Marty Byrnes

[Dick_in_MI]

The Zoo remains the most amazing and most intimidating fan section in the history of college athletics.

The students were funny and brutal.

I remember sitting behind the BC bench one game. I was so close I could hear what was being said in the huddle.

Whenever the coach, Bob Zuffelato, stood up the Zoo would crush him - "sit down!!!" He finally had to crawl to the sideline to communicate with his team on the floor. That is the honest to God truth.

I also remember that he spent an entire TO telling his team to calm down and ignore the Zoo. He spent no time on strategy.

The Zoo, combined with the "Shaft, It's Alright, What You See is What You Get Medley" and the Dennis Duval warm-up drill, made games at Manley as good as I have ever experienced.

SU Basketball has never been as much fun as it was back then.

Agree. The Zoo was just so great to be part of and yes, Sweet D’s warm up act was epic. In those days, SU basketball wasn’t the big deal that it is now so it was us against the world. Or as we saw it, anyway.

My personal favorite memory was on a night when we were playing Rutgers and a Scarlet Blight fan had unknowingly wandered into The Zoo and was standing in front of me. During warmups, he was standing and yelling insults at our players. Clearly this offended my delicate sensibilities so in response I placed a partially opened mustard pack on his seat and he was none to happy about when he sat down.

Lots of fun in Manley. The game vs St John’s where Mike Lee kicked the ball into the crowd, a ball boy calmly rolled another ball onto the court, and the refs looked the other way. Louie C was furious but in the same game, he occasionally scampered out onto the court and moved his defenders around while we were bringing the ball up and then ran off.

Then there was the game when SU was trying to civilize the students and Roy Danforth made a deal whereby, if the language were toned-down and we ever got a.. I want to say 50 pt lead…he would personally lead the students in a Lets Go Orange cheer. The next game was against Iona, we got our big lead, and Roy kept his word. He walked down past the confused Iona bench and led the cheer, The Iona coach…a young Jim Valvano… was furious and vowed never to play SU again.

 

[goofnoff]

The opener was against LeMoyne. Was your buddy Gene Grey? He was only LeMoyne player to make the all-tourney team. (I was at the game as a LeMoyne student but I don't remember home many points he scored.)

He still is my buddy. BTW: He stays in touch with a lot of the SU players from that era.

 

[orange79]

Then there was the game when SU was trying to civilize the students and Roy Danforth made a deal whereby, if the language were toned-down and we ever got a.. I want to say 50 pt lead…he would personally lead the students in a Lets Go Orange cheer. The next game was against Iona, we got our big lead, and Roy kept his word. He walked down past the confused Iona bench and led the cheer, The Iona coach…a young Jim Valvano… was furious and vowed never to play SU again.

Dick, and this is posted with all due respect, you may be confusing the opponent here along with the Valvano reference. The first time we ever played Iona was in 78-79 season (the SI Sucks!!! game where Iona with Jeff Ruland had been ranked higher than SU in SI's preseason rankings; we ended up beating them by 12 or 13 points). Danforth was in his third season at Tulane by then.
http://www.orangehoops.org/CompetitorResults/Iona.htm

 

[OrangePA]

Agree. The Zoo was just so great to be part of and yes, Sweet D’s warm up act was epic. In those days, SU basketball wasn’t the big deal that it is now so it was us against the world. Or as we saw it, anyway.

My personal favorite memory was on a night when we were playing Rutgers and a Scarlet Blight fan had unknowingly wandered into The Zoo and was standing in front of me. During warmups, he was standing and yelling insults at our players. Clearly this offended my delicate sensibilities so in response I placed a partially opened mustard pack on his seat and he was none to happy about when he sat down.

Lots of fun in Manley. The game vs St John’s where Mike Lee kicked the ball into the crowd, a ball boy calmly rolled another ball onto the court, and the refs looked the other way. Louie C was furious but in the same game, he occasionally scampered out onto the court and moved his defenders around while we were bringing the ball up and then ran off.

Then there was the game when SU was trying to civilize the students and Roy Danforth made a deal whereby, if the language were toned-down and we ever got a.. I want to say 50 pt lead…he would personally lead the students in a Lets Go Orange cheer. The next game was against Iona, we got our big lead, and Roy kept his word. He walked down past the confused Iona bench and led the cheer, The Iona coach…a young Jim Valvano… was furious and vowed never to play SU again.

I could have sworn that the Roy Danforth Zoo Cheer game was against Bucknell.

I was sitting adjacent to the Zoo when Danforth walked down the back sideline and up the baseline toward the Zoo. We had no idea what was about to happen.

He stopped in front of the Zoo and began a "Let's Go Orange!" cheer.

An amazing moment.

The Mike Lee kicking the ball into the crowd - St. Johns - game has to be the best game of that era. A huge crowd. St. Johns was heavily favored and the Orange really took it to 'em. Bob Dooms played the greatest game of his SU career.

So much fun.

