one thing i heard quite a bit today is that

[dasher]

Syracuse is a family. And it is. Whether you graduated from syracuse as I did. Whether your kid graduated from syracuse, as my parents kid did making them big Syracuse fans. Whether you live locally and syracuse is your team. Or whether you just adopted Syracuse as your team because you like jb or the school. It doesn't matter. We are all family. And this board is family to. We argue. We debate. But at the end of the day, we all love syracuse. Earlier this year I was out to a Texas roadhouse in Spfd Mass. And this guy and girl come in to the restaurant. Both in their late 20's. The woman is cute and she is wearing a Syracuse hat. So I said, hey nice hat. Why are you wearing it? She says, we just got back from the game. I said what game? She said Ga. tech. First I told her that they made great time. Second, Why did you go to the game? She points to her boyfriend and says he loves Syracuse. He has a Syracuse shirt on. So we talk Syracuse hoops for 5 minutes. He goes up to Syracuse 3 times a year to see games. Family. That is what JB has built here in 40 years. I'm 60 years old and the same guy coaching the sidelines was there when I was there. And today, we lost a special member of our family. It is a sad day for us. But we should also remember that we have a shared place to go to express our love of all things Syracuse.

 

[PauliePeppas]

Amen, well said brother

 

[orange44]

Syracuse is a family. And it is. Whether you graduated from syracuse as I did. Whether your kid graduated from syracuse, as my parents kid did making them big Syracuse fans. Whether you live locally and syracuse is your team. Or whether you just adopted Syracuse as your team because you look jb or the school. It doesn't matter. We are all family. And this board is family to. We argue. We debate. But at the end of the day, we all love syracuse. earlier this year I was out to it at a Texas roadhouse in Spfd Mass. And this guy and girl come in to the restaurant. Both in their late 20's. The woman is cute and she is wearing a Syracuse hat. So I said, hey nice hat. Why are you wearing it? She says, we just got back from the game. I said what game? She said Ga. tech. First I told her that they made great time. Second, Why did you go to the game? She points to her boyfriend and says he loves Syracuse. He has a Syracuse shirt on. So we talk Syracuse hoops for 5 minutes. He goes up to Syracuse 3 times a year to see games. Family. that is what JB has built here in 40 years. I'm 60 years old and the same guy coaching the sidelines was there when I was there. And today, we lost a special member of our family. It is a sad day for us. but we should also remember that we have a shared place to go to express our love of all things Syracuse.

Outstanding and I totally agree!!

 

[Jake]

Dash, I'm sure you know this, but the what the SU basketball family has done to help Pearl and other former players is unbelievable.

 

[MadisonCuse]

Syracuse is a family. And it is. Whether you graduated from syracuse as I did. Whether your kid graduated from syracuse, as my parents kid did making them big Syracuse fans. Whether you live locally and syracuse is your team. Or whether you just adopted Syracuse as your team because you like jb or the school. It doesn't matter. We are all family. And this board is family to. We argue. We debate. But at the end of the day, we all love syracuse. earlier this year I was out to it at a Texas roadhouse in Spfd Mass. And this guy and girl come in to the restaurant. Both in their late 20's. The woman is cute and she is wearing a Syracuse hat. So I said, hey nice hat. Why are you wearing it? She says, we just got back from the game. I said what game? She said Ga. tech. First I told her that they made great time. Second, Why did you go to the game? She points to her boyfriend and says he loves Syracuse. He has a Syracuse shirt on. So we talk Syracuse hoops for 5 minutes. He goes up to Syracuse 3 times a year to see games. Family. that is what JB has built here in 40 years. I'm 60 years old and the same guy coaching the sidelines was there when I was there. And today, we lost a special member of our family. It is a sad day for us. but we should also remember that we have a shared place to go to express our love of all things Syracuse.

Good I will use that as the excuse as to why I teared up today.

 

[NECuse]

Syracuse is a family. And it is. Whether you graduated from syracuse as I did. Whether your kid graduated from syracuse, as my parents kid did making them big Syracuse fans. Whether you live locally and syracuse is your team. Or whether you just adopted Syracuse as your team because you like jb or the school. It doesn't matter. We are all family. And this board is family to. We argue. We debate. But at the end of the day, we all love syracuse. earlier this year I was out to it at a Texas roadhouse in Spfd Mass. And this guy and girl come in to the restaurant. Both in their late 20's. The woman is cute and she is wearing a Syracuse hat. So I said, hey nice hat. Why are you wearing it? She says, we just got back from the game. I said what game? She said Ga. tech. First I told her that they made great time. Second, Why did you go to the game? She points to her boyfriend and says he loves Syracuse. He has a Syracuse shirt on. So we talk Syracuse hoops for 5 minutes. He goes up to Syracuse 3 times a year to see games. Family. that is what JB has built here in 40 years. I'm 60 years old and the same guy coaching the sidelines was there when I was there. And today, we lost a special member of our family. It is a sad day for us. but we should also remember that we have a shared place to go to express our love of all things Syracuse.

