The Official 'Is Rutgers a rival?' thread

[CuseCactus]

It's not an Internet thing. It's an Internet message board thing. Like I said and a couple others agreed, I don't know one single non message board SU fan that even mentions Rutgers as anything, let alone a rival. So yea, people use the internets, but not necessary message boards. Maybe 10% at the very best. Rutgers is a message board phenomenon.

I'll give you one non message board SU fan - my 80 year old dad. Syracuse '62. He can't stand Rutgers - takes it as an affront that they've "taken our lunch lately, and I hate the GD Big 10" - direct quote from him today. Followed by, "I hate the GD internet. And Notre Dame." Lot of hate there as I think of it - lol.

 

[Townie72]

If using those criteria, we have no rival. We actually don't even have any semblance of a rival.

Not in football currently.

Having a "rivalry isn't a requirement. You can't make it up. That's the mistake the RU football fans have made. They reason, "Well, now that we are big-time, who is our rival?". They don't understand the rivalry concept. Except for the phony one-sided thing they have with Princeton.

So the RU fans set out to be as nasty as possible trying to gin one up with SU or whoever. But that's all they have is obnoxiousness. And as a New Jersey native, I can attest that obnoxiousness is in abundant supply in the Garden State.

Basketball used to have Georgetown.

In some of the Lacrosse relationships there are small rivalries. SU vs. UVA has almost always been both tough and pivotal.SU vs. JHU is going to die down because they are now in th BG and we aren't fighting for the same NCAA bid.

 

[cuseguy]

I sensed a rivalry beginning with Rutgers and UConn in football just about the time we thought about leaving the Big East.

We had a rivalry with UConn in basketball for a number of years. There's still something there.

There will still be a rivalry of sorts with Georgetown, Nova and St. John's in hoops if we continue to schedule them.

I don't need someone to define to me what a rivalry is. I felt it when I went to the last few SU football games at Rutgers and UConn, and I've experienced it through conversations, many heated, with UConn and Rutgers alumni and fans. They hate us -- and the dislike is mutual.

It wasn't -- and never will be -- Alabama-Auburn or Michigan-Ohio State, but it was the start of something.

 

[Townie72]

You realize Rutgers cost us 2 BCS games in the past 10/11 years right? We beat them in '04 and we win the BE outright, P goes nowhere. We beat them in 2012 and we're in the Orange bowl.

But we did beat them in 2004. It's 2003 you are talking about. Was that the year we lost to them and they were "0 and freaking 10"

Are you kidding me? That's the basis for a "rivalry?

What that was a basis for is a huge embarrassment. What that was the basis for is Pasqualoni losing his job because you can't lose to Rutgers. Not because they re rivals, but because they stunk!

 

[Townie72]

If we beat Rutgers in 2012 we would have gone to the Orange Bowl? How do you figure?

Bill;

I think our new friend, Private Pyle, may be shooting a tad from the hip.

My head is still spinning from the Sudetenland analogy.

 

[rrlbees]

I'll give you one non message board SU fan - my 80 year old dad. Syracuse '62. He can't stand Rutgers - takes it as an affront that they've "taken our lunch lately, and I hate the GD Big 10" - direct quote from him today. Followed by, "I hate the GD internet. And Notre Dame." Lot of hate there as I think of it - lol.

Lol. Great stuff. God bless your dad.

 

[Townie72]

I sensed a rivalry beginning with Rutgers and UConn in football just about the time we thought about leaving the Big East.

We had a rivalry with UConn in basketball for a number of years. There's still something there.

There will still be a rivalry of sorts with Georgetown, Nova and St. John's in hoops if we continue to schedule them.

I don't need someone to define to me what a rivalry is. I felt it when I went to the last few SU football games at Rutgers and UConn, and I've experienced it through conversations, many heated, with UConn and Rutgers alumni and fans. They hate us -- and the dislike is mutual.

It wasn't -- and never will be -- Alabama-Auburn or Michigan-Ohio State, but it was the start of something.

Your propensity to get in heated conversations with Rutgers and UConn fans says more about you than it does about SU rivals.

And you don;t have to use my criteria. But you do have to use some criteria instead of "I personally dislike them".

In my opinion, anyone that suggests that SU and RU are rivals is denigrating the history and traditions of a great college athletic program by comparing them to a school whose whole history can be characterized as awful.

The amazing thing about Rutgers is that they have been so bad for so long. Look at their basketball program. They sit in the middle of the greatest recruiting grounds that exist and yet they can't field an even average team. In the last couple of years they have lost to just about evry other NJ school and they are about to get their ass kicked by Monmouth College.

 

[Townie72]

I'll give you one non message board SU fan - my 80 year old dad. Syracuse '62. He can't stand Rutgers - takes it as an affront that they've "taken our lunch lately, and I hate the GD Big 10" - direct quote from him today. Followed by, "I hate the GD internet. And Notre Dame." Lot of hate there as I think of it - lol.

Most of my college sports TV watching requires me to figure out which of the two teams I hate least so I know who to root for. Many times I can't decide, so i just root for the team that is behind at the minute or I root for no one. I also may try and figure out which team's loss is best for SU even though the impact may be extremely remote and small.

