cto
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We drove up to Boston on Wednesday in glorious, sunny, 80-degree weather. We drove home today in cold, gloomy, 47-degree rain. That just about sums up the weekend. (Fittingly, the rain started last night just as the crowd was exiting the arena after the game).
I've read a lot (but not all) of the posts here, and I really cannot offer much more about the Xs and Os and the actual games.
As many here (and in the media) have said, the officiating last night was just abysmal. I don't know whether the following was mentioned on TV... but it sort of sums up the night: Even though the stated reason for JB's technical foul was "leaving the coach's box," he was really tee'd up for vigorously protesting a call (and showing up the referees). Compared to many coaches who always wander far from the coaching box and never get tee'd for it (Calhoun and Williams come to mind), JB stays pretty close to it. I was sitting directly behind him in the stands, and there was nothing wrong with the language he used to protest the call. He did not use an expletive, and he did not direct derogatory language at the refs). They tee'd him up because they were thin-skinned and thought he was trying to make them look bad after they made a horrendous call. The T was a "We'll-show-you-who-the-boss-is" thing. If that ridiculous T had turned out to be the difference in the game, I think you would have seen a totally different JB post-game.
Boston is a great city for NCAA games. Most of the "attractions" are very walkable from the downtown hotels. And everywhere one walked or dined, she was engulfed in a sea of orange. Just an incredible showing by Orange Nation. Even driving towards home on I-90 this morning, we observed countless cars with SU stickers on them (most of them probably heading for Central New York).
To add a human, personal note: In most years, we fans fall in love with the SU team and many of its players. And then they graduate or otherwise move on, and there are always new players to embrace the following year. For me, Scoop and his father Tony and his grandmother Debra will always be very special. Scoop for his exuberant personality and equally exuberant play (for me there was never a "bad Scoop"); Tony for his loud, enthusiastic cheering and our many hugs; and Debra for her quiet dignity and her love for the grandson whom she helped raise. I will miss them all.
And one other comment: The lore of SU fans -- win or lose -- continues to grow. For three straight nights -- after a win, no game and a loss) -- a huge group of SU folks were evicted from the bar at the SU team hotel when the bar closed for the night. On Friday night, we were actually told the bar was closing because we were "making too much noise and disturbing people." Given that the bar was on the second floor ... and the nearest guest rooms were on the eighth floor ... I am not sure how that was possible. But that is what we were told. In the immortal words of a former lacrosse coach, "We are Syracuse. When we win, we celebrate; when we lose, we drink."
I've read a lot (but not all) of the posts here, and I really cannot offer much more about the Xs and Os and the actual games.
As many here (and in the media) have said, the officiating last night was just abysmal. I don't know whether the following was mentioned on TV... but it sort of sums up the night: Even though the stated reason for JB's technical foul was "leaving the coach's box," he was really tee'd up for vigorously protesting a call (and showing up the referees). Compared to many coaches who always wander far from the coaching box and never get tee'd for it (Calhoun and Williams come to mind), JB stays pretty close to it. I was sitting directly behind him in the stands, and there was nothing wrong with the language he used to protest the call. He did not use an expletive, and he did not direct derogatory language at the refs). They tee'd him up because they were thin-skinned and thought he was trying to make them look bad after they made a horrendous call. The T was a "We'll-show-you-who-the-boss-is" thing. If that ridiculous T had turned out to be the difference in the game, I think you would have seen a totally different JB post-game.
Boston is a great city for NCAA games. Most of the "attractions" are very walkable from the downtown hotels. And everywhere one walked or dined, she was engulfed in a sea of orange. Just an incredible showing by Orange Nation. Even driving towards home on I-90 this morning, we observed countless cars with SU stickers on them (most of them probably heading for Central New York).
To add a human, personal note: In most years, we fans fall in love with the SU team and many of its players. And then they graduate or otherwise move on, and there are always new players to embrace the following year. For me, Scoop and his father Tony and his grandmother Debra will always be very special. Scoop for his exuberant personality and equally exuberant play (for me there was never a "bad Scoop"); Tony for his loud, enthusiastic cheering and our many hugs; and Debra for her quiet dignity and her love for the grandson whom she helped raise. I will miss them all.
And one other comment: The lore of SU fans -- win or lose -- continues to grow. For three straight nights -- after a win, no game and a loss) -- a huge group of SU folks were evicted from the bar at the SU team hotel when the bar closed for the night. On Friday night, we were actually told the bar was closing because we were "making too much noise and disturbing people." Given that the bar was on the second floor ... and the nearest guest rooms were on the eighth floor ... I am not sure how that was possible. But that is what we were told. In the immortal words of a former lacrosse coach, "We are Syracuse. When we win, we celebrate; when we lose, we drink."
