Apathy?

[OrangeDW]

I mostly ignore them and shrug them off for this reason, but my coworkers talk about “draft kings”, their bets, and their fantasy teams way more than they talk about their favorite teams(if they even have them).

 

[anomander]

Our national perception is that we’re a joke that nobody takes serious. On twitter i follow all the good, general, CFB accounts and whenever Syracuse is mentioned, which has been a lot this season due to having a top offense and defense, we get absolutely clowned in the comments. There are a few people who have actually watched us this year and last and make a positive comment, but the rest are basically made on perception. One of the lines i’ve seen several times is “Syracuse always starts out fast and then collapses”, or “Syracuse pads their schedule early and then lose whenever they play someone good”. You know if college football fans in general are thinking this then your high school kid is thinking this. Unfortunately, we have a long road ahead to get any sort of national respect back. It’s going to take more than 6 or 7 win seasons. Hell we cracked the top 15 last season and are on the cusp of doing so again and it’s like it never even happened. A big win against a Clemson/FSU/UNC will also go a long way as well.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

The gameday experience has always sucked, but it has really gotten worse in recent years. At least they aren't moving the band around after halftime which was annoying AF. And you are right nobody seems to care. Having the kids start a "lets go orange" chant during a TV timeout, good lord nobody is involved, it is cringe-worthy it is so bad. Been that way for years. At one point doe somebody raise their hands and say, this isn't working let's stop this.

LGO is pretty bad. The kids never do it right. I get the thought process but it is a major fail. Let the cheerleaders do it and have the kids just clapping and no mic on them.

We don't need the pro football like stuff going on during TOs. I thought the sound was even worse last game. Mr Excitement used to be ok but last game he was way too loud. The music (why do they even play it when we have a band?) is always too loud. We don't need the sideline mic girl which always comes across as shrieking. Let Mr Excitement narrate those if you cannot figure out how to fix the remote mic.

How about letting the band, Otto, cheerleaders, dance team be more involved instead of having hidden Otto under the drones and truck races on the big screen? Why do we rarely see Otto anymore? And why can't they figure out how to fix the sound issues? Why were there no stats last game until the 3rd Q?

The fact that nothing ever changes means SU has no quality control at all, or they just don't give an effe. Either way it is really bad. The Dome experience sucks and when the team isn't good enough to mask it, people don't show.

 

[Cusefan95]

Our national perception is that we’re a joke that nobody takes serious. On twitter i follow all the good, general, CFB accounts and whenever Syracuse is mentioned, which has been a lot this season due to having a top offense and defense, we get absolutely clowned in the comments. There are a few people who have actually watched us this year and last and make a positive comment, but the rest are basically made on perception. One of the lines i’ve seen several times is “Syracuse always starts out fast and then collapses”, or “Syracuse pads their schedule early and then lose whenever they play someone good”. You know if college football fans in general are thinking this then your high school kid is thinking this. Unfortunately, we have a long road ahead to get any sort of national respect back. It’s going to take more than 6 or 7 win seasons. Hell we cracked the top 15 last season and are on the cusp of doing so again and it’s like it never even happened. A big win against a Clemson/FSU/UNC will also go a long way as well.

The only saving grace is that the majority of people are stupid and have the memory span of a housefly. “Syracuse always starts fast and then collapses when they play real teams” is an example. Your average dope remembers 6-0 last year, and since they have no ability to remember what they ate for breakfast - nevermind what Syracuse did for the last twenty years - assume that’s the historical pattern. Instead we’re 4-0 for the first time in back to back seasons in over 60 years.

One good year where Syracuse makes a top 6 bowl (or playoff starting next year), and a 9 win season after that and the average dope will think Syracuse is relevant and it’s always been that way.

 

[Newhouser]

LGO is pretty bad. The kids never do it right. I get the thought process but it is a major fail. Let the cheerleaders do it and have the kids just clapping and no mic on them.

We don't need the pro football like stuff going on during TOs. I thought the sound was even worse last game. Mr Excitement used to be ok but last game he was way too loud. The music (why do they even play it when we have a band?) is always too loud. We don't need the sideline mic girl which always comes across as shrieking. Let Mr Excitement narrate those if you cannot figure out how to fix the remote mic.

How about letting the band, Otto, cheerleaders, dance team be more involved instead of having hidden Otto under the drones and truck races on the big screen? Why do we rarely see Otto anymore? And why can't they figure out how to fix the sound issues? Why were there no stats last game until the 3rd Q?

The fact that nothing ever changes means SU has no quality control at all, or they just don't give an effe. Either way it is really bad. The Dome experience sucks and when the team isn't good enough to mask it, people don't show.

The Otto comment is right on - he was in my section for a short time last week and the kids (and adults) showed more energy for that than the game.

Engagement does not have to always involve blaring music and crazy video and screaming microphones.

 

[David321]

Lots of criticisms and suggestions to make things better. If I may, as a new fan (third year) the Dome and game day experience are not the problem. We went for the first time against Wake in 2021 (OT loss) and were instantly hooked.

