“Grown men walking around with Paige Bueckers jerseys on" - $18M worth Geno Auriemma hails UConn fans for embracing women's hoops

UConn coach Geno Auriemma broke his national title drought when his Huskies beat the South Carolina Gamecocks in the national championship game on April 6. The title was Auriemma's 12th but only the first since 2016.

During Monday's segment of "Good Morning America," the $18 million worth Auriemma (as per Celebrity Net Worth) hailed UConn fans for their support of the team over the years and detailed how much women's basketball had grown in Storrs.

"How engaged they are. It's not just, 'You're a player, I'm a fan.' It's become, like, this passionate relationship that the fans talk about like, 'Our ladies are something special,'" Auriemma said. "They always talk about 'Ours.' It's like they have ownership of it, and the energy was unbelievable all over.

"And somebody said that, 'The amazing thing was, grown men walking around with Paige Buecker's jerseys on.' I mean, that's come a long way since 1997, when they wouldn't even dare say that they were women's basketball fans back then."

Geno Auriemma and Azzi Fudd thank UConn fans

The national championship-winning UConn team led by Geno Auriemma was supposed to hold its celebration parade in Storrs on Saturday, but a rainy weather forecast forced the event to be rescheduled for Sunday afternoon.

The Final Four's Most Outstanding Player Azzi Fudd, who will return next season, hailed the fans who came for the parade.

“You guys are amazing,” Fudd said. “You guys make it possible to keep bringing home championships. This championship means everything, but to do it with this team, this team is so special. They are all my sisters, my friends for life. We have been through so much together.”

According to USA Today, over 20,000 Huskies fans turned out for the parade to celebrate their national championship-winning team on Sunday afternoon, and Auriemma, who already said that he was not retiring anytime soon, also hailed the fans' support.

“We have the greatest team in the country, and we have the greatest fans in the country,” Auriemma said. “There is a tremendous amount of affection that they have for our players as individuals and our team. There is a bond that they create, and it is pretty powerful. A day like today just reinforces that. It was a great day for them, a great day UConn Nation.”

Geno Auriemma further echoed UConn Huskies men's basketball coach Dan Hurley's proclamation from last year's parade when Hurley promised that his team would achieve the three-peat by claiming that the women's team had, in a way, achieved that claim and even promised a four-peat.