THP #44: Her First Game

November 6, 2023 – Providence, Rhode Island
Brown v Florida Gulf Coast
Women’s Basketball

The Cincinnati Reds let Joey Votto go this week.

Now, I haven’t watched a full baseball game in years. I’ve never set for in Ohio, or Kentucky for that matter.

But Joey Votto was always there hitting a homer, making a play, doing cool baseball shit that I would see on SportsCenter during the summer. More importantly for me, he started doing that shit on September 4, 2007: right as I started my junior year of high school.

Pro athletes are viewed multiple ways but everyone, and I truly mean everyone, in some way views them as anchor points in their life.

“Damn, I remember when we was tearing it up in college.”

“Shit, I remember how hype everyone was when they got drafted.”

I’ve thought that upon hearing of an athlete’s retirement or release and you have too. We do it because, even if for just a moment, it forces us to reflect on time passing and us passing through time.

Joey Votto first stepped on a major league diamond when I was 17, far too overconfident in my abilities at pretty much anything, and pretty certain I was gonna amble through life as the comic relief for those I knew.

Now Joey Votto is no longer a ballplayer in Cincinnati. I’m 32. Married. I’m writing this with my dog by my side and my daughter asleep in her crib. All that change. All that growth in my life. And Joey Votto was a Red.

Votto now goes onto the next chapter of his life while I keep rolling along in mine. The only difference is that the small ship i saw in the distance every morning for 15 years has now dipped over the horizon. I never paid it much mind before but now that space is just a little more empty. Just another reminder that time stops for no man, no thing, no reason at all.

The Good Eats

Providence is an excellent food town. From the famed Italian spots on Federal Hill to the small dives slinging hot wieners, there’s always something good to eat.

Since I was at Brown I kept to Thayer Street. The cultural heart of the university, Thayer Street is an icon itself in the city.

Just a few yards off Thayer Street is the Meeting Street Cafe. A small, unassuming spot, the Cafe punches above its weight.

With a varied menu, the Cafe offered something for everyone. And for me it was the King Club, which very much lived up to its name. That sandwich is New York deli territory.

A massive turkey club with fresh bacon on thick, chewy wheat bread? Sign me up every day of the week. The fries, though, were subpar. I’ve gone on before about the importance of fries to a meal and these almost tanked it.

I could tell just from the chew that they weren’t rinsed. After you slice the fries you gotta rinse them to get loose starch off. These weren’t and got limp and soggy quick.

Overall it was a fine lunch, but the real star came after with the cafe’s half-pound cookie. And it was a Big. Fucking. Cookie.

Now this cookie. This Big. Fucking. Cookie was the ultimate cookie. This isn’t special effects where the size is the star. No, no. This was toothsome. This was crisp around the edge. The chips within still had an ooze to them despite being completely cooled.

I’m trying to find the best cookie in New England. I don’t know if I’ll find one better than this.

The Campus

Brown’s campus sprawls across College Hill. An absolute nightmare to drive, College Hill is one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Providence.

Prospect Terrace sits on a quiet nook of the hill with stellar views overlooking the city.

A large stone statue of Roger Williams stands overlooking the hill and the city.

And the campus architecture stands out. Whether it’s the old, classic brick buildings or the contemporary ones, Brown’s campus looks unlike any other in New England.

I even got to browse around the bookstore on Thayer Street for a little bit. With multiple floors it is an expansive space.

And they already had the ugly sweaters out. Coulda been uglier if they were going for that vibe.

Important Cultural Activities

Brown has a long relationship with the Rhode Island School of Design. The schools are almost intertwined physically, and students at one school can take classes at the other.

Being such a renowned art school, RISD also has an excellent art museum.

And I’ll get to it another day because eight miles up the road in Pawtucket there is this:

A stone’s throw off Exit 40 on I-95, the Pinball Museum is in the Creative Commerce Center with its unmissable exterior.

For $10 it is a pinball and video game buffet. Everything is set to free play and it just keeps going and going and going.

My mouth was constantly agape. It just kept going. Room after room of games. Games tucked down hallways. Rooms full of old games needing to be repaired, laid out, and turned on. It was a festival of fun.

And there were pinball games from across the eras. From the 1940s to one of two prototypes of a Rick and Morty game that was initially owned by the rules developer of the game, there was everything.

The pinball selection was immense. And the other selections were great too. And everything was free play. Just $10 to walk in the door and you get all this.

