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  • Tell Me a Friar Story, Win a Copy of NBA 2K13 on PS3 or XBOX

Tell Me a Friar Story, Win a Copy of NBA 2K13 on PS3 or XBOX

dave@friarblog —  September 27th, 2012 6:31 PM — 15 Comments
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2k13_originalOctober is almost upon us, meaning it’s time to shell out another 60 bucks for this year’s version of the greatest video game series, NBA2K. Since we here at Friarblog appreciate the loyal readers who visit the site, we want to get a free copy of the game into the hands of a Friar Fanatic in order to enjoy some amazing digital hoops.

Here is how it works:

* In the comment section below, tell us your best Friar story. Did you convince your significant other to name a child after a Friar following a great moment in PC, do shots with Marvin Barnes at a random bar downtown, or think up any George Costanza-like schemes in order to get to a game? We want to hear it! Share with us your best Friar moment, memory, or experience! Anything goes.

* You can leave a comment any way you like using the available options, but I recommend you registering using Disqus. Please enter a valid email so you can be contacted if you win. Only one entry per person, please.

* Next Monday at 9pm EST the comment section will be closed, and the winner will be chosen. If you can’t be contacted, we will move on to the next best.

* On launch day of the game (next Tuesday October 2nd), the winner will be announced by featuring the story in a post, and the order will be placed for the PS3 or XBOX version of NBA2k13 to ship (I know you’ll get it after it launches, but hey, it’s free!) to your desired location. Sorry only US residences will be considered.

So let’s have it! What is your best Friar story?

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  • ChiFriar

    Maris Laksa, “I’ll be rootin for ya”, do I need to say more?

    • friarblog

      LOL. Well you got the early lead

  • James Kirby

    It was the winter of 2011, freshmen year, and
    “Community Service” (given the name because we are so bad other teams
    would receive community service for playing us) was winless in flag football,
    indoor soccer, and 3 v 3 basketball for a combined record of 0-15. Largly in
    part to our center not knowing the basic rules of basketball and leaving
    half-way through our games to go to the gym, our power forward being a diva,
    and a random kid we “recruited” playing in a full winter jacket who
    later was arrested for assaulting a lunch lady. But everything was about to
    change for Community Service as the 5v5 basketball season was about to begin.

    Hopes were elevated, and team chemistry was at an all-time
    high. Stepping on to the court we were confident this was our game. We lost
    86-22.

    It appeared Community Service was in for another long and disappointing
    year. We were determined our second game would be our turnaround point. That
    was until future Friar legend, Mike Murray stepped onto the court.

    Community Service came out strong and were up 11-7, thanks
    to a great performance from their point guard (not the one writing this piece ;) ) and defense Ed Cooley would be proud of. However much like the Friars, the
    second things start looking up, we quickly lose any thread of hope. Mike Murray
    UNLEASHED on us, and our scrubs were no match for a D1 Big East player*.

    Halfway through the game Mike Murray wasn’t even trying.
    This laughter of a game was a humiliation. Final Score: Community Service 17 -
    “Murrays Monsters” 55

    It wasn’t meant to be. We felt what it must have been like
    to play under Keno, and we were at the lowest point in our intramural careers.
    Inspired by the loss, Community Service did win its last game to end its winless
    drought and is now in negotiations with ESPN to do a 30 for 30 episode. The “recruit”
    who played in the heavy winter coat is no longer at PC. It is said that he got
    really into the 70s and no one ever saw him again.

    As we say on Community Service, “You may beat us but we’ll
    make you work.” We are looking ahead to our season this year with team bonding
    FIFA tournaments, and staying in the Marriott the night before games. We are
    trying to recruit Tyler Harris, but much like others on the real team his
    eligibility is in question. Side note: THE Gerard Coleman was on our flag
    football team roster but never showed up, none the less he was quite the
    intimidation factor. In short, there are a lot of question marks on our roster,
    but make no doubt Community Service will remain at the bottom of the table.

