How I became a GT basketball fan

[RamblinRed]

Thought this was an interesting question posed by Cuse in the NW thread.
Did you become a GT basketball fan due to how they performed or was it for another reason?

I actually have a good story for this one. My family moved to GA from WI in 1981. When we moved down I was a big fan of both UGA and GT (remember the previous yr GT had tied AL in FB and UGA was coming off a NC). But after moving down here I found the UGA fans to be super obnoxious. That started to turn me off to UGA pretty quick.

My first best friend I made when I moved down to GA just happened to have parents who were both GT grads.
His mom was the women's tennis coach for GT at the time. For his birthday in Feb 1982 they had a birthday party at Alexander. It was GT vs UVA (w/ Ralph Sampson). GT lost, but played hard, i thought the coach was fun and I had such a great time that day that I basically became a huge GT basketball fan after that day and have been ever since.

i would eventually go to GT and get my undergraduate degree at Ma Tech. Never missed a home BB game (or home FB game for that matter) in my 5 yrs. I was the one that usually had a circle about 5 ft around me by the end of the game as I was an extremely obnoxious student. Would stand the full game, cuss loudly at the refs (especially Wirtz and Paparo) and try to psych out the opposing players, stomp on the benches. Was there for some great highs - DS stealing the ball and hitting the three against UNC in tommy's last home game, the 1990 Final Four run. Also for some lows - losing to College of Charleston (it was obvious at halftime if we didn't wake up we would lose and it just got worse in the second half).

i was also there way back when with my best friend for a GT vs MD game where the student section was singing - Go back, go back, go back to your school, your teams on drugs and your coach is a fool.
This after the drug scandal at MD. I think that might have been a double or triple OT game with Mark Price- been a long time and the memories start to get a little hazy.

 

[MWBATL]

I think that might have been a double or triple OT game with Mark Price- been a long time and the memories start to get a little hazy.

Weed will do that...but then we all made some mistakes when we were younger.

Either that or you're getting as old as I am...LOL

 

[GTJason]

My Freshman year was the 04-05 season, the year after the Championship run. The game that got me hooked was a home game hosting #5 Wake Forest. Jarrett Jack vs Chris Paul. Jack hit 2 free throws in OT to seal the win 102-101, we rushed the court, and a decade of sucking at basketball would ensue.

 

[kg01]

Thought this was an interesting question posed by Cuse in the NW thread.
Did you become a GT basketball fan due to how they performed or was it for another reason?

I actually have a good story for this one. My family moved to GA from WI in 1981. When we moved down I was a big fan of both UGA and GT (remember the previous yr GT had tied AL in FB and UGA was coming off a NC). But after moving down here I found the UGA fans to be super obnoxious. That started to turn me off to UGA pretty quick.

My first best friend I made when I moved down to GA just happened to have parents who were both GT grads.
His mom was the women's tennis coach for GT at the time. For his birthday in Feb 1982 they had a birthday party at Alexander. It was GT vs UVA (w/ Ralph Sampson). GT lost, but played hard, i thought the coach was fun and I had such a great time that day that I basically became a huge GT basketball fan after that day and have been ever since.

i would eventually go to GT and get my undergraduate degree at Ma Tech. Never missed a home BB game (or home FB game for that matter) in my 5 yrs. I was the one that usually had a circle about 5 ft around me by the end of the game as I was an extremely obnoxious student. Would stand the full game, cuss loudly at the refs (especially Wirtz and Paparo) and try to psych out the opposing players, stomp on the benches. Was there for some great highs - DS stealing the ball and hitting the three against UNC in tommy's last home game, the 1990 Final Four run. Also for some lows - losing to College of Charleston (it was obvious at halftime if we didn't wake up we would lose and it just got worse in the second half).

i was also there way back when with my best friend for a GT vs MD game where the student section was singing - Go back, go back, go back to your school, your teams on drugs and your coach is a fool.
This after the drug scandal at MD. I think that might have been a double or triple OT game with Mark Price- been a long time and the memories start to get a little hazy.

Excellent story, sir.

For me, it was definitely their performance ... well, then other reasons.

I really didn't start following college basketball until the early '90's so Lethal Weapon 3 was the first team I really was into. I was amazed that a team from Atlanta was performing on that national stage. It's why KA is my favorite player. I've been a fan ever since.

 

[Peacone36]

Excellent story, sir.

For me, it was definitely their performance ... well, then other reasons.

I really didn't start following college basketball until the early '90's so Lethal Weapon 3 was the first team I really was into. I was amazed that a team from Atlanta was performing on that national stage. It's why KA is my favorite player. I've been a fan ever since.

Your boy is KA
KAs boy is .........
So ........ is your boy

 

[Peacone36]

NM

 

[MidtownJacket]

Grew up a fan of Duke and planned to go there for college. Then my parents had a talk with me about the difference between staying in state with HOPE v going out of state to a private college. My senior year in high school I chose GT and started watching them more closely.

Freshman year my dad and I didn’t miss a home game, it was 2003-2004 and he surprised me with tickets to the NCAA final four.

Haven’t looked back.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[kg01]

Your boy is KA
KAs boy is .........
So ........ is your boy

Wait ... am I ... Ro .. nah, can't be.

