Biggest home sporting event in Syracuse history

[The General]

Marsh mentioned it in a thread. Syracuse vs. Duke in the Dome is the biggest sporting event we have ever had in this city. Hotels have been sold out for months. People are flying in from all over. Ticket prices are insane. It's going to be one hell of a cocktail party.

Does anything compare? I think of Syracuse vs. Penn State in 1987. The Ewing games. Maybe Sherman's senior year game vs. G'town? But this transcends those games.

I expect the Dome to be as rowdy and loud since the days of Syracuse Starter jackets and those skin tight orange and blue rugby shirts everyone wore to the games. It almost seems like we are 'kinda' in the ACC. And we will fully indoctrinate ourselves Saturday night.

 

[Full_Rebar]

Let's hope it doesn't end up like the previous biggest sports event in Syracuse- last year's final Big East home game against Gtown.

I'm going to enjoy the game and am looking forward to the atmosphere and hype, but if Cuse does lose, I hope people don't fall into despair like last year.

 

[Cusefan0307]

When we lose a game, no matter who it is, the board will go into meltdown mode. Happens every year, and usually it is one players fault.

 

[Full_Rebar]

I expect the board meltdown, but the Dome crowd last year for that game was awful. People getting just nasty towards other fans, that it spoiled the day. No matter what, it's one game in a long season.

 

[MassOrange]

For those who were there, what was the first football game in the Carrier Dome like?

And first basketball game for that matter.

 

[Marsh01]

I agree and said the same thing in another thread last night. By far the biggest sporting event in the history of the dome

 

[Marsh01]

For those who were there, what was the first football game in the Carrier Dome like? And first basketball game for that matter.

Epic. The roof blew off when joe morris returned a kickoff for a touchdown

 

[longislandcuse]

I actually get excited hearing how excited Dick Vitale is about this. Say what you want about the man but he is CBB and he knows this is the biggest regular season CBB event in years.

 

[jdubs30]

It's our first official time to say "ACC..We here"

 

[BomberOrange]

Its definitely a top 5. Up to this point the '87 SU-WVU football game was the biggest for me. 10-0 Sugar Bowl invite. Undefeated season on the line...and that finish!! To me that is #1, we'll see if this beats it.

 

[BludOrange]

81' Big East tournament at the dome was pretty exciting.

 

[The General]

Its definitely a top 5. Up to this point the '87 SU-WVU football game was the biggest for me. 10-0 Sugar Bowl invite. Undefeated season on the line...and that finish!! To me that is #1, we'll see if this beats it.

A classic. Because of the finish. I'm not talking best game, but biggest event. Penn State vs. SU in 1987 was massively hyped. There was a buzz in this town. A game you absolutely had to go to cause we were gonna finally stick it to JoePa. And the game was awesome. It's the only game I can recall the town having this kind of build up.

And I could be wrong but I think we had already accepted our Sugar Bowl bid before the WVU game.

 

[Toga]

The national championship celebration was pretty cool.

 

[OttoForLife]

IMHO, the Duke game is way over hyped. I once dreamed of Duke coming to the Dome when Paulus was playing. That would have been a HUGE deal. If Duke this year was a top five team, then yes, this could have historic potential.

As of now, it's just a a really good game with a huge crowd. Win or lose, their will be many more important games the rest of the way this year.

 

[jdubs30]

IMHO, the Duke game is way over hyped. I once dreamed of Duke coming to the Dome when Paulus was playing. That would have been a HUGE deal. If Duke this year was a top five team, then yes, this could have historic potential.

As of now, it's just a a really good game with a huge crowd. Win or lose, their will be many more important games the rest of the way this year.

We've got to protect home court. Beating Pitt was huge; and beating Duke will be of equal importance. Honestly if we lose Saturday I think Duke has the inside track to the regular season title.

 

[CusefanATL]

Marsh mentioned it in a thread. Syracuse vs. Duke in the Dome is the biggest sporting event we have ever had in this city. Hotels have been sold out for months. People are flying in from all over. Ticket prices are insane. It's going to be one hell of a cocktail party.

Does anything compare? I think of Syracuse vs. Penn State in 1987. The Ewing games. Maybe Sherman's senior year game vs. G'town? But this transcends those games.