  • friardenver

    Winter of 2007, about 50 of us bought a ticket/bus combo package to see the Friars in Hartford against the Huskies. Our seats in the XL Center end up being the last rows of the 307 section, which for anyone who has been to the old HCC can tell you, is as far away from the game as you can get. Serious nosebleeds.

    Anyways, after a competitive first half, we’re ready to watch a quality game develop. Sure enough, we got more than we asked for. PC comes out to a 16-0 run to start the half. Through two UConn and one TV timeout, the Huskie bluehairs were still on their feet as UConn had not scored to start the half. So, not passing up the opportunity we received, our section (along with young alums the next section over) chanted “You’re still standing!” along with other stuff (“We can’t hear you,” “UConn girls are Huskie,” I think “Lap-top! Lap-top!” was still relevant as well) the ENTIRE time until they scored.

    Sure enough, Hartford was good to the Friars as we still won the game by double digits, capped off by Herb Hill fast breaks and Weyinmi Efejuku alley oops. As the old folks went back to their old folks’ homes, all they could hear was our drowning chants from the nosebleeds, “Let’s Go Friars!” Proud to say that was one of my favorite games. That includes BET games, the season sweep of UConn the following year, and the URI, Syracuse, and Pitt wins in 2009. All of which I experienced while under the Friar mascot head.

    • brianpcalnan

      Also attended this game. Definitely THE highlight of my time at PC. After the game we walked through the streets of Hartford chanting “Let’s Go Friars!” through the streets. This game prompted UCONN to schedule the PC game on-campus the next time the Friars went to play them.

  • Friarfanatic19

    Friartown has been my life since I was born. My grandfather Francis Pellegrino ’51 (#19) was a captain for the Friars. He was an inspiration for me to become a college athlete. In 2004, he passed away leaving his legacy with his children and grandchildren. After his experience as a Friar, my grandfather donated to the program and had season tickets till his death and then with his passing we continued purchasing tickets in his same seats. My best experience was growing up with a friar…if I had to pick another moment I’d say being present of the PC v. Notre Dame game in which Shooting Guard MarShon Brooks dropped 52 points in a comeback loss. It’ll be great to see how far MarShon will go with the Brooklyn Nets in his NBA career

  • Carlton Screen

    1987 Ernie Pop Lewis from the corner to beat Georgetown. 9 years old…remember driving away and people all in the streets and somehow pounding on hood of car. Scared/excited – Friar Fan For Life!

  • Julian Manzo

    March 8th 2001. I was in 5th grade at the time and loved the Friars but never saw them play in person. My Dad and six of my uncles were all going to New York for the Big East Tournament and I desperately wanted to go with them. On that morning I pled my case to my Dad but I was sent to school instead. Around 1 p.m. I was called out of my classroom and was told to go the office. When I got there my Dad was there and had a ticket in his hand. I was going to the Big East Tournament. Providence played Syracuse that night and although they lost by one, it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I’m a Friar fan until I die.

  • OGtripleOG

    The second time we beat UCONN at the XL center. Snowy, cold miserable winter night. Survived the trek down route death, i mean route 6. We end up smashing UCONN. Did pushups in the aisles, waved goodbye to the phony uconn fans as they left with 10 minutes left in the second half. End up smoking cigs outside the XL center after the game. Hyped-up suit-wearing men approach us, see our friar hoodies, start gettin rowdy and end up chatting with us. They end up being boosters and guys who work for the AD who will remain nameless. Invite us to come to Max’s or Morton’s, one of the nice steakhouses right downtown near the XL center. Dude walks up to the bar with us, says “These guys are on me all night. Tell me when the bill hits $2000.” Endless beers til 1 A.M. Remember we have to drive back in a snowstorm and start tweaking out. Get lost. Finally find route 6 again. Stop at Wendy’s and beast on a 2 bagger. Made it home early the next day without being arrested. Shout out the diehards who I survived this night with, AD & JM. we’ll be wilding again soon.

    • friardenver

      That storm sucked I remember the drive home after drinking in Hartford after the game. They hit 14 trey’s that game and Calhoun went on a small scale tantrum in the presser. Classic night!

