MINNEAPOLIS — With their Huskies having made an NCAA record 14 consecutive Final Fours, UConn fans know how to do this.
Friday morning, during FOX61's special Final Four Foodie Friday, UConn fans appeared at the Good Day Café, a restaurant recommended by Paige Bueckers, to fuel up and show off their homemade t-shirts.
"We have all the years that they won and then 'Go Huskies' and with a question mark for 2022 and we're hoping to rip that question off," said Laura Niski of Oxford, who was describing the shirts she made for her husband and another family.
Another Huskies fan, Mary Anne Kenyon of Glastonbury, showcased her 2017 Women's Final Four pin, but that was the first of what has been four straight national semifinals losses for UConn. That was the only other Final Four she attended before Minneapolis.
"My son said that if in fact, they lose it's my fault and they won't let me come to another one," Kenyon said, as she laughed.
Minneapolis area native Paige Bueckers has, of course, transformed many, including young Minnesotans, into UConn fans.
"She’s just really good," said 10-year-old Arabella Sobolik, of nearby Blaine, MN. "She always cares about her teammates. She always puts them first in front of her and I just want to do that when I play."
Arabella‘s dad has actually coached against and, of course, lost to Paige Bueckers' high school team. And Arabella‘s mom understands why.
"She had all the confidence in the world and she inspired my daughter to want to play basketball and just watching her play is just incredible," said Elizabeth Sobolik
The only other time the Women's Final Four was hosted by Minneapolis was 1995 when the Huskies of course sealed their first national title
"Back then it was just Tennessee and UConn then people complained it was it was always the same teams and now there's so much competition that's wonderful," said Marie Truscinski, a Huskies season-ticket holder from Middletown.
Huskies great Rebecca Lobo, who was a major part of that first Huskies national title team, is married to a man, who grew up here in the Minneapolis area. So they are here quite often. Lobo is calling the Final Four.
Tony Terzi is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tterzi@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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