At Geer Village, an enclave of avid UConn fans

NORTH CANAAN — It was 1995, and Jonathan Warner was living in Oregon. He turned on the public television station there one evening and was surprised to see the University of Connecticut women playing another team (he can’t remember which one).

Of course, that was the year they won their first-ever national championship (remember Rebecca Lobo?), 94 years after the women’s basketball program was initiated at what was then a small agricultural college. They were also the first NCAA team, men or women, to win 35 games in a season.

It wasn’t hard to quickly become and remain a fan. And it’s not just about their impressive record since.

“They are such an amazing team. The first time I watched them play, I was hooked. Every year it’s great fun to see amazing new players.�

And so, when he moved to Connecticut, it was like karma. He was following the team he had grown to love. His first home here was in Salisbury. These days, he lives at Geer Village, where he enjoys UConn basketball on the “big screen,� with other fans, including Shirley Simko.

Although she’s always lived in the state, Simko said she never watched basketball, until she moved to Geer Village a few years ago and was swept up by fans there.

As she and other fans watched UConn walk all over Providence College last week, she offered insight on the players and team as a whole.

“It’s a very deep team,� she said. “Injured players don’t affect them because there is always someone just as good waiting to step in. Geno [Auriemma] is not going to break a sweat tonight.�

UConn won that game 75-39. A win over Notre Dame Feb. 22 brought their record to 27-0.

March Madness is almost upon us. Will UConn go all the way?

Like legions of fans, Warner says, “It’s a good bet.�

The women have won four national championships since that breakthrough year. There were some lean years between 1995 and the 2000 trophy, but they were always highly ranked and made it into finals play.

Then came Diana Taurasi, among other phenoms, and championships in 2000, 2002 (39-0), 2003 and 2004. They shared the national title in 2004 with the men’s team, and UConn made history again.

And if we haven’t heard too much about the state budget deficit yet, or expected the subject to invade an occasional hour-and-a-half of basketball, a reporter at a press conference earlier this week dared to ask UConn men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun about his status as the highest-paid state employee.

OK, he will be making a cool $1.6 million next season. Not surprisingly, Auriemma came to his defense (he just signed a five-year deal for $8 million).

But what’s the other side of the story? About $22 million. That’s what the two teams are estimated to bring in annually, through ticket sales and other receipts.

Go UConn!