Anyone apathetic?

[OrangeDW]

I hate watching our team and what it’s become but I’ll never switch to watching the nba. It’s just boring. I’ll just watch more hockey until we’re relevant again.

I love hoops. By far my favorite sport.

We are a HARD watch right now, and really have been for much of the last 4-5 years or so. I don’t get nearly as fired up during the games as often as I usually do, and I don’t anticipate the games at all. Feels like watching my Giants in the Dan Reeves-Dave Brown era - a flat out chore and it feels like it would take a minor miracle to score. No fun.

Bazley and Carey are coming! A high level, multitalented player that should be ready to be good while he’s actually in college, and a dynamic guard who can make things happen. Hallmarks of Syracuse basketball. It’s been too long.

 

[SWC75]

It's not being a "fairweather fan" to be sad to admit you don't care anymore. Clearly I post on the Syracuse Messageboard so it's not like I decided we suck, I'm going to find another team to pull for. Many of you know I'm a die hard Bills fan - I know what it's like to root endlessly for an awful football team.

Believe me, I wish I cared but I can't get myself to do it anymore. Maybe it has to do with living in the south where it's 60 degrees many days in the winter so it's not the only thing I look forward to (I say that since some of you mentioned the winters in Syracuse). ...but I don't think that's it. I'll always be a fan a Cuse Football and I try to watch games but I've been broken in my fandom there for a while. Unfortunately the same can be said for Cuse Basketball now. The only thing that matters in CBB is March Madness and if you're not going to the dance as a P5, you might as well close up shop. Those F4 runs were awesome and I went nuts, but the seasons sucked. Now the seasons suck and we aren't going to the dance. Never mind the fact our brand of basketball is a joke.

We recruit athletes, not ball players, yet don't play athletic basketball. We let every team we play dictate tempo. Our offense looks like an HS JV team and half the squad is afraid of getting benched ever year. Why tf does anyone want to watch that? Like someone above said, either be successful or be fun to watch...you can't be neither. This is now Year 2 of "neither" going on Year 5 or 6 of not being fun to watch.

I also used to watch big CBB games and looked forward to whoever was on Big Monday. Guess how much I care about CBB outside of Syracuse? Nada...until March Madness. So maybe it's not just a Syracuse issue but a CBB issue in which Syracuse is exacerbating the problem.

I'm proud to rep Syracuse. I have a framed Carrier Dome panorama in my office, Syracuse football helmet paper weights and Cuse coasters for my Agency. But, at some point, we need to look at ourselves, as a program, and decide if we want to be big boys or not. We've become a middle of the pack ACC Basketball program and a bottom of the barrel P5 Football Program. When people like me start to lose interest, then imagine how the actual fair weather fans feel.

I posted this thread because I'm worried. I'm worried about our 2 major programs and I'm worried that I've become apathetic. It's not a good feeling and I wish I didn't feel this way...I really do. This isn't a "look at me" post. This is me letting y'all know that I'm sad I feel this way but I think more and more do each year.

Being frustrated and not caring are not the same thing. In fact, they are opposites.

But I do like this statement: "We recruit athletes, not ball players, yet don't play athletic basketball." Part of me dreads the end of the Boeheim Era because I know that following a legend is difficult and even the best programs don't often go from Hall of Famer to Hall of Famer. My study a few years ago of the top 50 winningest coaches in both football and basketball indicated that their successors have a worse winning percentage 86% of the time.

But another part of me would be intrigued to see a younger coach use the tools of the game more aggressively. Someone who would recruit and develop more depth, use more defensive pressure and get out and run more. it's simply not true that "Nobody does those things anymore." Tune in to other games and you see them all the time. A little bit of Pasqualoniitis has set in on our beloved basketball program. By that I mean a long term successful coach whose increasingly conservative strategies seem to be strangling the team's chances for continued success. (But look how hard it's been to to find the upgrade we were looking for over him.)

I also wish we could figure out a solution for the fact that we lose players who, at best, are borderline NBA guys after a year or two while other programs seem to keep them for four years. A starting line of of Howard, Battle, Brissett , Lydon and Chukwu would probably be a Top Ten team. Nobody would be bored with that.