Going to the Dome is amazing, STH prices are super affordable, and there is no better way to spend time in the Fall. People who don’t go are missing out.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Lots of criticisms and suggestions to make things better. If I may, as a new fan (third year) the Dome and game day experience are not the problem. We went for the first time against Wake in 2021 (OT loss) and were instantly hooked.

Going to the Dome is amazing, STH prices are super affordable, and there is no better way to spend time in the Fall. People who don’t go are missing out.

What happens during commercial breaks and SU's in game entrainment are torture. It has gotten to the point where I wonder why do I come? It is a college game, give us the college experience.

 

[David321]

What happens during commercial breaks and SU's in game entrainment are torture. It has gotten to the point where I wonder why do I come? It is a college game, give us the college experience.

I don’t even notice, I just talk with the people around me, maybe study the roster for a couple minutes etc. it’s not a big deal imo.

 

[OrangePA]

I tuned into the Manchild Show on 1260 and the whole first hour was nothing but a discussion of pro football and primarily fantasy football. I called in to discuss the game and noted that when I started listening to the show, (2009), Mondays after SU football or basketball games were 'guest-free' to make room for all the phone calls they would get discussing, (and arguing about), the game. I attributed this to the rise of fantasy football and of internet forums where much of this discussion takes place. Jim Lersh, (the 'Manchild') attributed this and the half-filled stands to fan apathy, which he, intern attributed to on the field mediocrity and the lack of openness in the program and the failure to market it properly. He said local media and fans used to have more access to practices, players and assistant coaches. there were more personal stories to tell that created interest. I mentioned Dr. Gross' attempts to brand SU as "New York State's college team". Are we still doing that?

I realize that we've lost part of the fanbase since the 80's and 90's but have we lost it since 2009?

Blame Lersh.

He is supposed to set the tone.

 

[Dinkyspond]

If we went 10-2 every year, nobody would care if practices were closed.

no schools open practices and all coaches are tight-lipped about injuries, team news like Dino. The marketing is actually quite good. You hit the nail on the head. 20 years of mediocrity or less, with the exception of a few good Marrone years and Dino nailing 10-3, is why there is apathy. Get back consistently in the Top 25 with dalliances into the Top 15 or better and the interest will be there.

 

[SWC75]

My personal opinion:

1. There's been a massive media landscape shift and people have access to a million different forums for conversations about this stuff.

2. With more information out there, it's also become apparent how ignorant a lot of these sports talk hosts were and are.

3. We haven't been even a long shot at the national title in 25 years.

If we could contend for conference titles in FB and BB, it would help.

 

[SWC75]

Oops. My bad

You don't think of it because it was under different coaches.

 

[SWC75]

Hah. I am the exact opposite, but I don't find cfb as must see TV. I haven't watched an entire college game outside of Syracuse's in years.

I'm the opposite. I love watching CFB from noon to midnight, (or past it). I had largely stopped watching the NFL until I discovered Red Zone. The only baseball games I watch prior to the playoffs are Mets games. And I don't get into the NBA until the semi-finals.

 

[SWC75]

This is the actual.

I like this team, and I appreciate the need to play a weak early schedule to get in bowl position

But then you can’t complain when the home fans take a sniff and say, “umm, no thanks, there’s that other thing.”

We’re not in Alabama or Georgia or Happy Valley. Fans have other good choices and exercise them

Fans need to be investors, not just consumers for their team to achieve consistent success.

 

[SWC75]

Apathy?

Meh.

Whatever.







I don’t listen to sports radio, and never have.

ESPN stopped being a thing I’d watch for other than a game ages ago.
SportsCenter? Couldn’t even name a single person on it, were I to ever have it on.
I used to watch PTI pretty regularly, but haven’t in years.

Used to be a hardcore Giants fan, and never missed a game.
Now, I’m not sure I could name more than 2-3 players, and haven’t watched a game since the tail end of Eli’s career.
Didn’t even realize that they were pretty decent last year, until after the fact.
Was just in the habit of actively ignoring them for so long.

Was also a Jets fan, but they were even easier to stop watching.

Haven’t watched the Super Bowl in quite a while also.

Even this year, I wasn’t able to watch the first 2 Cuse games (stupid Disney), and only watched the 2nd half against Purdue.
Did watch almost all of the Army game, but somehow missed the 1 play where Villari had a catch.
Of course.

Cuse hoops used to be must see TV for me, but the past 2 seasons broke me of that habit.

I am looking forward to watching again -
Really psyched to see what Red & co do this year, and am hopeful that, even if we don’t have a huge uptick in the W column (but I think we will, just due to the massive upgrade in talent, athleticism, and depth), that at least it will be a fun, engaging style of play.

tl/dr - yeah, I’m a former diehard who is now pretty apathetic.

Winning (generally) cures everything.
Let’s win more.

"Haven’t watched the Super Bowl in quite a while also."

 

[SWC75]

The gameday experience has always sucked, but it has really gotten worse in recent years. At least they aren't moving the band around after halftime which was annoying AF. And you are right nobody seems to care. Having the kids start a "lets go orange" chant during a TV timeout, good lord nobody is involved, it is cringe-worthy it is so bad. Been that way for years. At one point doe somebody raise their hands and say, this isn't working let's stop this.

