Being a fan of a sports team is a full-time commitment. It is an investment. It can be heart breaking, deceptive and deceitful. It can be cheeky and, yet, as joyous as a wedding day.
When fans heard their teams made the NCAA women’s Final Four, they traveled from far and wide, no matter the cost, to ensure they would get the opportunity to watch the confetti fall on the players they idolize, if that day arises.
The city of Tampa was granted the privilege of hosting the Final Four, giving travelers more reason to avoid scraping the snow from their driveways and offering a chance to sink their toes in the sand.
Pat and Mark Spare are two of those fans. They traveled from Connecticut in hopes of watching Geno Auriemma’s Huskies (37-1) win a third-straight championship.
The elderly couple woke up at 4 a.m. in order to make it to the airport in time so they could partake in the pregame activities around the Amalie Arena, which included autographs from players and coaches, free giveaways and games.
Mark said the trip was his retirement present, but Pat said she really just wanted to leave the snow.
The couple spent nearly $1,500, but said it was worth every dollar since it’s their first time attending a Final Four and because UConn is a favorite to win it all.
If the Spare family gets their wish, it would be Auriemma’s 10th NCAA championship, tying him with UCLA’s John Wooden for the most all time by a head coach.
UConn’s opponent, the Maryland Terrapins (34-3), were supported by Gamee Elliott and Deb Freeman.
The friends traveled from Maryland in hopes of an upset. Elliott drove and Freeman flew. They plan on driving back together after attending the April 6 Tampa Bay Rays season opener, as the Rays take on the Baltimore Orioles, another one of Elliott and Freeman’s favorite teams.
Elliott said she bought the Final Four tickets on April 12, 2014, the first day they went on sale, hoping the Terrapins would make the Final Four again for a second-straight year.
Although their team was downed by the Huskies 81-58, thanks to Morgan Tuck’s 24 points, Elliott and Freeman plan to stay in the Tampa area until at least Wednesday.
“I’ve been coming to Sarasota for the Baltimore Orioles spring training for the last three years; this is my fourth year,” Elliott said. “So, when I saw that the Final Four was in Tampa, I had to do it.”
The friends said they spent more than $2,000 through ticket, hotel and traveling expenses.
Other fans, like Rick and Casey Giraudy, didn’t have to dig deep into their bank accounts for traveling expenses. Arriving from Columbia, S.C., Rick said he spent only $50 in gas to make the seven-hour trip to watch his South Carolina Gamecocks, but he spent nearly $800 on hotel reservations.
It was the Gamecocks’ first time ever being in the Final Four.
“We are happily contributing to the economy,” said Rick Giraudy, sporting his new Final Four shirt. “It’s why we’re here. It’s history.”
The Gamecocks, however, fell short of the Giraudy’s expectations by losing 66-65 to Notre Dame (36-2).
The Gamecocks (34-3) went on a 13-0 run down the final stretch of the game before the Irish’s Madison Cable scored the last points of the game with 16 seconds left, advancing her team to the championship.
The Giraudys have the option to keep the hotel for the rest of their four-night stay as planned, or must give the hotel at least 24-hours notice if they cancel the remainder of his reservation.
Being that the Final Four games were held in USF’s hometown, several Bulls fans were also in attendance wearing their green and gold.
Donna Longhouse, a lawyer from the Tampa area who serves on the professional advisory council for the college of arts and science at USF St. Petersburg, came to the arena with her friend Moldie Deeds, who had season tickets for the Bulls 2014-2015 season.
“I feel so proud of (USF) and I feel like it’s only going to get better from here,” Deeds said. “I’ve had a lot of people say something to me about USF, seeing the shirt here, by other team’s fans and how they were awesome and ‘Good luck in the future.’”
Longhouse added how well she thought the Bulls did against UConn in the American Athletic Conference championship game, losing by 14 points. It was the closest margin of victory for UConn since they suffering their only lose to Stanford 36 games ago.
“I think this was a great season for women’s basketball,” Longhouse said. “Let’s see if any of the other teams can do that.”
In last year’s championship game, the Huskies defeated the Irish 79-58. And the year prior, UConn knocked out the Irish in the semifinal round as well.
The teams will face off again on Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.
“Tuesday night’s not gonna be any fun, believe me,” Auriemma said. “I mean, I’m glad we’re playing in that game, but it’s not gonna be any fun. They’re really hard to play against.”