But I also remember that 10 days ago we'd decisively beaten what seemed like a good Virginia tech team and were 12-2 and wondering why we weren't ranked. Threads like this didn't exist on the board. I think we need to see how things go after we've totally pulled out of the sanctions and had a relatively healthy season.

 

[SU2NASA]

I’m playing golf instead of watching today. Just can’t bring myself to care.

 

[Stern]

1) CBB season is far too long
2) Only thing that matters is March and the Tournament (literally the regular season and conference tournaments have become an afterthought)
3) No one or two regular season game is important anymore, even long-time rival games. Just have to win enough games overall to make the tournament.

We live in a society in all sports where if you didn't win a championship your season was a total failure. That's how things are viewed and in some sports (NFL, NBA) you can get away with that because the popularity across the board in all cities is huge. But when you are on the verge of another year of not making the tournament its understandable that a segment of the fan-base just gives up and goes, don't care anymore. Because that's how the sport is now built. Only 1 month matters and its March.

 

[nnycuse]

Long long time lurker here.

I believe the various Syracuse teams, their records, their style of play, their personalities, and the expectations (then disappointments or surprises) impact us all as SU fans, however, to me, the most significant factor is life. Depending upon what age your at, where you live (man what I wouldn't give to be riding a motorcycle & fishing today), and whatever you or your family may be experiencing in life, SU fandom is a constant. The narrative of any particular team can be a salve for life's difficult moments.

And then there are you folks on this forum who entertain me almost as much as the team. Thanks for that.

 

[OrangeDW]

1) CBB season is far too long
2) Only thing that matters is March and the Tournament (literally the regular season and conference tournaments have become an afterthought)
3) No one or two regular season game is important anymore, even long-time rival games. Just have to win enough games overall to make the tournament.

We live in a society in all sports where if you didn't win a championship your season was a total failure. That's how things are viewed and in some sports (NFL, NBA) you can get away with that because the popularity across the board in all cities is huge. But when you are on the verge of another year of not making the tournament its understandable that a segment of the fan-base just gives up and goes, don't care anymore. Because that's how the sport is now built. Only 1 month matters and its March.

You’ve got a point - which is too bad. Because I can remember so many incredibly hyped and great regular season games in the past. And not just the obvious rivalries like SU-Georgetown, UNC-Duke, etc.

For example, anyone remember the UNLV-Arkansas game? Or Michigan-Duke where the Fab Five really made their names early in their freshman year, even in a loss? The whole season used to matter and there were always cool matchups and great games on.

 

[Alsacs]

I'm as frustrated as anyone with our offense but I still get excited to watch every game. I can't imagine having a game and not watching because I don't care. After 40 years of excellence I can show a little loyalty through some struggling. But every fan base has fair weather fans.

I am not a bandwagon fan or fair weather fan. Nor do I see LICuse as one. I don’t think you were calling either one either.

I think his point is that the quality of play across college basketball has just deteriorated to point the product isn’t appealing. College basketball is like the XFL compared to the NFL.
It’s the same game but the product of the former just isn’t as good as the latter.
I will always support our program but the product just has been poor on the court for years now.
We win games and that is the goal but the product isn’t exciting.
We have been white knuckling wins for a pretty good stretch now.

That has hurt our product. It’s not going to get much better. I mean we will be fine next year and more competitive but our style isn’t going to change and his point about letting the opponent always dictate tempo and style is true and frustrating.

 

[senorpalmer]

I was a diehard fan for 30+ years, went to every Big East tournament, rarely missed any game. Sadly, I just don't care anymore. It's not 100% due to the current product and started before this season--my interest in all sports has tailed off in recent years, life experience and some of the things many people inevitably go through at one point or another has played a part in changing my perspective on many things, not just SU hoops. Ironically I made a career change a few years ago and now do a lot of with pro and college sports, and I enjoy the work more than anything I've ever done, yet my interest in sports in general is a fraction of what it used to be. The move to the ACC though, while understandably necessary, has played a part in my declining interest, as has the ensuing mediocrity that has followed. As others have pointed out, college hoops as a whole has changed, it just isn't what it used to be IMO. I hung in there through some rough periods, 93, 97, 99, 02, 06-08, and never felt (or not felt) the way I do today. For those who are still passionate about the program, I hope things can be turned around and that SU can find its way back to the level of excellence we were all so used to for so long. The realist in me though, looking at what's changed about the game and the program, as well as what's coming, can't help but think the glory days may be more and more a thing of the past, and that what we've seen for five seasons now is in fact the future.

