@DFresh11 - I just looked in the Air Force GAL and there is no Curtis Schull in thereā¦ does he go by a different name? Iām actually in the Air Force Reserve nowadaysā¦ I sell Enterprise IT equipment to Federal Governments across Europeā¦ but still can keep my Air Force affiliation through time on Ramstein. By chance is Curtis related to Corey Schull? He was also a roommate of mine in Brown College.
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Is Curtis Shull sorry. Stuttgart Germany and works now at ProxiGroup
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Love reading these stories and memories - Iāll add mine in bullet point form:
- Grew up in Blacksburg as a VT fan (Dell Curry / Bimbo Coles) - dad was a professor there. Now I canāt go back to Blacksburg as it looks like someone threw up maroon and orange all over the place.
- Chose UVA over UNC in 1990 as a student because it was the obvious choice. VT wasnāt a real option.
- Became an instant convert when UVA football beat Clemson in my first game of my first year
- Joined the UVA Pep Band so I could get great seats to basketball - wound up becoming director (not conductor)
- Spent easily over 1,000 hours watching UVA sports the next four years with a trumpet in one hand
- Watched the girls in the band get all googly-eyed over DFresh11 every time he stepped on the floor - I was in the Jenny Boucek fan club.
- Great memories traveling with the teams to Salt Lake City, LA, Sacramento, New Orleans, Syracuse (all snow), the Meadowlands, and Charlotte/Greensboro too many times to count
- Graduated in '94 but have followed very closely ever since
- Was probably one of the first on the UVA boards - they really help Hoos fans who live away from Charlottesville.
- Still remember (trying to) play against UVa players (menās and womenās) in Slaughter - wonder if they ever play with the GenPop students anymoreā¦
- Turned my two boys into huge UVA fans in Big1G country - now living in Michigan - canāt cost justify UVA as an option for them over the two big in-state schools
- Fav players over the years are almost always the point guards (Cory, Harold, Sean, London, Ty and soon to be Kihei and Reece) but itās great to see all sorts of Hoos in the NBA - will be watching 'Dre live in ATL over spring break
- Last vacation in Charlottesville was spent with my son watching UVA players play 3-on-3 in the practice gym - totally a thrill for him (and me)
- Special shoutout to HoozGotNext. Love his work!
- ek (Commerce '94)
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Appreciate the shout out @Little-ehoo. So much good stuff in there.
This has gotta be my favorite. 
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Love the format Little ehoo. Great intro and appreciate the love from the band DaDaDaaaaaDa U! Awesome we were there the same time
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My boy was killin em Iām sure
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@Little-ehoo when i was a kid I thought the pep band was so cool. They stole the show routinely when I went to games.
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Great thread. Good to get to know a few of yāall who are more regular posters. Trying to chime in when I feel like I have something intelligent to contribute.
I graduated from the college in 2013. I played club lax 2009-2013 and was president my last two years. Best group of guys you could ever ask for. Tons of fun caravanning up and down the east coast for games against Duke, UNC, Maryland, Penn State, Navy, Towson, etc. plus a couple of overnight tournaments a year in New Orleans and down at ECU - the latter two were great memories more for what happened off the field!
I grew up in NOVA (shoutout to my fellow miserable Redskins fans) and was in UVa gear from the time I could walk. Mom was a Curry grad so it started form there. Basketball was my first love but I started playing serious lax in the early 2000ās during peak-Dom Starsia years and have been as diehard a UVa lax fan as there is since the '03 championship. Tillman Johnson had the greatest tournament a goalie has ever had IMO. Currently looking up at a banner with the undefeated '06 teamās game scores above my desk. Loving everything that Lars is bringing to the program and believe we are the favorite to repeat this year - he is the CTB of lacrosse.
Honestly, I wasnāt a huge fan of anything other than lax until CTB came along and even then it wasnāt until the '11-'12 season when we made the tournament that I really paid consistent attention to bball while I was at school. Sean Singletary v Duke is the only memory I have of UVa hoops prior to enrolling there. Same deal for football. As a student during the Al Groh ā Mike London years it was really tough to commit to fandom. I make the joke that I measure my attendance in quarters because no one ever stayed long enough to count the whole game. The '10-'11 season aside, those were some really forgettable seasons in school history.
Fast forward a few years - I moved to Denver in 2015 and have found a much deeper appreciation for the school with time passing and the physical distance from Virginia. It helps that we have an AD and a president who seem fully committed to athletic excellence across the board. Bronco and Lars Tiffany were home run hires - high character winners who care more about the boys on the field than their bank accounts. Itās more of a family affair for me now. Iāve got two kids and drape them in orange every time weāre on. My wife is a trooper even though she is from Texas and a UT grad that barely understands lacrosse.