 

[Dick_in_MI]

Dick, and this is posted with all due respect, you may be confusing the opponent here along with the Valvano reference. The first time we ever played Iona was in 78-79 season (the SI Sucks!!! game where Iona with Jeff Ruland had been ranked higher than SU in SI's preseason rankings; we ended up beating them by 12 or 13 points). Danforth was in his third season at Tulane by then.
Syracuse vs Iona
View attachment 216655

You are totally correct! As OrangePA points out, it was Bucknell. But it was Valvano. I mixed up his schools.

 

[pfister1]

They do, but they don't sit until both teams have scored a basket.

Seems they are trying a little too hard to be good hosts. Screw the opponent either stand until the home defense is score on. Or stand until the home offense scores, but don't do both.

 

[rrlbees]

The Zoo remains the most amazing and most intimidating fan section in the history of college athletics.

The students were funny and brutal.

I remember sitting behind the BC bench one game. I was so close I could hear what was being said in the huddle.

Whenever the coach, Bob Zuffelato, stood up the Zoo would crush him - "sit down!!!" He finally had to crawl to the sideline to communicate with his team on the floor. That is the honest to God truth.

I also remember that he spent an entire TO telling his team to calm down and ignore the Zoo. He spent no time on strategy.

The Zoo, combined with the "Shaft, It's Alright, What You See is What You Get Medley" and the Dennis Duval warm-up drill, made games at Manley as good as I have ever experienced.

SU Basketball has never been as much fun as it was back then.

Did you follow me around? I said I sat in the balcony when I was young, you said you did too. Now you’re sitting in Manley right behind the visitors bench. We did too when we got seasons. We were 2nd row right behind their bench. Al Brickman sat right in front of us.

 

[OrangePA]

Did you follow me around? I said I sat in the balcony when I was young, you said you did too. Now you’re sitting in Manley right behind the visitors bench. We did too when we got seasons. We were 2nd row right behind their bench. Al Brickman sat right in front of us.

Alan Brickman was a close friend. We shared Buffalo Bills season tix for years.

 

[UnderHisOwnPower]

Alan Brickman was a close friend. We shared Buffalo Bills season tix for years.

That’s a most unfortunate basketball name

 

[Roger N]

Me too.

Me too too

 

[GENESEO1983]

Nice Joel Mareiniss quote……..”up the invisible ladder”

How about the line, Hal Cohen with the Groucho Marx dribble……any old guys remember that or when Syracuse was shooting poorly, Joel would say, “there’s saran wrap on the hoop”……..

 

[longtimefan]

How about the line, Hal Cohen with the Groucho Marx dribble……any old guys remember that or when Syracuse was shooting poorly, Joel would say, “there’s saran wrap on the hoop”……..

"Dirty but good."

 

[GENESEO1983]

How about Joel calling a breakaway layup a “snowbird”

 

[sutomcat]

"Dirty but good."

Up the invisible ladder

CohenHeadd backcourt (the SNY Conehead skit was big around this time)

Bouie Boomerang

In for the snowbird (what Joel called an uncontested layup)

Ross the Boss

I bet somewhere there are some tapes of Joel doing play by play of SU football and basketball. Would love to hear them.

I might still have a cassette tape of a game I taped in that era. Pretty sure it was a game against West Virginia. Gale Catlett.

I will look for it. Doubt it would still play but it is worth a shot.

https://syracusenewtimes.com/joel-mareiniss-goes-up-the-invisible-ladder/

 

[SWC75]

I can still visualize that Carrier Classic. I probably had my best seats ever in Manley. Magic had a very good semi-final game but Marty outplayed him in the final and SU won. Magic got MVP. When does a player from the championship team not win MVP? Everyone was shocked, even Magic.

Of course, JB was very calm about it….

LOL he was not!

Orange Watch: Looking back at Syracuse basketball and the 1977 Carrier Classic - The Juice Online

The energy and emotion of fiercely defending his players was apparent early in Jim Boeheim's career.

sujuiceonline.com

That was the first time I realized that our coach was not always the smiling, easy-going guy he seemed like on TV interviews.

 

[SWC75]

Up the invisible ladder

CohenHeadd backcourt (the SNY Conehead skit was big around this time)

Bouie Boomerang

In for the snowbird (what Joel called an uncontested layup)

Ross the Boss

I bet somewhere there are some tapes of Joel doing play by play of SU football and basketball. Would love to hear them.

I might still have a cassette tape of a game I taped in that era. Pretty sure it was a game against West Virginia. Gale Catlett.

I will look for it. Doubt it would still play but it is worth a shot.

https://syracusenewtimes.com/joel-mareiniss-goes-up-the-invisible-ladder/

"The seat of the pants slide" (No, Duke didn't invent the flop.)