And this does include Crusin’ World which, like it did when I was young, tormented me by finding numerous ways to ruin my races.

Art museums all kind of blend together, but this place is one of a kind. I will, without question, be back.

Now before we dive into the game let’s reset and have a moment with Bella.

The Game

Located at the intersection of Hope Street and Lloyd Ave, the Pizzitola Sports Center is the home of the Brown basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, and wrestling.

A small, clean venue that’s pretty bare bones, it does the job. The lobby has the minimum: space to move, bathrooms, and a small concession stand. Surprisingly, beer is sold here.

The gym itself is no frills with great sightlines. At 2,800 seats it can get cozy for a big Ivy League game, and it can get loud fast.

Of course, it being Brown, the students came to play school.

While the Ivy League has a long history of success on the hardwood, especially at Penn and Princeton, that type of success has eluded Brown. That becomes clear when seeing the banners on the wall.

Each program has one postseason victory. The men beat UAB 83-78 in the first round of the 2019 CBI, and the women beat UMBC 81-75 in the first round of the 2017 WBI.

On this night it was a tall task in front of them as the Bears hosted Florida Gulf Coast, the preseason #1 in the Atlantic Sun.

Before the game, there was some pregame hype done by Brown. It was a little off.

I love a good pregame hype video. However, if the idea is to show the video on the big screen it would behoove you to have a big screen to show the video on. Otherwise, as you saw above, it’s a lot of disembodied eyes. The red lights were nice at least.

The game started well with some good back-and-forth basketball. For half a quarter.

With the game tied at six four minutes into the game, the Eagles went on a 10-1 run to take an nine-point lead. Leading that charge was Casey Santoro, who was a star off the bench.

In 31 minutes on the floor, Santoro had 15 points. Ten came in the first half to help FGCU take a 44-30 lead into halftime.

My daughter was with me at the game. Her first game. She’s such a brilliant shining light in my life. Ten months old and already she has the confidence and zeal I could only dream of.

I remember when my father started taking me to college basketball games at Salem State back in the late 90s when I was in grade school. There hasn’t been a season since that I haven’t gone to a live college basketball game. I love it.

And I love sharing my world with Claire. She’s old enough now to take everything in, be a part of it. Sure, she won’t remember being at Brown on a November Monday but I’m trying to instill in her a sense of wonder and adventure. A sense of curiosity to get out and explore the world, near and far.

And for me, I want to prove to myself that I can do this. I truly despise the idea or implication that once you have kids the fun stops. Fuck that. I was me for 31+ years before I became a father, and I’m just as much me now.

I just have this amazing, wonderful person in my life now on top of everything I had before. It’s beautiful. I never thought I’d be a dad, and now I couldn’t imagine life without her. My spud. My little potato. I love you. To many more rides many more places.

Did I harness her cuteness to get a chocolate bar when the cheerleaders were giving them away?

Was that chocolate officially licensed and branded Brown University chocolate?

The second half picked up right where the first ended with the Eagles doing more or less what they wanted to.

That was Uju Ezeudu popping in a three off the catch. We’ll come back to her shortly.

The thing with FGCU was that they moved the ball almost flawlessly. And they got a ton of time to move it, outrebounding the Bears 44-31 including 14-8 on the offensive glass.

Even here, in a play that ends in a foul, you can see how smooth the Eagles moved the ball even on opening night.

And, simply put, Ezeudu was far and away the best player on the floor.

You saw her hit a three. Now watch her track a play perfectly and get to the right spot eons before anyone else was thinking of looking there.

How about a drive, a board, and a bucket?

Brown couldn’t figure out a matchup for her, and it opened up the rest of the offense and allowed FGCU to cruise away to the win.

The Eagles expanded their lead all four quarters. Maddie Antenucci put in the time for FGCU with 14 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. But it was the lone bucket from Sofia Persson late in the fourth that put a bow on the victory.

Yes, Mike. Basketball indeed. Good to back. Welcome to Season Five.

Florida Gulf Coast 80, Brown 58. Final.
Player of the Game – Uju Ezeudu (FGCU) – 24 points, 10/17 shooting, 13 rebounds
Time of Game – 1:40:55
Cost of Admission – $10

…

I love this project so much. A fun year is ahead featuring some deep cuts, the biggest school in the region, another stop in the Ivy League, and a school cutting sports at the end of the year.

Support your local everything before capitalism turns it into a husk or a Starbucks. Thank you for reading.

And now, as always, here’s one for the road.