Syracuse is New York (State’s) team. I know that slogan caught some flak but it’s true, in my experience. My point being, any NY state resident should basically count as local to Syracuse, even the ones near borders that might be closer to other schools of consequence. NYC is its own beast, so maybe that’s excluded.
I mean, after you remove the dorks who became fans of front runners like the Duke’s and Alabama’s of the world, what other team is a NY kid gonna pick? Army?… Cornell? Maybe their parents’ school?
I grew up near Sylvan Beach, NY. Syracuse is ‘local’ in my book and I’d consider it local even if I grew up in a log cabin with no internet in the Adirondacks. It was the only show in town and its central location, with easy access from practically anywhere in the state, along with affordable prices relative to professional teams, and TV distribution made/makes it the only show in town for a lot of NY.
I’m a fan because cheering for any other school just wouldn’t have made any sense.