When did you become an SU basketball fan.

[hplare]

When did you become an SU basketball fan?

Me: Started to get interested in the 1965-66 season when we were scoring 100 points a game but fell in love with the next year's team that was rebuilding but started out 19-2.

What was the first game you listened to the radio or watched on TV?

12/29/66: We lost to #2 Louisville in the Quaker City Classic 71-75. I listened on the radio and cried myself to sleep at age 13. The first Tv game was a 102-81 win over LaSalle at Manley.

What was the first game you attended?

2/25/67: The Sonny Dove game. We were 19-2 and St. John's 18-3. Who was the best team in the East. It looked like us most of the way but a couple of Sonny's dunks and we lost 64-71.

In the old and original Archbold gym before the fire. So prior to '47. Yes, I;m that old. Posted years back about what it was like. Meant to continue and pick up the story from when the new gym was built. Maybe someday i'll get back to it.

 

[OrangePA]

In the old and original Archbold gym before the fire. So prior to '47. Yes, I;m that old. Posted years back about what it was like. Meant to continue and pick up the story from when the new gym was built. Maybe someday i'll get back to it.

Jack Kiley? Royce Newell?

Lew Andreas???

 

[Cusefan95]

1980. I grew up in Endicott within walking distance to Union-Endicott and went to a few of their high school games as a kid. One of the best games I’ve ever seen at any level was a game between U-E and Seton Catholic Central when Sean Kerins was a senior. When Kerins and then Sonny Spera went to Syracuse, we started following the Orangemen.

 

[hplare]

Jack Kiley? Royce Newell?

Lew Andreas???

Billy 'The Bullet" Gabor and Newell. Against Oswego State. Andres was the coach.

Kiley was a year.

 

[hplare]

Billy 'The Bullet" Gabor and Newell. Against Oswego State. Andres was the coach.

Kiley was a year.

Sorry. He was a year later. Graduated '52 and was a fraternity brother.

 

[IthacaMatt]

My first year was the 1971-72 season, "Roy's Runts", the year after 7 foot center and best player Bill Smith had graduated. I won tickets to a couple early season games at Manley as a paperboy, in around 7th or 8th grade. The environment was crazy, and had instant magnetic appeal to the inner id of a pre-teen.

Sports first experienced on steriods, with madness in the air, vulgar chants, the threat of near-violence toward the cowed opponents. We were like if college basketball was actually minor league hockey. I had been to Blazers games the year before I first saw the Orange in hoops, and the madness was comparable.

It was the Greg Kohls, Mike Lee, Denny DuVal, Mark Wadach, Bob Dooms, Tommy Stundis team. I recall us making the NIT, which was the first time I saw them on TV.

That was really cool, back in the days when national TV coverage seldom got down to the level of regional schools like us, unless we were played a major conference program, like Tennessee, Purdue, North Carolina and Houston.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Grew up in Syracuse...how could you grow up in Syracuse and not be an Orange Fan???

But might have been as a kid being taken to the Inaugural Carrier Classic in 1977. I got to see SU thump LeMoyne!! And then listened to SU beat Michigan State with Magic Johnson the next night on the radio. What a lineup of players in that year's classic... Marty Byrnes, Dale Shackleford, Louis Orr, Rosie Bouie and freshman Danny Schayes who would have a LONG NBA career but had a hard time getting on the floor for that squad.

Or a year or two later when my elementary school principal and phys ed teacher (ohhh, ok back then it was Gym) took a group to the Open SU Basketball Practice at Manley. I still have the autographs to prove it... Shack, Bouie, Headd and Payton.

Back in my early days as a fan I kept up on the Orange by listening to Joel Mareiniss broadcast them on WSYR Radio. Ohhhh those were the days!!

I loved how we could go to practices in the old days. He really didn't mind especially if you sat up in the mezzanine area, so you wouldn't be distracting the players

I also used to love Joel Mareiness. What a character! He and "Coney Island Dave" Cohen were the two best. I remember when Bob Costas used to announce, too. He was the broadcast guy for the Blazers a few times, but he really wasn't a hockey guy. LOL

 

[albanycuse]

In the 80’s

 

[Fly Rodder]

mid-80s as an elementary school/jr high kid watching Pearl, Rony, and Sherm.

 

[OCESIP]

1972. Danforth got them into the tournament. A couple of years later the final four. JB upped the program a lot with
Louie and Bouie. The rest, as they say, is history. The Big East years were fantastic! We'll never have that same feeling in the
ACC, even if we get to be a top 4-5 team we'll still be an after thought that joined to fill out the football league.

 

[IthacaMatt]

mid-80s as an elementary school/jr high kid watching Pearl, Rony, and Sherm.

Those were the teams that hooked my wife. She couldn't believe how they could pass like that.

 

[MGP]

When did you become an SU basketball fan?

Me: I was born into it. (b. 'Cuse '69) By mid 70's, Dad had seasons, started taking me to Manley (& Archbold).

What was the first game you listened to the radio or watched on TV?

1st one that really sticks in my memory on TV is the Purdue win in 79-80 but I can remember watching others prior to that season (just not specifically). I remember listening to the NCAA loss to Charlotte on the radio... Think Dad took me to the airport to greet the F4 team in '75. Recall Bug Williams at Hancock...