Nobody complained about the Gameday Experience in the 80's and 90's. The biggest part of the Gameday Experience is the fans themselves. Fill the bowl up and just being there is exciting.

 

[SWC75]

The Otto comment is right on - he was in my section for a short time last week and the kids (and adults) showed more energy for that than the game.

Engagement does not have to always involve blaring music and crazy video and screaming microphones.

We need a new Dome Ranger.

 

[SWC75]

Blame Lersh.

He is supposed to set the tone.

You can't be the 'honest' voice of SU sports if you don't talk about SU sports.

 

[OrangePA]

You can't be the 'honest' voice of SU sports if you don't talk about SU sports.

Right.

It is one of only two major league sports in CNY.

The Program was 6-0 and 14th in the country last year before injuries began to impact play. Still, the team went to a solid bowl game and played well.

This year, the Orange is 4-0 with a very nice national TV win.

This guy has a fundamental obligation to give the Syracuse University Football Program the attention it deserves.

 

[Cuse181]

Our national perception is that we’re a joke that nobody takes serious. On twitter i follow all the good, general, CFB accounts and whenever Syracuse is mentioned, which has been a lot this season due to having a top offense and defense, we get absolutely clowned in the comments. There are a few people who have actually watched us this year and last and make a positive comment, but the rest are basically made on perception. One of the lines i’ve seen several times is “Syracuse always starts out fast and then collapses”, or “Syracuse pads their schedule early and then lose whenever they play someone good”. You know if college football fans in general are thinking this then your high school kid is thinking this. Unfortunately, we have a long road ahead to get any sort of national respect back. It’s going to take more than 6 or 7 win seasons. Hell we cracked the top 15 last season and are on the cusp of doing so again and it’s like it never even happened. A big win against a Clemson/FSU/UNC will also go a long way as well.

Well in their defense, people also clown on Pitt, BC, VT, Virginia, Vanderbilt, K State, Louisville, West Virginia, Miami, Rutgers, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Texas A&M, really anyone outside the top 15... not anything unique to Syracuse. As for people who talk about the early season being where Syracuse starts "fast" and they act like its unique is either stupid or being purposefully disingenuous, tons of teams every year run through an easy OOC schedule, nothing unique. Its also false seeing as outside of the last two years syracuse started 4-0 in back to back seasons 0 times in nearly 7 decades. IDK why you bother reading twitter comments, literally every school gets ripped on, every school has their defenders, and everyone looks like an idiot on that site.

 

[Pyle]

Hell we cracked the top 15 last season and are on the cusp of doing so again and it’s like it never even happened. A big win against a Clemson/FSU/UNC will also go a long way as well.

I can tell you if a team cracks the top 15 and then loses 5 straight games and isn't named SU, I could care less and probably didn't notice. Nobody cares we cracked the top 15 but us.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Nobody complained about the Gameday Experience in the 80's and 90's. The biggest part of the Gameday Experience is the fans themselves. Fill the bowl up and just being there is exciting.

It has gotten worse with the addition of the big screen. Now that they have one, they are looking for ways to use it and it makes the atmosphere worse. Plus the awful sound system doesn't help. It no longer feels like a college game. Instead it is like going to a minor league baseball game. A Mickey Mouse production.

Instead of recorded music, let the band play.

Instead of hidden under the drone Otto, show real Otto. Have Otto go around 5-6 times a game with a noise meter and give away a prize to best section.

Instead of cartoon truck races have kid races like they used to, having to put on equipment along the way.

Give the dance team more than a short song while they are in the corner of the endzone. Why not midfield? And why not 2 sets? Same for the cheerleaders. How about a routine? More LGO? Or a GO... SU?

Why not have an honorary former player captain every game? You can have them also do things throughout the game.


Edit

Also the commercial breaks went from 2 mins to 3 mins. That extra min of waiting around makes things worse.

 

[OrangeAl]

Is there anything more pointless than those video games of find the orange under the cups or the trucks that race a cartoon track? Who wants to be manipulated by a computer simulation? Not me.

 

[anomander]

Well in their defense, people also clown on Pitt, BC, VT, Virginia, Vanderbilt, K State, Louisville, West Virginia, Miami, Rutgers, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Texas A&M, really anyone outside the top 15... not anything unique to Syracuse. As for people who talk about the early season being where Syracuse starts "fast" and they act like its unique is either stupid or being purposefully disingenuous, tons of teams every year run through an easy OOC schedule, nothing unique. Its also false seeing as outside of the last two years syracuse started 4-0 in back to back seasons 0 times in nearly 7 decades. IDK why you bother reading twitter comments, literally every school gets ripped on, every school has their defenders, and everyone looks like an idiot on that site.

How would you know those teams get clowned if you don’t read the twitter comments?

 

[Cuse181]

How would you know those teams get clowned if you don’t read the twitter comments?

Because the tweets are linked in articles every week. Bleacher report, rivals and 247 make their bread on those