 

[MWT89]

My dad graduated from Tech in '54 (BSCE) / '56 (MSCE) and started taking me to football games in the mid-70s. I don't remember my first game but it was during the Pepper Rodgers era. Our season tickets were on the 45 yard line and about row 15 in the west stands.

My father didn't become a basketball fan until Cremins arrived, but I recall devouring the AJC sports page as a kid and reading about Sammy Drummer, Tico Brown and Brook Steppe. I was particularly fond of Steppe because he went to North Springs, not too far from where I grew up. but I never saw him play. I don't recall my first live Tech game, but I remember Lee Goza playing.

I started Tech in 1985 so I was fortunate to be on the tail end of Price and Salley, and I was still around for Lethal Weapon 3 - the golden years of Tech basketball. In fact, we would camp out for tickets to big ACC games like Duke and UNC. I fell away from all Tech sports for a while, but my son and I have been going to lots of games for the past couple of years and my love of Tech basketball has been rekindled.

 

[slugboy]

Had accounting with John Salley and shared the same dorm with him. Funny guy.

 

[RamblinRed]

FWIW, my fav AJC headline (that unfortunately did not come true) was after Alonzo Mourning took a visit to GT.
They had an article on the recruiting in the AJC with the headline
"If Alonzo comes to Tech, the ACC will be in Mourning".

I also think that Pastner is the best since at least Cremins and maybe ever at understanding how to work with the media to increase the exposure of the program.
There has been more coverage of just over a yr of Pastner's program than 5 yrs of Gregory's tenure. He also does a great job of making sure there is media on the program during non basketball months.

 

[RyanS12]

Excellent story, sir.

For me, it was definitely their performance ... well, then other reasons.

I really didn't start following college basketball until the early '90's so Lethal Weapon 3 was the first team I really was into. I was amazed that a team from Atlanta was performing on that national stage. It's why KA is my favorite player. I've been a fan ever since.

Pretty much the same as me. I was 6 when Bobby had things rolling in 84-86 so I was a little young to pay much attention then but 1990 did it for me. LW3 and the football season made me become a full time Tech fan. I moved to Michigan in 93, during the Fab 5 era but fan allegiance never changed around all the UM and MSU fans. I will say I as a kid in 1990 I loved I Unlv too. I remember sneaking out to the living room to watch Big Monday games at 11 pm on a school night to watch them play Long Bech and the other Big West schools. I was kinda torn during the 1990 Final 4 game but I think I made the right choice.

 

[MikeJackets1967]

I became a GT Men's Basketball fan because of Bobby Crimins,Mark Price,Yvon Joseph and John Salley

 

[GT1988]

My father is a GT grad and I grew up a Tech fan. I didn't really care about sports until 2002/2003, which was an okay time for football and a great time for basketball. I remember being hooked on GT basketball in late 2003 when we destroyed UCONN and then Texas Tech to win the preseason NIT. My dad and I went to the St. Louis regional to watch us beat Nevada and then Kansas in OT to secure the Final Four. One of my favorite memories is watching the team cut down the nets after winning that game.

I graduated from Tech in 2010, which was the beginning of the end for Hewitt. Was tough to watch basketball from then on until last year, which is the most fun I had had watching GT basketball since 2004.

 

[DroppedOut]

I only really watched college bball during the tourney in the 90's and enjoyed the powerhouse ACC teams. Always hated Duke though! I got a brochure in the mail from GT when college scouting time came about and realized the academics were on par with other top flight tech schools but also would let me enjoy D1 college athletics at the highest level. My first football and basketball games were amazing.

Unfortunately my life took a different turn than I expected, but I still fondly look back at GT and will be a fan for life!

PS- Duke sucks

 

[MWT89]

Speaking of Duke, does anyone remember the deafening Huuuuurley! Huuuuuurley! Huuuuurley! chants? Fun times.

 

[KeystoneJacket]

My older brother was a Duke fan growing up. One night he was watching their game when I walked in the room and the first thing I saw on the screen was Cremins. I was instantly mesmerized by that hair. Then Travis Best had the ball. Then he passed to James Forrest. This team had the coolest looking coach and players with the neatest names. That was important to 7/8 year old me. I decided right then and there that this way my team now. So that's how I became a GT basketball fan 25 years ago. Not too many others up here in southeastern Pennsylvania.

 

[bob4gt]

I grew up in Atlanta and was always a Tech fan. Really started following hoops closely in 1962, listened to the games on WGST. Started Tech in 64 and been a rabid fan since. Yunkus is my all time favorite, but think anyone who wore the white and gold is great.
Bob

 

[jeffgt14]

Well mine's boring. Basically became a fan because I disagree with having a different college team for basketball than you do for football. Joe Hamilton hit right around the time I started getting into watching football at a young age and I just loved watching him play. So naturally I gravitated toward the basketball team too just because.

 

[jeffgt14]

My older brother was a Duke fan growing up. One night he was watching their game when I walked in the room and the first thing I saw on the screen was Cremins. I was instantly mesmerized by that hair. Then Travis Best had the ball. Then he passed to James Forrest. This team had the coolest looking coach and players with the neatest names. That was important to 7/8 year old me. I decided right then and there that this way my team now. So that's how I became a GT basketball fan 25 years ago. Not too many others up here in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Like me, sometimes you just luck (or unluck) into it because you're 7/8 and easily impressed by the first thing you see.