 

[Alsacs]

Watch the 2009 6 OT game against UConn
Watch the 2015 B4A against UConn.

We won both but the style of play in the 09 game was exciting.
In 2015 it was just make jump shots not much ball movement.

That just wears on you.

 

[Cusefan0307]

I still watch every game, still have season tickets, and have no reason to stop watching. I watch a lot of basketball from high school all the way up to the NBA. I watch a lot more basketball than football.

 

[SUFan44]

Never apathetic.

No matter how bad it has been - whether in 1997 or the NIT years following the championship or the last couple years - I'll still watch every game I can.

I stayed up til 3 a.m. London time watching on a stream from a hotel room on Tuesday. Reason being is we are still only a couple quality wins away from being an NCAA team (the bubble is awful this year).

I still think we can pull it off. There are enough good players on the roster that have been absolutely abysmal lately.

 

[Killdozer]

It's not being a "fairweather fan" to be sad to admit you don't care anymore. Clearly I post on the Syracuse Messageboard so it's not like I decided we suck, I'm going to find another team to pull for. Many of you know I'm a die hard Bills fan - I know what it's like to root endlessly for an awful football team.

Believe me, I wish I cared but I can't get myself to do it anymore. Maybe it has to do with living in the south where it's 60 degrees many days in the winter so it's not the only thing I look forward to (I say that since some of you mentioned the winters in Syracuse). ...but I don't think that's it. I'll always be a fan a Cuse Football and I try to watch games but I've been broken in my fandom there for a while. Unfortunately the same can be said for Cuse Basketball now. The only thing that matters in CBB is March Madness and if you're not going to the dance as a P5, you might as well close up shop. Those F4 runs were awesome and I went nuts, but the seasons sucked. Now the seasons suck and we aren't going to the dance. Never mind the fact our brand of basketball is a joke.

We recruit athletes, not ball players, yet don't play athletic basketball. We let every team we play dictate tempo. Our offense looks like an HS JV team and half the squad is afraid of getting benched ever year. Why tf does anyone want to watch that? Like someone above said, either be successful or be fun to watch...you can't be neither. This is now Year 2 of "neither" going on Year 5 or 6 of not being fun to watch.

I also used to watch big CBB games and looked forward to whoever was on Big Monday. Guess how much I care about CBB outside of Syracuse? Nada...until March Madness. So maybe it's not just a Syracuse issue but a CBB issue in which Syracuse is exacerbating the problem.

I'm proud to rep Syracuse. I have a framed Carrier Dome panorama in my office, Syracuse football helmet paper weights and Cuse coasters for my Agency. But, at some point, we need to look at ourselves, as a program, and decide if we want to be big boys or not. We've become a middle of the pack ACC Basketball program and a bottom of the barrel P5 Football Program. When people like me start to lose interest, then imagine how the actual fair weather fans feel.

I posted this thread because I'm worried. I'm worried about our 2 major programs and I'm worried that I've become apathetic. It's not a good feeling and I wish I didn't feel this way...I really do. This isn't a "look at me" post. This is me letting y'all know that I'm sad I feel this way but I think more and more do each year.

I wish I could like this post a million times....thanks longislandcuse, this is exactly how I feel about both the football and basketball programs now.

 

[cuseguy]

A lot of truth to the fact that the only thing that matters is March. But that’s true in every sport — only the postseason counts.

The truth is also that you need to win during the regular season to position yourself for March.

We’re not doing a very good job of that lately — and that’s the frustrating part.

 

[Alsacs]

Kansas is an example why the college basketball regular season doesn't really matter

One of my best threads. He is right college hoops is all about March.

 

[Alsacs]

A lot of truth to the fact that the only thing that matters is March. But that’s true in every sport — only the postseason counts.

The truth is also that you need to win during the regular season to position yourself for March.

We’re not doing a very good job of that lately — and that’s the frustrating part.