Loving the LRA community and looking forward to celebrating wins and dissecting losses for years to come with yāall.
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another great story. Love Denver and the area. little bit of everything and best mexican food I have ever had somehow.
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Ok, Iāll have a go, but Iām just some dude on here looking for UVA info without getting insulted or ridiculed like other places Iāve checked out!
I grew up in a Chicago suburb in the late 70ās and the 80ās, but my dad moved around a lot and I lived in Atlanta from ages 10-12, back to Chicago suburbs and then on to RVA for 8th grade. My older brother is about 6 years older than me so I was home alone with them for many years and he ended up going to Illinois. He really tried to influence me in that aspect by bringing me up there, staying at his frat house and getting me into bars as a really young looking kid. I was a pretty responsible kid, not into that kind of stuff. I have always been an introvert, and although I married an extrovert I still revert to that. The only constant during these years, really age 4-now, has been soccer. I played club soccer from age 4 on a u-7 team and grew up playing for a German club in Chicago and really just playing all the time. I was a VA state and a Regional player, but I really enjoyed most sports. I played ice hockey in Illinois, I played basketball with my friends all the time but never organized.
Anyway, I had some best friends in high school that loved UVA and we used to argue about Big Ten vs. ACC basketball. They took me to Charlottesville the first time when I was living in RVA to see UVA play GT. I think it was the year we were really good but the memories are hazy. When I was able to drive Iād head up for soccer games a lot, and hung out on the corner with my friends. I remember the Virginian and having my first burger in Charlottesville.
I was recruited to play soccer at some VA schools like ODU and WM, and my brother was pushing me to come to Champaign. However, I was a good student and I knew I had no future in soccer, and I applied to UVA. I remember the day I received an acceptance letter, I still have that letter. I always felt comfortable there on my visits. I felt it was my own way, not following the expectations of my parents and brother. I had earned it. The next day I hopped in the car with my buddy and we just drove up there and I walked around. This is strange, but it smells awesome, and feels awesome. You feel connected to history, and you feel a part of the continuation of a vision. Anyway, I started in the Fall of 1994.
Best times of my life. I met some great friends first year. Those guys ended up joining the same fraternity, I ended up joining them second year. Lived in Humphreys, went to all the FB games, remember having my dad and brother there when we beat Florida State. My seat was not in the student section but right on the line. I saw them stop Dunn right in front of me. I watched a lot of soccer, played club soccer and remember tourneys at Maryland, Clemson and other places. I watched a lot of basketball at UHall too, but I concentrated on FB and soccer really. But I obviously became a massive UVA fan for anything. I am and always will be proud of the University and anything connected to it.
I lived at The Fred for third and fourth year and met my wife in the apartment below mine (314). I got dumped by a girlfriend and she dumped some guy and we have been together ever since! That was Fall of 1996! I followed her to Tucson, AZ for her medical school after graduating in 98, I taught Spanish at a high school. We then moved to Portland, OR until 2014 (Blazers season tickets!..and Timbers!) when we needed to leave the rain. We are now back in Tucson and I have been a realtor for 14 years with businesses in PDX and Tucson. We have two daughters. I travel back to PDX to do business and I always try and schedule during Blazers and Timbers games.
I started really getting into UVA sports more fervently as I felt that I wanted to connect to those memories, I was so far away and needed to feel that connection to Charlottesville. I think I started really seeking out info wherever I could find it. I watched everything I could find on TV, but there wasnāt much on the West Coast. Man, technology is great! This year Iāve had no trouble seeing every BB game (except one) and plenty of soccer.
Around 2011 a friend of mine in PDX (who went to Wisconsin) and another buddy decided we would go to Vegas for the first four days of March Madness and weād make it a tradition. Weāve been doing it ever since. Flying from Portland I used to love wearing my UVA gear with all those Oregon fans around. I especially love getting on the plane with my UVA gear here in Tucson. Arizona fans are probably my least favorite. They are in denial that their coach is not a great dude and they are really arrogant about other conferences. Granted, their stadium is a fantastic place to see a game, they are rabid. Iāve also played golf with Lute Olsen three times, but thatās another story! Now I love hopping on the plane in Tucson every year while heading to Vegas and walking down that aisle with my UVA gear and just smiling.