  • Phil McCoy

    I have been a friar fan since the first year of Tim
    Welsh. My father and I have been season
    ticket holders through almost universally disappointing times (the one NCAA
    team was the exception). However the friars have always been a team for me to
    root for and a place where my father and I could just talk basketball or hang out
    with friends and enjoy a game. One night
    I remember specifically was during the 2006-2007 season. That fall I had spent much of my time afterschool
    tutoring African refugee children as part of a senior project for High
    school. All of these kids loved
    basketball, but where not very good at it as they had never been taught how to
    play. Around the holidays, when the
    students would be gone from the games at the dunk, my father and I decided that
    we wanted to do something special for these kids and take them to a PC Friars
    game. We originally had planned to purchase the tickets for the 12 or so kids out
    of our own pockets for a game that would be cheap and not crowded (something
    like a game against Brown). I never thought that PC would be willing to reach
    out to the community and give us any kind of special offers but when my dad
    called they were very receptive and gave us tickets, in the lower bowl, for all
    the kids to see the Friars take on Florida State. Now this year the friars
    where not fantastic but did have the McDermott, Efejuku core that most of us remember
    for underachieving, so we were not expecting the Friars to win but till thought
    the kids would have fun. We were wrong
    the game wasn’t very close as the friars beat Florida State. The kids we took
    to the game cheered for every basket and jumped around like they were watching
    the NBA finals and Michael Jordon. At the
    end of the game we were planning on leaving when an assistant coach, I cannot
    remember who, showed up with Alex Kellogg to take a picture with all of the
    kids and hand out posters for them to put on their walls. The Kids could not stop talking about the
    game when we went to get pizza afterwards at Caserta. I was proud then to be a friar fan and know
    that the team I supported, even though I never went to PC, was so willing to go
    the extra mile to give a great experience to a bunch of refugee children.

    Go Friars!

    • Guest

      the game was from 2007-2008 not 2006-2007 I am getting to old

  • Brian H.

    Growing up as a Friar fan, the best memories are seemingly always tempered by the bad. Quickly: The 1997 run to the Elite 8 only begs the question ‘what could have been?’. Rob Sanders’ monstrous, off-the-backboard dunk was squandered when he “went pro” shortly thereafter. The upset over then-#1 Pitt was amazing, but the team underachieved, flaming out in a disappointing NIT loss. The list goes on.

    So I guess my best P.C. basketball story is still currently being written, and like any good protagonist, the story needs some conflict and heartache. (No one would want to read a story about a Duke fan.)

    But in the current version, the wins and losses have become almost secondary to the experience of being a Friar fan. The fandom was inherited from my father, and the time spent learning about the game, the players and program’s history will certainly last longer in my memory than any one performance or game.

    From sharing stories (and season tickets) with my dad, him doing his kind of teaching, to taking victory trips Olneyville New York System Weiners, until now watching the program grow through challenging years with Ed Cooley as coach – fittingly preaching family and togetherness and tradition – being a Friar fan is a never ending story, and a chapter of myself I look forward passing along one day.

  • Chris

    My special friar story was not at a game, but during the annual PC summer basketball camp. I think it was the first year Keno Davis came to town and the camp was named after him. I had just moved from Italy to North Providence, RI, where my father grew up. I had no knowledge of basketball here. Did not know the teams or anything. He suggested I go to the camp, so i eventually agreed to it. The camp itself was a big bust. Did not learn anything new from the camp. However after the camp, we were allowed to stay after and watch the team do their late night summer scrimmages. There I met Friar great, Marshon Brooks. At that time, he was still under the radar, but he instantly became my favorite player. When I finally built up the courage to talk to him, I knew that he was not only a good player, but a great person! He actually talked to me like we were pals. He would teach me little things and joke with me. Because of Marshon, I grew to love the game and he inspired me to play basketball like it was a lifestyle. He taught me that hard work can get you places. I can’t ever thank Marshon enough for that, because without him I’d probably would not be living life like I am now. All the little lessons he taught me has made me the man I am today.

  • Josh

    “Come on,” I implored my cousin, “you have to come.”