 

[orange79]

There are always going to be fans, especially older ones, who will hold on to PSU as a rival.

In reality we don't have a true rival anymore. Been so many changes in conferences realignment and who we play regularly it's hard to pin down just one. Based on the current landscape and also history, I'd say BC and Pitt should be and will be our rivals. Especially BC.

Agreed - but BC is just so boring. What we really need is a Marvin Graves-type incident with them. That would heat things up a bit. And I admit, I enjoyed knocking the tortilla chips out of them a few years back.

 

[NKR1978]

If we beat Rutgers in 2012 we would have gone to the Orange Bowl? How do you figure?

If we beat them in 2012 we would have been in the Sugar Bowl. We would have won the BE outright.

 

[NKR1978]

Your propensity to get in heated conversations with Rutgers and UConn fans says more about you than it does about SU rivals.

And you don;t have to use my criteria. But you do have to use some criteria instead of "I personally dislike them".

In my opinion, anyone that suggests that SU and RU are rivals is denigrating the history and traditions of a great college athletic program by comparing them to a school whose whole history can be characterized as awful.

The amazing thing about Rutgers is that they have been so bad for so long. Look at their basketball program. They sit in the middle of the greatest recruiting grounds that exist and yet they can't field an even average team. In the last couple of years they have lost to just about evry other NJ school and they are about to get their ass kicked by Monmouth College.

What does your propensity to expound thousands of words explaining why Rutgers is not a rival say about you?

At some point the message board poster protests too much.

 

[cuseguy]

Your propensity to get in heated conversations with Rutgers and UConn fans says more about you than it does about SU rivals. And you don;t have to use my criteria. But you do have to use some criteria instead of "I personally dislike them". In my opinion, anyone that suggests that SU and RU are rivals is denigrating the history and traditions of a great college athletic program by comparing them to a school whose whole history can be characterized as awful. The amazing thing about Rutgers is that they have been so bad for so long. Look at their basketball program. They sit in the middle of the greatest recruiting grounds that exist and yet they can't field an even average team. In the last couple of years they have lost to just about evry other NJ school and they are about to get their ass kicked by Monmouth College.

I said it was the start of a rivalry.

I never felt that way when we used to go to Rutgers and stomp them like, say, during the 90s. But when Schiano took over and the series started to become competitive and they starting poaching our recruits, I could sense a rivalry brewing.

It was the same way with UConn. They didn't have a program, then they did, and suddenly they were stealing our turf.

It's how I feel, and Im sticking with it.

 

[Townie72]

What does your propensity to expound thousands of words explaining why Rutgers is not a rival say about you?

At some point the message board poster protests too much.

What it says about me is that I get annoyed when someone even suggests that a low-rent program and school like Rutgers is an Su "Rival".

Your Rivalry bar is set way, way too low.

By any reasonable criteria, Pitt, WVU, and BC are way, way more qualified to be SU rivals in football. We have been playing these teams ffor decades. They we Major Eastern Indies when Rutgers was playing Lehigh and Lafayette.

 

[qdawgg]

With how passionate people are that it wasn't a rivalry makes me think that maybe it was.

 

[Townie72]

With how passionate people are that it wasn't a rivalry makes me think that maybe it was.

What you are hearing is not rivalry banter, but outrage at the suggestion that SU would even be compared to Rutgers.

It's insulting.

There's a big difference.

 

[billorange44]

Bill;

I think our new friend, Private Pyle, may be shooting a tad from the hip.

My head is still spinning from the Sudetenland analogy.

LMFAO, I hear you towney.

 

[Townie72]

I said it was the start of a rivalry.

I never felt that way when we used to go to Rutgers and stomp them like, say, during the 90s. But when Schiano took over and the series started to become competitive and they starting poaching our recruits, I could sense a rivalry brewing.

It was the same way with UConn. They didn't have a program, then they did, and suddenly they were stealing our turf.

It's how I feel, and Im sticking with it.

So compare that to the SU relationship with historic rivals like Pitt, WVU and BC.

How's the so-called "Rivalry" with SU stack up?

 

[billorange44]

If we beat them in 2012 we would have been in the Sugar Bowl. We would have won the BE outright.

Really, Sugar Bowl? Put down that pipe. Even after our bowl win we were only 8-5 so you are saying we would have gone to the Sugar Bowl with an 8-4 record? You got some good stuff. Pass that pipe over here.

 

[qdawgg]

What you are hearing is not rivalry banter, but outrage at the suggestion that SU would even be compared to Rutgers.

It's insulting.

There's a big difference.

I'm 100% convinced now.

 

[Phenomenon]

Absolutely. It was Penn State. In 1970, we split the 52 games we had played previously 26 and 26.

The games in the 1960's were wars. Joe paterno was the enemy.

If we don't beat them in 1959, there's no Cotton Bowl and no NC.

That was almost 50 years ago. Since then, we are 2-21 against them.

 

[cuseguy]

So compare that to the SU relationship with historic rivals like Pitt, WVU and BC. How's the so-called "Rivalry" with SU stack up?

You're missing the point.

I've said -- a number of times -- that Rutgers and UConn were becoming rivals in football.