Product not being entertaining does hurt interest.
The 2010 Villanova game was an event in the regular season.
Same for 2014 Duke.

If the product is good non-March games are interesting. The problem is our style has made these games few and far between.

 

[CousCuse]

The current team has only 1 player who has played any real time in college basketball, Battle. The rest of the team are mostly first year players and the team itself has only played 17 games together. And they are working hard every day to improve. So, let's just turn our back on them because winning enough to make us feel pompous and proud or playing a flashy offensive style of ball that our video shaped expectations demand. I don't find that apathetic, I just find that pathetic.

 

[CousCuse]

The current team has only 1 player who has played any real time in college basketball, Battle. The rest of the team are mostly first year players and the team itself has only played 17 games together. And they are working hard every day to improve. So, let's just turn our back on them because winning enough to make us feel pompous and proud or playing a flashy offensive style of ball that our video shaped expectations demand. I don't find that apathetic, I just find that pathetic.

Besides the fact that every time I have seen any of the guys interviewed, they are really super nice people. Articulate, thoughtful first class people.

 

[Townie72]

Looks like we have a division of the fan base here.

One group is the fans of the "winning" SU basketball team. They'll watch as long as the team is playing well and winning games. When the team is struggling, there's things they would rather be doing.

The other group are the fans of the SU basketball team "win or lose".

 

[Ryand877]

I haven’t lost perspective in hoops vs real life, but I have the opposite problem in that I probably care too much. When planning things , first thing I still do is look at the schedule to make sure there is no conflict with an su game. No doubt the games are hard to watch , I watched ten minutes of the Dayton VCU game last night and was like wow, can’t we do some of this on offense. Sometimes I wish I didn’t care as much. I bleed orange and always will. Everyone is different and reacts differently , so personally not passing along any judgement whatsoever. LGO!!

 

[br801]

Looks like we have a division of the fan base here.

One group is the fans of the "winning" SU basketball team. They'll watch as long as the team is playing well and winning games. When the team is struggling, there's things they would rather be doing.

The other group are the fans of the SU basketball team "win or lose".

That first group actually has a subgroup of fans who also demand that the team win games in aesthetically pleasing fashion.

 

[SWC75]

It's obvious that a lot of people agree with the view that "march is all that counts". I would simply suggest that that limited view is likely to increase the level of dissatisfaction rather than decrease it. it's good to have multiple goals and to appreciate each team for who they were and what they did accomplish.

 

[dasher]

Product not being entertaining does hurt interest.
The 2010 Villanova game was an event in the regular season.
Same for 2014 Duke.

If the product is good non-March games are interesting. The problem is our style has made these games few and far between.

It hasn't been our style. It's been our talent. Or lack there of. Now, I wish that we ran up and down the floor like we once did. But because of the sanctions limiting our ships, when we have had kids leave early, we haven't had program guys to replace them. We have had inexperienced players. And really not that good of ones to boot. I love Syracuse sports. I have followed the football program for over 40 years. Most of that, we haven't been good. We have been so bad that back to back 4-8 seasons are treated like they were good. But I have always watched. I skip playing poker on Saturdays to watch. Vowing each week that this is the last time I am going to do this. Only to do it again the next week. Basketball over that 40 years has been wonderful. We are always good. Until lately. But even last year, we still beat some really good teams. And the year before, we went to the final four. This year isn't over. It doesn't look good. But I will watch every game. I owe the program that kind of loyalty for all of the joy they have given me since 1974

 

[Orange Barrel]

I'm calling BS on some of you people. You're here on a Friday night or Saturday morning composing 500 word essays, but you don't care. Got it.

 

[HOFCeluck]

I’m glad I’m not the kind of person who has to project their fan superiority to people he doesn’t know on a message board.

But you do you.

 

[Alsacs]

That first group actually has a subgroup of fans who also demand that the team win games in aesthetically pleasing fashion.

Yeah I know it’s shocking people want their entertainment dollars to actually you know entertain them.

If the choices are winning ugly or losing in fun fashion of course you take winning ugly. However wanting to be entertained isn’t a lot to be asking for.
I support the team. All I have said is that losing used to hurt a lot more right now I don’t get as down if we lose.