Anyway, this is long, but hang in there. I just had a new bourbon while I watched us beat Miami. Iām feeling good. Another fun fact is my sister-in-law went to UVA about 5 years after me. My wifeās brotherās wife. Sheās awesome and we watch a lot of games together if possible, they live in Phoenix. I remember we all gathered together when we lost to Syracuse and we had flights to Dallas (I think) all set up ready to go and we obviously didnāt buy them. We continued to support, and I watched every game possible. I watched Ty bury Duke in Kansas City at a conference my wife was attending where I tagged along. Those of you with kids understand how awesome it is to have time without kids every once in awhile. Plus, the Jazz Museum in KC and the Negro Baseball Hall of Fame is amazing. Check it all out plus eat a ton of BBQ. I ended up saving money from each transaction in the hope that I would go to the Final Four that year. We were so good! I watched us lose in some Vegas casino with some twitter or UVA page owner, maybe Brian something? I quit all social media so I canāt verify. I recommend leaving as much social media as possible, but I digress.
Back to those AZ fans. I took a lot of shit walking around Tucson with UVA gear, especially from friends (even though they lost to Buffalo). I was mad because I truly believe that those āgoodā programs were not benefiting and were actually suffering from the fact that people really didnāt care and the NCAA doesnāt want to do anything about some of the transgressions we all know happen. However, I kept at it. I wore my stuff around and took crap from friends and others.
Last year, I proudly wore my stuff again and got a lot of flack in Vegas. However, we made it through the weekend and I had a great time as always. Headed back home and then we had a trip to Portland already planned. I watched us beat Oregon in PDX with a bunch of Oregon fans (second most annoying fans Iāve encountered). Then I was not able to see the Purdue game because I was a ta gathering with no TV! I was texting with UVA fans and in the last few seconds I couldnāt get a signal. I heard we were down and Purdue going to the line I thought we were done. One of my friends texted me about ten minutes later about what happened. I got on the computer and paid way too much for Final Four tickets and a flight.
Besides winning that was such an awesome experience. I saw friends I havenāt seen in 15-20 years! My fried that goes to Vegas with me lives in Minneapolis so I stayed for free! I had awesome dinners with fraternity brothers and saw live broadcasts of shows and had a great time at Surly brewing and had a great time at the team hotel. I saw Ralph, shook Jim Ryansā hand, had drinks with John Grisham at the bar! Amazing! But it was mostly connecting with the 15-20 friends I spent the 6 days with. I was 20 rows up from Dre hitting the shot to tie. We all had drinks afterwards and watched the bus come back to the hotel. Amazing! Best sporting experience of my life and Iāve been to game 7 of the 2001 World Series and World Cup games. It was an unbelievable experience.
So, I have been a massive fan for awhile. Itās in my blood. The fact I am so far away, UVA sports really connects me to my memories and friends from home. The cool thing is that it also connects me to my friends from school. I would relate the Final Four as a wedding, where you get to see a ton of your friends. Iām 43 now, those things donāt happen a lot anymore. Now we do other sporting events. We were all in town for the GT FB game, and I saw my first game at JPJ against JMU with my oldest daughter. Iām coming back every year from now on.
So, as a summary, UVA sports gives me a connection to my home in Charlottesville but more importantly a connection to a shared love with my friends from that time in my life. CTB, Bronco, and all the coaches give us good people to root for and Iām proud of that. Thanks for taking the time to read this far if you have. Iām a regular UVA fan:)
On a side note, if any of you go to Vegas for the first four days of March Madness, lets watch UVA play together.
Thanks everyone, I love this site and I love learning and reading and commenting without the derogatory remarks!
Matt
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Dude! That Final Four experience sounds Amazing! Great story, thanks for sharing! And Im glad you had that new bourbon!
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Thatās an awesome story. I got chills reading your description of walking on grounds as a kid and after you got accepted. I still get that same feeling every time Iām there. My 3 closest friends and I have had a tradition for about 12 years now where before every football game we walk from used to be 180 Rugby Road, now itās Boylans over to the Lawn and walk it on the way to Scott. Itās a tradition that weāve done countless times now and every time I still get chills and love soaking it all in as we make our way towards the stadium.
I remember that Syracuse loss all too well. My wife and I (girlfriend at the time) stopped at Wild Wings Cafe in Charlottesville to watch the game because we were driving home from my moms and didnāt want to miss the game. During halftime I was booking tickets for us to fly to San Antonio for the Final Four. Absolute heart breaker. We missed this yearās Final Four because we in the process of moving. This yearās is in Atlanta and if by the will of a higher power UVa makes it, you can bet we will be there.
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Walking down The Lawn gets me every time. Itās especially crazy taking my daughters. When we were in Cville for the GT FB game and the JMU BB game it was just me and my 13 yr old. We walked from The Rotunda all the way down and I explained to her about lawn rooms and pointed out buildings where I had classes and such. Great experience but very strange at the same time. I feel so young when I am there and to look next to me and see my daughter walking with meā¦crazy.