    “I don’t know man, they just got rocked by Notre
    Dame. I don’t want to see that again.”

    It was my freshman year and PC had just gotten absolutely
    trashed by Notre Dame three days earlier to the tune of 103-84 where the score
    didn’t indicate how badly the Friars were beaten. In fairness to the Friars, Notre Dame just
    couldn’t miss that day as I remember Tim Abromitis pulling up from nearly
    midcourt and knocking it down with ease.
    The loss was a demoralizing one for a talented team that had hopes of
    making the NCAA Tournament. Later that
    night, PC was forced to face

    #1 Pittsburgh, a sure death knell to their
    tournament aspirations.

    “Well look at the bright side, we might get to see
    DeJaun Blair drop a 30/30, so that would be cool.”

    “Alright, I’ll come,” he finally conceded. And with that, I bought our tickets to the
    game of our lifetime.

    After securing the golden tickets, I went into
    Concannon to get my workout in before the big game. On my way out, I noticed a large man walking
    my way towards the locker rooms. That man
    was none other than Jonathan Kale, who was taking part in his presumed last
    game as a Friar. As I walked past him, I
    said “Good luck tonight.” He turned and
    said “Thanks man.” “You’re going to need
    it” I muttered as I made my way home.

    My cousin met up at my house around 6 o’clock and we
    made our way to the Dunk. We found some
    seats in the student section next to a few of our friends and we all commiserated
    about the beating that assuredly awaited our beloved Friars, while still
    holding onto small slivers of hope and optimism that never truly seem to leave
    Friar fans. We may have fooled
    ourselves, but just before tip-off we managed to collectively agree: we’ve got
    a shot tonight. During the announcement
    of the starting lineups, my cousin leaned over and whispered “I’ve got a good
    feeling about tonight.”

    The game started off with the Friars getting an
    early lead. They came out aggressively,
    knowing their backs were to the wall and if they wanted to make the NCAA
    Tournament, this was a game they must absolutely win. A nine point lead five minutes in had the
    Dunk rocking, with everyone on their feet, even during the timeouts. There was a special feeling in the gym that
    night, which was noticeable from early on.

    Suddenly, it seemed like Pittsburgh had locked down
    and decided that they would not lose this game.
    Right after a timeout, Jeff Xavier turned the ball over to Brad
    Wanamaker who had a breakaway layup and everyone in the crowd sighed “here we
    go again…” But somehow, inexplicably,
    Wanamaker missed the easy layup. And I
    mean he missed everything, even the box on the backboard. As the shot went up like a high-arching
    rainbow, the crowd held their collective breath, but as it came down the crowd
    exploded in exultation. From that moment
    on, I knew the Friars were winning that night, and so did my cousin, who kept
    hugging me and thanking me for forcing him into coming.

    Several more times I felt as if the Dunk was going
    to explode, from every McDermott dunk to the Brian McKenzie ally-oop from
    Sharaud Curry to Sharaud’s and Xavier’s three pointers. With the game winding down, everyone began
    making their way down to rush the court like wolves descending on an injured
    buffalo. Blair fouled out in what was
    probably his worst game and the crowd let out the second-loudest cheer of the
    night. Then Xavier stole the ball with
    20 seconds left, and the crowd spilled over onto the gym floor with a few
    seconds to spare, screaming wildly, incoherently, gladly.

    The sheer elation we felt that night was
    unmatched. The Friars seemed well on
    their way to a bright future. With reigning
    Coach of the Year Keno Davis at the helm, the Friars looked to be well on their
    way to the NCAA Tournament that year and in the near future. ESPN was solely devoted to Friar coverage,
    and Davis was on a phone interview as I turned on the TV. All seemed great as hope sprung eternal.

    Fast-forward and the year didn’t end quite as
    planned. PC was only able to muster an
    NIT appearance, where they disappointed.
    The Davis Era never matched up to the hype that existed on that one
    glorious night, and he was fired only a few years later. Now with Ed Cooley at the helm, I pray that
    hope can lead to results.

    Providence has never been ranked number one, but for
    that one night, we were number one.