What was the first game you attended?

Probably sometime around '76 or -77. I remember Carrier Classic win over Magic and "Beat Siena!" Sweet D, Marty Byrnes, Dale Shack were my first favs. Starting in the '79-'80 season I attended every game right up until I left for college in '87, then still came home for many - so I was fortunate enough to see my share of classics!

 

[andyw715]

So 1986 season, freshman hs. I'm from Lockport (Niagara county) and a few of the jr/sr were Orange fans and they would drive to games...so I went with them whenever I could in the next 4 years.
I went to UB but watched when I could. After that moved to NC in the heart of ACC country.
The only thing I like about being part of the ACC now is the ability to drive to unc/duke/nc st/wf to watch Orange play there.

 

[ScrabbCuse]

My oldest sister started her freshman year at Syracuse in 1990. I was 7 and fell in love with the basketball program. Been a huge fan ever since. Grew up in the NYC area with a father who is a St Johns fan. Went to many Cuse-St Johns games at MSG as a kid.

 

[Cusefan95]

My oldest sister started her freshman year at Syracuse in 1990. I was 7 and fell in love with the basketball program. Been a huge fan ever since. Grew up in the NYC area with a father who is a St Johns fan. Went to many Cuse-St Johns games at MSG as a kid.

I have a niece who played volleyball for St John's. I used to take her younger brother when he was around 10-12 years old to a couple St John's basketball games every year, meet up with his sister and take them to dinner in Manhattan. The January when he was 12 I was taking him to a game and he proudly presented me with a Christmas present of a St John's jacket; he'd begged his mom to get it because "I was such a big St John's fan". The only times I ever wore it was taking him to St John's games - but I've kept it as a reminder there's truth in the saying "its the thought that counts".

 

[HakAttack]

This has already been covered nicely in this thread.

Where Are We From/Fan History.

Slow day at the office...so I thought I'd throw this out here. Where are we all from/what's our SU fan story? For me, although I remember watching Orangemen teams with Preston Shumpert, Jason Hart and Etan Thomas back as a teenager living in NJ in the late 90's on ESPN, my fandom didn't...

syracusefan.com

Mods, can you merge the new posts into that thread?

 

[SWC75]

This has already been covered nicely in this thread.

Where Are We From/Fan History.

Slow day at the office...so I thought I'd throw this out here. Where are we all from/what's our SU fan story? For me, although I remember watching Orangemen teams with Preston Shumpert, Jason Hart and Etan Thomas back as a teenager living in NJ in the late 90's on ESPN, my fandom didn't...

syracusefan.com

Mods, can you merge the new posts into that thread?

I thought we'd done this before but couldn't find it. That thread is 11 years old so maybe an update for newer members was worth doing.

 

[orangecuse]

Since the mid seventies...a couple of years after my father took a significant promotion/transfer with General Motors from Cleveland, Ohio. At the time of the transfer, I was in my later grade school school years, and was a huge Buckeye fan. However, only a couple of years afterwards, SU's run to the Final Four with Jimmy Lee and company sealed the deal then, and ever since.

As an aside, when I first stumbled across the very 1st generation of this board (sometime in the 90's) I used Jimmy Lee as my handle since he was my favorite Syracuse player...until the one and only Carmelo came along.

 

[JarHeadJim]

1975

 

[OrangePA]

Since the mid seventies...a couple of years after my father took a significant promotion/transfer with General Motors from Cleveland, Ohio. At the time of the transfer, I was in my later grade school school years, and was a huge Buckeye fan. However, only a couple of years afterwards, SU's run to the Final Four with Jimmy Lee and company sealed the deal then, and ever since.

As an aside, when I first stumbled across the very 1st variation of this board (sometime in the 90's) I used Jimmy Lee as my handle since he was my favorite Syracuse player...until the one and only Carmelo came along.

As time passes, I become more and more impressed with Jimmy Lee.

He was smart, didn't make mistakes, was a great shooter, was a phenomenal FT shooter and was an unflappable winner.

 

[RF2044]

 

[orangecuse]

As time passes, I become more and more impressed with Jimmy Lee.

He was smart, didn't make mistakes, was a great shooter, was a phenomenal FT shooter and was an unflappable winner.

I can't tell you how many times, as a youngster, I pretended I was him on my driveway court. 3, 2, 1...20 footer for the win. At the line, shooting two, down one, one second left in the game.

 

[JustPherU]

Can’t remember what the 1st game attended was but early 70’s is when I got hooked.I would sit at kitchen table with my dad and listen to Joel Mariness on WSYR.I would make my own score sheet and keep score every game, amazing how accurate my sheet would be when I checked the box scores the next day in the Herald Journal.

 

[Lenox]

2003. I was four years old. Me and my dad just moved into our first apartment & he told me I fell asleep on the couch during the Texas game because I was sick

But he told me what a great game it was considering I have no recollection lol

 

[Cuse99&01]

At around age 9 or 10 (circa 1986). Grew up in Southern California and remember Big East games being televised late-morning/early Saturday afternoon on CBS. Loved all those games and matchups, but something drew me to Syracuse. Became a fan almost immediately and have been rooting for them since. Liked them so much I applied to only one college (early decision applicant) coming out of high school and moved across country to attend SU.