Nice article from Daily Orange on "An oral history of the six overtime game"

[cliftonparksufan]

Five years ago. In some ways it seems like it was yesterday but in others it seems like a long time ago. I think this one really cemented the rivalry with Yukon. Fortunately the good guys won.

http://dailyorange.com/2014/03/an-oral-history-of-the-six-overtime-game/

 

[Marsh01]

great article

 

[Col. Bleep]

Some great material...but I think it really could have been better with some editing.
Way too many lame quotes that say nothing...especially early in the piece.

A game that will live forever.
Still in my DVR...although I had to restart the recording about 5 times after it ran out.

 

[OttoMets]

Some great material...but I think it really could have been better with some editing.
Way too many lame quotes that say nothing...especially early in the piece.

A game that will live forever.
Still in my DVR...although I had to restart the recording about 5 times after it ran out.

Yeah, great piece, thanks for the initial posting.

But that first sentence of the article would make a million English professors weep. That line may in fact have been borrowed from a Sportscenter talking head.

 

[CuseFanInFl]

Just bought this game on DVD Me and the wife watched just the OT's last week.

 

[syr6987]

Www.sixovertimes.com

 

[Fly Rodder]

I loved that game ... I was in Hawaii for work (awful I know) and there were three of us from Syracuse at the pool bar. We were staying at the JW Marriott and the place was DEAD. We were the only ones at the pool/bar. Just before tip-off, another guy and his wife showed up and it turned out they were from Oneida and were there to watch the game. So it was the five of us and one bartender. Towards the end of regulation, the bar was going to close (7pm there, I think, because of the time difference), but the bartender said he would stay open for us and because he wanted to see how the game turned out.

Then 1OT, 2OTs, 3OTs, 4OTs, 5OTs, and then 6OTs we were stunned ... the game just didn't end and we were all hooting and hollering, slapping high fives.

By the end of the game, the bartender was giving us free booze and I like to think we turned some unsuspecting Hawaiian dude into a Syracuse fan for life that night.

 

[HakAttack]

I loved that game ... I was in Hawaii for work (awful I know) and there were three of us from Syracuse at the pool bar. We were staying at the JW Marriott and the place was DEAD. We were the only ones at the pool/bar. Just before tip-off, another guy and his wife showed up and it turned out they were from Oneida and were there to watch the game. So it was the five of us and one bartender. Towards the end of regulation, the bar was going to close (7pm there, I think, because of the time difference), but the bartender said he would stay open for us and because he wanted to see how the game turned out.

Then 1OT, 2OTs, 3OTs, 4OTs, 5OTs, and then 6OTs we were stunned ... the game just didn't end and we were all hooting and hollering, slapping high fives.

By the end of the game, the bartender was giving us free booze and I like to think we turned some unsuspecting Hawaiian dude into a Syracuse fan for life that night.

Alright Fly Rodder...admit it. You're Bob Costas, aren't you?

 

[runningorange]

I went to a small Division 3 college in PA and was a senior in college at the time of this game. Me and a fellow fraternity brother were both from Western NY and were really big SU fans and watched all of the games together. We settled in to watch the game in the "hangout" room, just the two of us. One of my friends joined us when the second half started. A few more came in by the 10 minute mark. By the end of the game there were 10-15 of us watching into the wee hours of the morning. None of them (besides the 2 of us) had any prior interest in Syracuse basketball. By the end of the night, (which involved much yelling, pacing, laying on the floor, etc... on my part) a few of them had become Syracuse "fans" or at least Syracuse sympathizers. A very memorable win.

I feel like this win helped wash away the prior 2 down years. I felt like we hadn't been able to win a big game in Big East play in 2-3 years. After that win it feels like we haven't stopped winning big games.

 

[Halo]

"Fresh as a daisy"

 

[CorduroyG]

i got a call from my co-op board the next day..."your neighbors are scared of you. they heard you screaming at 1am. you need to be quiet at that hour"

 

[Frozen]

Yeah, great piece, thanks for the initial posting.

But that first sentence of the article would make a million English professors weep. That line may in fact have been borrowed from a Sportscenter talking head.

Original D.O. copy:
From the moment the draw for the 2009 Big East tournament put Syracuse and Connecticut on a crash course for the quarterfinal round, the game had the makings of an instant classic.

My edit:
The draw for the 2009 Big East tournament put Syracuse and Connecticut on a crash course for the quarterfinal round. The game had the makings of an instant classic.

 

[Knicks411]

Fun article. Crazy t hat it was 5 years ago.

 

[RF2044]

Simply put, that was an AWESOME article.

Well done, DO!

 

[OttoMets]

Original D.O. copy:
From the moment the draw for the 2009 Big East tournament put Syracuse and Connecticut on a crash course for the quarterfinal round, the game had the makings of an instant classic.

My edit:
The draw for the 2009 Big East tournament put Syracuse and Connecticut on a crash course for the quarterfinal round. The game had the makings of an instant classic.

Much better. Frozen, I think you've found your calling.

 

[joct]

It was draining on us fans in attendance too...since it was the last game, they cut beer sales at halftime, which was around 10:30, so we were there another 2 1/2 - 3 hours without beer!

