Party spills from arena in Tampa to streets in Connecticut

UConn students on Tuesday repeated what has become an annual tradition of storming the court at Gampel Pavilion after watching their Huskies win another national championship.

The game was played almost 1,300 miles away in Tampa, but more than 2,000 fans gathered at the Huskies' home arena to watch the game on three large screens set up on the arena floor.

They began chanting "I believe that we will win," after the Huskies took a 13-point lead late in the second half. They rushed to the floor as the final seconds wound down and began bouncing up and down as "We Are the Champions" blared from the arena's speakers.

The party then spilled out onto Fairfield Way, where there was more music and dancing to celebrate the women's 10th title and third in a row.

"It never gets old," said Ben Byrd, a sophomore from Cheshire. "This is the third (title) game I've been to, and it's great every single time."

The students began lining up in the rain outside the arena more than two hours before the scheduled tip, and once inside, treated it as a home game.

They stood and faced the flag in the arena during the national anthem, chanted "Let's go UConn," when the game was tight, and even fought over T-shirts fired into the crowd. The pep band, cheerleaders and dance team performed during timeouts.

The school has made a tradition of opening the basketball arena for title games. Senior Hillary Kranz of Colchester has been to four in the past four years, including two a year ago when both the men and the women won NCAA championships.

"From the time I was little, I had UConn onesies, UConn sweatshirts," she said. "This is my last game ever at Gampel before I graduate. It's been very full circle."

This was the 14th championship for UConn's basketball teams. The women improved to 10-0 in title games. The men are 4-0.

"UConn is the basketball capital of the world," said Tim Lim, 21, a junior from East Bay, California, who was decked out in a blue wig and sunglasses, with a blue and white lei around his neck.

"This is just what we do here."

The school plans to hold a parade for the Huskies when they return from Tampa on Wednesday afternoon. It will begin in Storrs Center and end with a rally in front of the arena.