I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them.

[CuseCPT]

It would've been more appropriate had Andy Bernard gone to Colgate instead of Cornell, but the quote fits perfectly.

I'll be blunt. Syracuse is a has-been athletic program in football and basketball. I started really understanding sports in 1986 and graduated from SU in 2001. Local boy. I thought that was baseline for SU sports. Looking back, SU peaked in 1995-1996. Runner up in hoops, young McNabb beats Clemson 41-0 in a legit bowl game, and men's lacrosse was in the middle of one of the most dominant runs in any college sport. I thought it was the norm, it was really just a golden age.

I guess it made me an entitled fan. I look at the names on the jerseys and I expect SU to thrash BC in football, and for our walk-ons to be able to beat Colgate in basketball. I don't blame the kids at all. They are doing their best, but they just aren't the level of athletes we used to get. Can you imagine our best player from a basketball team in that era and transferring to another team and not starting?!?! The reality is that is our current level of talent. It is what it is. By the eye test, SU and Colgate looked evenly matched. It looked like a hard-fought matchup between conference peers.

I have some hope that football might be headed in the right direction. For hoops, instead of Andy Bernard, I'll quote Dalton from Road House, "It'll get worse before it gets better."

 

[Cuse1055]

The crazy thing is we have not one, but two McDonald’s All Americans on this roster with probably one or two on the way next year.

 

[two3zone]

The quote has been ringing true in a lot of aspects in life lately. Didn't sign up for getting older.

 

[Newhouser]

The crazy thing is we have not one, but two McDonald’s All Americans on this roster with probably one or two on the way next year.

Think that proves that Mickey D choices aren't always the best guys.

 

[teamco]

If Syracuse basketball was the stock market you'd have to say we are about ten years into a secular bear market . . . kinda getting that 1930s Great Depression vibe!

 

[Orangezoo]

It’s so much more than SU now. The joy and fun is not there across the entire landscape now. These games have entertainment value but they simply don’t have the same meaning and intensity anymore. That is no excuse for the current team but just a reality of college bball today and college sports overall.

 

[Sherman20]

The crazy thing is we have not one, but two McDonald’s All Americans on this roster with probably one or two on the way next year.

Starling needs to step it up. He’s starting slow on offense just like he did last season. Hopefully he turns it around asap…. As for his defense, omg, what did he do all offseason?!?! I am mystified. He’s speedy and he’s a good athlete. But for some reason on D, he struggles to shuffle his feet! And It never feels like he’s down in an actual defensive stance. It looks like he’s just standing. Does he just have slow instincts? He needs to work a lot harder and be way more focused on defense, that’s for sure.

 

[two3zone]

It’s so much more than SU now. The joy and fun is not there across the entire landscape now. These games have entertainment value but they simply don’t have the same meaning and intensity anymore. That is no excuse for the current team but just a reality of college bball today and college sports overall.

It's a more organized, better marketed and better produced AAU.

You don't even have the larger than life coaches anymore.

 

[syrBossHogg]

There were fans sulking here even during the 08-14 run