 

[rrlbees]

That article brings back great memories.

 

[cto]

Great job by the DO reporter tracking down so many participants and telling the story through their words.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Great article.

Hey question about this: It has always been a curiosity to me that after this game, the team did not have any kind of food service provided. I've read things before, and this confirmed it, that the players were left to their own devices to find dinner after the game. For a program the caliber of Syracuse that is totally mind blowing to me. Not just in terms of feeding the players, but making sure they eat, that they have good food, etc. According to everything I've seen they were just turned loose into the NYC night at 2am to find whatever food wherever they could.

1. Is there really no food provided to the players on the road? I don't care if hotel catering is closed at that hour, feeding the team is a team issue in my mind - not to be solved by individual players finding a McDonald's.
2. Are the players really allowed to just roam manhattan at 2am?

I mean egads no chance of anything going wrong with this plan!!

 

[Frozen]

2. Are the players really allowed to just roam manhattan at 2am?

The original plan was to let the players take the subway to Coney Island and bring back some Nathan's.

 

[OttoMets]

Great article.

Hey question about this: It has always been a curiosity to me that after this game, the team did not have any kind of food service provided. I've read things before, and this confirmed it, that the players were left to their own devices to find dinner after the game. For a program the caliber of Syracuse that is totally mind blowing to me. Not just in terms of feeding the players, but making sure they eat, that they have good food, etc. According to everything I've seen they were just turned loose into the NYC night at 2am to find whatever food wherever they could.

1. Is there really no food provided to the players on the road? I don't care if hotel catering is closed at that hour, feeding the team is a team issue in my mind - not to be solved by individual players finding a McDonald's.
2. Are the players really allowed to just roam manhattan at 2am?

I mean egads no chance of anything going wrong with this plan!!

Depends on the specific situation, whether they're traveling or not. If they're catching a plane, they're more likely to eat together. If they're staying put, they'll get their per diem and be left to their own devices. Pretty common for college teams; after doing their job, they can go off as individuals and relax.

Pregame is a different story.

 

[CuseTroop]

I was overseas with no access to a TV for this game. A few days later I was able to check my email. I was dating a girl who knew nothing about sports, and she had an insanely long email describing the game to me. I was proud of her, and instantly bummed out that I had missed the game.

A couple years later, BillJay mailed me a DVD of the game, and I was able to watch it straight through.

Heck of a game

 

[cto]

Great article.

Hey question about this: It has always been a curiosity to me that after this game, the team did not have any kind of food service provided. I've read things before, and this confirmed it, that the players were left to their own devices to find dinner after the game. For a program the caliber of Syracuse that is totally mind blowing to me. Not just in terms of feeding the players, but making sure they eat, that they have good food, etc. According to everything I've seen they were just turned loose into the NYC night at 2am to find whatever food wherever they could.

1. Is there really no food provided to the players on the road? I don't care if hotel catering is closed at that hour, feeding the team is a team issue in my mind - not to be solved by individual players finding a McDonald's.
2. Are the players really allowed to just roam manhattan at 2am?

I mean egads no chance of anything going wrong with this plan!!

There is generally a team meal for the players after an away game ...either back at the hotel or on the plane ride home.

However, this night was a combo of crazy circumstances.

1) A buffet had been planned at the hotel. However, by the time the team got back to the hotel (close to 2:30 am) , the entire dining operation in the hotel had been shut down -- even the bar.

2) Since it was Manhattan (the city that never sleeps), and the players and the coaches were familiar with the hotel neighborhood (each of them having spent at least two days there), the easiest thing to do was to let everyone walk to an open neighborhood place.

3) Excuse me for repeating a story I've told before, but it sort of fits here. After we got off the bus at the hotel, Jim Boeheim was as hungry as any of the players because he, like the players, had last eaten at 5 p.m. So he said "let's get something to eat." Jim, Juli, Jim's sister Barbara and I walk down the street until we reach an open deli. As soon as we entered it, a bunch of guys across the room recognized Jim... and all began to shout: "Congratulations, coach. Great game, coach." As Jim was thanking them, we noticed they were wearing UConn jackets. They were all UConn fans who had attended the game. And even though their team had lost, they appreciated what a great game they had just seen.

4) I am sorry that story was not included in the DO article... because it is a nice summary to what we had all just witnessed

 

[NKR1978]

These "where were you" threads pop up every so often and they always suck me in. Absolutely love them.

6OT was the first BET game I attended in person. Pregamed all through the Pitt/WVU game and arrived at MSG well lubricated while we were warming up. Had this raging hangover/headache right around when OT started that didn't go away through the rest of the game and pretty much lasted all day Friday.

Was obviously the greatest sporting event I've ever had the luck to attend.

 

[jekelish]

What a terrific read.

I don't know why, but my favorite part is when Justin Thomas mentions that the next day, after Louisville was leaving the court, Rick Pitino stopped, called him by name, and said "That was a big rebound. Way to block out and be ready to play."

I can't imagine what that completely unexpected compliment from one of the most famous coaches of all-time must have meant to a walk-on who had been very unexpectedly pressed into action.