WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. — Amid the crowd at a busy Bradley Airport terminal, UConn fans were easy to spot.
"I am a big UConn fan. I went to UConn, graduated in ’92 so I’ve been a fan since. I was there for the opening of Gampel. I’ve had season tickets all this year so very excited to go," said Chris Wachtel of Enfield.
His destination: Houston. To watch his Huskies play in person.
"I was at one other final four and it was in 1999 when they won the whole thing," Wachtel said.
But don’t ask him if that means he’s bringing the luck.
"I’m actually afraid of jinxing so I don’t like to say it out loud," he said.
Wachtel took the trip down with fellow supporters on board, the Kreh family of Glastonbury.
"We just had the opportunity and we decided why not? That’s our new, we’re becoming yes men, we’re going to say yes to everything now," said Trish Kreh.
A little serendipity and a lot of planning.
"It was a lot of scrambling, hotels, flights, working out logistics but we’re excited," said Kevin Kreh.
Connecticut’s run in the tournament so far makes it easy for the family to say yes to Texas last minute.
While others had bet on the Huskies long before.
"I actually lucked out and planned before the tournament began that I was going to go down for the final four and was super lucky that UConn actually made it. Maybe not luck, they’re a really good team," said Drew Granucci, of Killingworth.
UConn Nation is expected to show up for them in a big way.
"I followed them to Albany and I know that we basically took over the arena in Albany so Houston I’m hoping will be the same and that we’ll have a great crowd down there," Granucci said.
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at mmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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