual interest in the UConn program whittle their list of schools down, dropping UConn from the list. One of the best, Laura Harper, finally gives a verbal to UConn, and the celebration begins, but before the confetti has settled to the floor it is rescinded. As the November signing period looms closer, another recruit cancels a visit. Three top recruits visit the campus for Supershow, one of whom is rumored to be favoring UConn. Then she selects Maryland. Days tick by and no news from the recruits. As Boneyarders nostalgically recall a time when they used to have fingernails, Wonkster decides to have a contest:
What book or movie title best expresses Husky fans' emotions right now?
* Late-entries
Given that the contest involved Husky fans' emotions now, I was surprised not to see these titles entered:
Entries ranged from the upbeat (As Good as it Gets, It's a Wonderful Life) to the utterly depressed (Die Another Day). Some entries were loopy beyond measure (Moby Dick, Saving Private Ryan), others just plain funny (Bananas, I'm Gonna Git You, Sucka!). But only a few entries had the right touch that perfectly addressed the main idea of encompassing the emotions of the fans.
HuskyNan's "Great Expectations" had an elegant air about it, but was a little too tame for the passions of this 2003 recruiting period. Hoopingcrane's "Three the Hard Way" was brilliant, but has the potential of being embarrassingly wrong. We'll know more in two weeks, Hoopingcrane!
There was one entry that was just perfect, however. And from a rookie poster, no less. The award for the 2003 Preseason Book/Movie Title Contest goes to -
bscreen1 for the on-target entry - HIGH ANXIETY
(Background by Phil, Entries by the Entrants, remaining text by Wonkster)
This page last updated on 31 October 2003.