I expect the Dome to be as rowdy and loud since the days of Syracuse Starter jackets and those skin tight orange and blue rugby shirts everyone wore to the games. It almost seems like we are 'kinda' in the ACC. And we will fully indoctrinate ourselves Saturday night.

i cant believe im not going. :bat:

 

[Scooch]

There have been many more "meaningful" games at the Dome. But this is clearly near the top for "most-anticipated".

I love big events, just love 'em, and I'm excited for this game. But I find it a tiny bit uncomfortable too. I hate being the team that cares far more about a "rivalry" than the other side does. This feels a little like that.

Hopefully we pound the bejesus out of them so they develop an immediate loathing of us.

 

[LennX6]

For those who were there, what was the first football game in the Carrier Dome like?

And first basketball game for that matter.

First FB game was actually the first event. It was a 80 degree day in Sept and it was a sauna, literally inside. The opponent, Miami Ohio, look some of the luster of it, but Joe Morris did run the opening kickoff back for a TD. Awesome way to christen it.
I went to the second and third Dome Hoops games the Carrier Classic games. The Maryland game felt like a huge deal as they had Albert King (Olympic Team that didn't go), Buck Williams and Greg Manning. They were a big deal and we lost by 20.

 

[HurleyForHeisman]

For those who were there, what was the first football game in the Carrier Dome like?

And first basketball game for that matter.

Still one of my top 5 Dome experiences ever. Walking into the Dome for the first time was dreamlike. One of those moments I will never forget. The roar when Joe Morris returned that kickoff for a TD was something I had never experienced before, but fortunately there have been many great moments since.

The first basketball games were a little underwhelming. It was much quieter than Manley and you could often hear the transformer humming, but when Marty Headd scored a layup to beat Georgetown at the buzzer, the Dome came to life for hoops and it was off to the races.

 

[Rocco]

I agree and said the same thing in another thread last night. By far the biggest sporting event in the history of the dome

I don't know about "by far". There have been football games that have been huge... back when we were still a football school. Sold-out Dome watching Donnie Mac vs Penn St is about as big as it gets.

This game is certainly up there for most "hyped".

 

[Zippy1808]

For some reason, I remember the 34,616 Villanova game as having even more buzz that built up.
Maybe because it was really the first time that the Dome had "sold out" weeks in advance.
And it was a great matchup, of course.

 

[The General]

IMHO, the Duke game is way over hyped. I once dreamed of Duke coming to the Dome when Paulus was playing. That would have been a HUGE deal. If Duke this year was a top five team, then yes, this could have historic potential.

How would Greg Paulus playing in the Dome be bigger than our first ever ACC game vs. Duke in the Dome? Maybe to some CBA dudes and Mr. And Mrs. Paulus.

It's not an event cause of the rankings. It would be a bonus if they were top 5 but it doesn't really matter. The hype is good for this city. It's cold. It's snowing relentlessly. I'm ready to start tailgating.

It's iconic. There will only be one first time.

 

[Consigliere]

Donovan's last game in the Dome playing Miami for the Big East title belongs on this list too.

 

[BomberOrange]

A classic. Because of the finish. I'm not talking best game, but biggest event. Penn State vs. SU in 1987 was massively hyped. There was a buzz in this town. A game you absolutely had to go to cause we were gonna finally stick it to JoePa. And the game was awesome. It's the only game I can recall the town having this kind of build up.

And I could be wrong but I think we had already accepted our Sugar Bowl bid before the WVU game.

We did accept the Sugar Bowl invite before the game. I remember the hype being monstrous before the WVU game as well. It was an event not as much in the opponent, but that we could go undefeated if we won. Regardless, it was a "had to be there" game.

 

[HarrisonJBounel]

IMHO, the Duke game is way over hyped. I once dreamed of Duke coming to the Dome when Paulus was playing. That would have been a HUGE deal. If Duke this year was a top five team, then yes, this could have historic potential.

As of now, it's just a a really good game with a huge crowd. Win or lose, their will be many more important games the rest of the way this year.

Agreed. That is the difference between the game being merely very big and it being epically transcendent.

If Duke was #1 and Syr #2, or vice versa, then this would begin to approach UCLA-Houston of 1968 as far as a regular season game. Although that particular game, in addition to being a phenomenal game, was a real rocket shot for the popularity of college basketball in general. Syr-Duke couldn't match that aspect of it.