The sense of a rivalry is stronger when alumni and fans interact on a regular basis. That happens more frequently with SU, UConn and RU fans than it does with West Virginia and Pitt fans and even BC.

I can't say that West Virginia wasn't a rivalry. But I can't say I miss it. I didn't know one person who is a West Virginia fan.

I'm glad we're still playing Pitt and BC. But I also don't know one Pitt fan.

Hopefully the rivalry with Pitt and BC becomes stronger. But I've never felt the same sense of rivalry with those schools that I've felt with UConn basketball and was beginning to feel with UConn and Rutgers football.

A large reason why SU is in its current state in football is because of the emergence of Rutgers -- and to a lesser degree UConn. We used to get our fair share of Jersey recruits until Rutgers started taking football seriously -- and we pretty much owned Connecticut recruiting until UConn decided to start playing Division 1 football.

 

[Townie72]

You're missing the point.

I've said -- a number of times -- that Rutgers and UConn were becoming rivals in football.

The sense of a rivalry is stronger when alumni and fans interact on a regular basis. That happens more frequently with SU, UConn and RU fans than it does with West Virginia and Pitt fans and even BC.

I can't say that West Virginia wasn't a rivalry. But I can't say I miss it. I didn't know one person who is a West Virginia fan.

I'm glad we're still playing Pitt and BC. But I also don't know one Pitt fan.

Hopefully the rivalry with Pitt and BC becomes stronger. But I've never felt the same sense of rivalry with those schools that I've felt with UConn basketball and was beginning to feel with UConn and Rutgers football.

A large reason why SU is in its current state in football is because of the emergence of Rutgers -- and to a lesser degree UConn. We used to get our fair share of Jersey recruits until Rutgers started taking football seriously -- and we pretty much owned Connecticut recruiting until UConn decided to start playing Division 1 football.

More mythology. SU never had that many New Jersey recruits. And Rutgers doesn't get many of the good ones. They built their program on Florida kids.

I don't know what "beginning to feel a rivalry" means. Seems like pretty low-level stuff to be even considered any kind rivalry.

You don't represent the whole fan base. I don't know one Rutgers fan. There aren't really that many of them you know. They couldn't get 20,000 to a game in most of the years we played them.

It's a strange world in which the teams that we have played for 50+ years like Pitt and BC and WVU aren't considered "rivals" by some but that status is conferred on one of the worst programs ever in college sports.

Again, you have the bar set way, way to low to be a rivalry.

Do you know the cheer that the Duke fans used to cut Maryland fans to the quick. "You are not our rival". Listen and learn, Grasshopper.

 

[Townie72]

That was almost 50 years ago. Since then, we are 2-21 against them.

Since the question being answered was "Who were the SU rivals during the Major Eastern Indies period", I'd say your comment is pretty much off target. Wouldn't you?

Your comment back might be, "Oh, sorry. I didn't read the whole thing."

 

[OrangeDW]

Agreed - but BC is just so boring. What we really need is a Marvin Graves-type incident with them. That would heat things up a bit. And I admit, I enjoyed knocking the tortilla chips out of them a few years back.

I've never liked BC, but I've also never really cared about them. I think deep down you have to have some kind of respect and/or fear that your rival will kick your butt. I've never had that with BC. I wish WVU had their spot in the ACC and I wish we were in the same division with VT. Those two always got me fired up in the Big East days. Much more respect and hate (a weird combo) for those two than for BC or Pitt.

 

[Rocco]

More mythology. SU never had that many New Jersey recruits. And Rutgers doesn't get many of the good ones. They built their program on Florida kids.

I don't know what "beginning to feel a rivalry" means. Seems like pretty low-level stuff to be even considered any kind rivalry.

You don't represent the whole fan base. I don't know one Rutgers fan. There aren't really that many of them you know. They couldn't get 20,000 to a game in most of the years we played them.

It's a strange world in which the teams that we have played for 50+ years like Pitt and BC and WVU aren't considered "rivals" by some but that status is conferred on one of the worst programs ever in college sports.

Again, you have the bar set way, way to low to be a rivalry.

Do you know the cheer that the Duke fans used to cut Maryland fans to the quick. "You are not our rival". Listen and learn, Grasshopper.

You are clearly an old goat, and I respect and admire that.

You also need to grasp that the younger fans today (the ones that will continue buying a greater share of the tickets), consider RU an actual enemy in football (enough of the internet BS... it's turned into NY vs NJ). It would be great if we still got to play WVU and VT every year because they also bring distaste to one's mouth, but unfortunately, we will likely never play WVU again outside of a bowl game and VT we get once every 6-7 years because of ACC play.

The baby boomer time of SU football was fun, for those who got to experience it. For people under the age of 40 (many here), Rutgers is way closer to a football "rival" than Ped St. Pitt and BC are just not candidates IMO. If we could go back to playing WVU and VT every year, sign me up.

No need to discredit someone though for not taking into account the success of SU over Rutgers in the pre-2000's. I mean, hell, look at how much of a player China has become in the world economy. 60-70 years ago, no one would've thought their rise would've been that intense, that quickly.

Times do change, Grasshopper.