 

[UnderHisOwnPower]

Up the invisible ladder

CohenHeadd backcourt (the SNY Conehead skit was big around this time)

Bouie Boomerang

In for the snowbird (what Joel called an uncontested layup)

Ross the Boss

I bet somewhere there are some tapes of Joel doing play by play of SU football and basketball. Would love to hear them.

I might still have a cassette tape of a game I taped in that era. Pretty sure it was a game against West Virginia. Gale Catlett.

I will look for it. Doubt it would still play but it is worth a shot.

https://syracusenewtimes.com/joel-mareiniss-goes-up-the-invisible-ladder/

"The greatest player on the greatest team is yet to be born."

 

[Col. Bleep]

Mentioned before...but the best Joel call I ever heard:
There was a scramble for a loose ball.
Joel (off the top of his head) "Off the noggin of Headd and out of bounds."

 

[Cheriehoop]

I used to love when Joel would get so excited and lose track saying “he’s down to the 47-48-49-50-51 yard line, finally out at the 52. (Football of course)

 

[Dick_in_MI]

I could be wrong, but I think Joel started the “invisible ladder” thing about the late Vaughan Harper:

“The kangaroo kid up the invisible ladder!”

 

[longtimefan]

I could be wrong, but I think Joel started the “invisible ladder” thing about the late Vaughan Harper:

“The kangaroo kid up the invisible ladder!”

Yes, and Harper also had a Globetrotter-like routine in warm-ups, similar to the Sweet D gig that many here
rave about. Can I get some Jackie Wilson?!

 

[sutomcat]

"The seat of the pants slide" (No, Duke didn't invent the flop.)

Trolley line jumper.

I think that was his too.

 

[longtimefan]

Trolley line jumper.

I think that was his too.

A Kid Kohls specialty.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Yep, yet another “tradition” that we stole from another school.

The only one that I can think of that I’m pretty sure we originated…I think it evolved when I was a student…was the “who’s he?” cheer. Of course, over time the University pushed back on it because it wasn’t exactly conducive to a family-friendly atmosphere. It was Class AAA high-culture for we adolescents in the Manley Zoo however. I still miss it.

There was a funny thing… I wouldn’t exactly call it a “tradition” but in the Zoo we would generally pick a random opposing bench player during warmups and cheer loudly for him everytime his shot went in. The opponents always warmed up at the Zoo end of the court in Manley. The one consistent element was that player was generally short and cocky-acting. Having selected and groomed our target, the Zoo would call continuously for that player to be inserted once the game got underway. When the coach put him in, the Zoo went nuts and cheered like crazy, all the while urging him to shoot every time he touched the ball. Of course, by now the kid was very aware of all the attention, was very nervous, and would generally miss every shot he took. In delight, the Zoo would laugh raucously and shout all sorts of derisive things at him. One night, an opposing player who was the recipient of such Zoo sportsmanship actually ran up into the stands and started swinging at random Zoo denizens. I was probably about ten rows up so he never got up to me but it was SU basketball entertainment at its finest.

Good times, good times.

During the Duke game this year, there was a small group of students at the very front of Otto's Army who had, at the very least, the "Who's He?" sign. Don't know if they had the other four signs. Did not see them.

They held it up during the Duke intros but it did not go anywhere. I could see them yelling it but virtually nobody else was. Doubt most of the students had any idea what it meant. Most probably could not even see it.

No idea if they tried it at other games as Duke was our only foray to the Dome this year for hoops.

 

[Orangezoo]

Yep, yet another “tradition” that we stole from another school.

The only one that I can think of that I’m pretty sure we originated…I think it evolved when I was a student…was the “who’s he?” cheer. Of course, over time the University pushed back on it because it wasn’t exactly conducive to a family-friendly atmosphere. It was Class AAA high-culture for we adolescents in the Manley Zoo however. I still miss it.

There was a funny thing… I wouldn’t exactly call it a “tradition” but in the Zoo we would generally pick a random opposing bench player during warmups and cheer loudly for him everytime his shot went in. The opponents always warmed up at the Zoo end of the court in Manley. The one consistent element was that player was generally short and cocky-acting. Having selected and groomed our target, the Zoo would call continuously for that player to be inserted once the game got underway. When the coach put him in, the Zoo went nuts and cheered like crazy, all the while urging him to shoot every time he touched the ball. Of course, by now the kid was very aware of all the attention, was very nervous, and would generally miss every shot he took. In delight, the Zoo would laugh raucously and shout all sorts of derisive things at him. One night, an opposing player who was the recipient of such Zoo sportsmanship actually ran up into the stands and started swinging at random Zoo denizens. I was probably about ten rows up so he never got up to me but it was SU basketball entertainment at its finest.

Good times, good times.

Reminds me of going to the Syracuse skychiefs where they would pick an opposing player to strikeout a few times for us to get free tacos. Opponents had a lot more fun with it than your example but I'll never forget Brandon Phillips having a blast with us over the whole thing once he learned why we kept yelling tacos at him. Other guys weren't as fun about it and just awkwardly tried ignoring it.