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As an alum told me while being recruited: If you go to UVa it will change your Life. Perfect example there. Because of these stories here I am 100 percent walking the Lawn this weekend. Then head over to the Biltmore for a pitcher proly!
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I grew up and still live in the small rural community of Lambsburg,Va.(pop.250) that sits on the NC border. The only boy with 3 sisters my family was still very sports oriented. So was Lambsburg. My first love was the Yankees. When I was 3 years old I would have my Mama read me the Yankee boxscore and stats almost daily. As a small kid I was a UVA fan mainly because it was the state school in the ACC. My Daddy also run a country store near the NC border. We had plenty of VA and NC customers and the store was also the gathering place for everyone. Sports was second only to politics in the subjects most talked about. Those discussions sometimes got heated. In 1972 my sister took me and a cousin to see UVA play Wake Forest( 1 hour away). Barry Parkhill was spectacular and I was hooked. I began following UVA closely.The only problem was at times they werenāt very good. Then in 1976 Wally Walker led the Hoos to their 1st ACC Tournament Championship. My first Glory Days. My mom who lived in Charlottesville in 1949 and worked at the University Cafeteria had also become a fan. The rest of my family soon followed . After 1976 times were lean again but it was during this time my passion grew because of the Tar Heel fans in the area. At the store or on the ball court all I heard was the Tar Heels. I got to where I couldnāt stand them.Then came RALPH. It was our time. Those years were an emotional rollercoaster. Times of joy and times of heartbreak. We were a great team that came oh so close but couldnāt win the big one. By now I was a fanatic. Even the year after Ralph left we made it to the final Four and were one play away from playing for the Championship. After those years me and a couple of friends and occasionally my mom would go several times a year to both FB and BB games at Charlottesville and also Winston Salem to watch them play Wake.Those trips were some of the greatest times of my life. UVA truly is a beautiful and special place. We met many players coaches and fans who all were great people. We had tons of pictures of us with players and coaches and also the Grounds. We turned the store into UVA-Lambsburg,lol. We put all kinds of pictures and memorabilia on a wall of the store. We lost them all in a fire caused by a freak accident that took the store down. I would give anything to have them backā¦Fast Forward. Then came Tony Bennett. I remember the 1st year and the guys were just learning the packline. They gave up a bunch of layups and dunks and I was wondering about this new coach.But it wasnāt long before they started winning and I began to notice something different about the coach and the team. The culture of this team was different. This team not only started winning it became a national force. We had our ups and downs but it was constantly among the best. Then a lifelong dream was realized last year for me and thousands of others.We are the National Champions. It took me 50 years to grow up and Iām not completely there. I give Tony Bennett a lot of the credit.Im still a fanatic and get mad at dumb plays and lose my temper over bad play. But Iām different. I dont have nothing to prove anymore. Iām a big fan of the best program and coach in America. Iām so proud to be a small part of something so special. Wahoowa
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I have a friend who lives in Martinsville, VA. Being from so close to the border like yourself, he is a Duke fan first, UVA fan second. Ive tried to flip him, telling him Coach K is so old and will retire soon, Bennett is only 50. It hasnt work yet, but given him some pause. I imagine down your way there are more UNC fans, Duke fans, VT fans. So glad you are on board with UVA. Do you have a guess what percentage of the population are UVA fans vs. the axis of evil that surrounds you?
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@Daniel_G, You are correct in saying I am surrounded by the axis of evil. In the community where I live the majority of them are UVA fans. That is probably rare for most of this area. I live in Carroll County which is the home of Frank Beamer .Around the Fancy Gap,Hillsville area it would be Tech fans although there are a lot of UVA fansā¦
But from my work when traveling along the border in this area and just an educated guess I would say that Tech Unc and UVA are closer than you think. Tech would have the edge on theVa side, UNC would edge out Duke on the Nc side. In the past few years UVA has made major gains however in these areas. Duke has on the NC side
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Fully cognizant of my note here changing the dynamic of the fora, I just want to pay some respect to many folks for their contributions to this thread. Reviewing the thread took me through a lot of memories but, more importantly, it raised themes that I think are worth underscoring.
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Parents have a substantial influence on our loyalites. Itās great to honor them, and thanks to everyone who did so in her or his recounts.
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Loyalties start early. But, they may start later and still grow way strong.
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The university itself has a substantial magnetism. Its sense of communnity inspires incredible loyalty. Many might blame the Honor Code, and I wonāt dispute that attribution, but I think thereās more to it than that.
Iāve been a fan since the 1950s when my father got his second degree from the university.
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