Exceptionally well said. It's funny. I am from syracuse (went to one of the old 4 city schools) and spent my formative years enjoying all that the are and the Hill had to offer. Went off, got a law degree, and now work with a bunch of guys that all attnended big time D-I schools (Duke, MD, UCLA, etc.). To a man, they cannot understand why I care as much as I do about the school. In their minds, if you don't have the degree from the place, it doesn't count. Maybe in LA or College Park or Durham. But, Cuse is an entirely different animal. I am generations deep from syracuse. The hoops (and sometimes, football) teams are communal. They bind the region together. And everyone that attends the university becomes part of the fabric of the area. Always welcome. Always Syracuse.

Pearl was so much a part of that. The fact that he came back after is pro career and became a spokesperson for the local parks and recs administration is a testament to how much the region took him him and how much he took in the region. When I hear stories about this "local boy" ... because that is dam* well what he was at the end ... it makes me appreciate the love we have for one another and for the family.

God Bless you, Pearl.

 

[Briancuse]

Amen to that, I didn't go to Su, but I love Su just like I was an alum.

 

[RF2044]

Great post, Dash. One thing I'll add is that for all of the negative perception about Boeheim out there, all you need for evidence about what you say about the program being family is to look at the tremendous support we get from former players, who go out of their way to travel and attend games -- not just in the Dome, but at tournaments and road games, as well.

Those guys love Boeheim, and they love the program. And they love each other. It is a bond that transcends era and teammates, largely because of the guy that we have at the helm who's spanned four decades and provided that continuity in the tie that binds them all together. If Boeheim was the pri<k he's made out to be in the media, those players would be disgruntled or they wouldn't like coming back. Conversely, they love coming back because they loved their experience and they know that Boeheim's tough love always had their best interests at heart.

It really is special, and not at all common.

Our former players are great. So are our fans.

 

[Shark58]

my family is multi generation CNY

my grandfather use to write and get responses from Bow Heem (as he called him) for years

while most of my generation has bucked the livin in the 315 (and 607/716) trend, my kid loves the Cuse and can't get enough of it

the bonds I've made and the times I've had through family love, attending Cuse and meeting up with other random fans in truly interesting ways and much more is more "amazing" than anything K ever conceived

 

[Cuseregular]

Syracuse vs. Everybody

GREAT post Dash.

 

[suttree]

Exceptionally well said. It's funny. I am from syracuse (went to one of the old 4 city schools) and spent my formative years enjoying all that the are and the Hill had to offer. Went off, got a law degree, and now work with a bunch of guys that all attnended big time D-I schools (Duke, MD, UCLA, etc.). To a man, they cannot understand why I care as much as I do about the school. In their minds, if you don't have the degree from the place, it doesn't count. Maybe in LA or College Park or Durham. But, Cuse is an entirely different animal. I am generations deep from syracuse. The hoops (and sometimes, football) teams are communal. They bind the region together. And everyone that attends the university becomes part of the fabric of the area. Always welcome. Always Syracuse.

Pearl was so much a part of that. The fact that he came back after is pro career and became a spokesperson for the local parks and recs administration is a testament to how much the region took him him and how much he took in the region. When I hear stories about this "local boy" ... because that is dam* well what he was at the end ... it makes me appreciate the love we have for one another and for the family.

God Bless you, Pearl.

Excellent work. This pretty much mirrors my experience. I have people challenge me all the time as to why I root for Syracuse like a madman when I, a mere townie, never attended a day there. I don't always convince them as to why it's in my blood, but I don't much care.

Dash, phenomenal job on the OP. Hats off.

 

[bevosu]

I've lived in Syracuse since I was a senior in high school (a number of decades ago). I was lucky enough to get a scholarship to SU. Over the years I've known many locals who never went to SU, many never went to college, and they are as diehard SU basketball fans as any alum or student.

The family extends all across the nation...and across national borders. Pearl had a lot to do with that

We have the best college basketball fans in the country.

 

[JoeySimz]

Exceptionally well said. It's funny. I am from syracuse (went to one of the old 4 city schools) and spent my formative years enjoying all that the are and the Hill had to offer. Went off, got a law degree, and now work with a bunch of guys that all attnended big time D-I schools (Duke, MD, UCLA, etc.). To a man, they cannot understand why I care as much as I do about the school. In their minds, if you don't have the degree from the place, it doesn't count. Maybe in LA or College Park or Durham. But, Cuse is an entirely different animal. I am generations deep from syracuse. The hoops (and sometimes, football) teams are communal. They bind the region together. And everyone that attends the university becomes part of the fabric of the area. Always welcome. Always Syracuse.

Pearl was so much a part of that. The fact that he came back after is pro career and became a spokesperson for the local parks and recs administration is a testament to how much the region took him him and how much he took in the region. When I hear stories about this "local boy" ... because that is dam* well what he was at the end ... it makes me appreciate the love we have for one another and for the family.

God Bless you, Pearl.

Yeh baby, same here. When guys out here talk about the warriors, i rep the 'Cuse. I get more amped up for a regular season Syracuse game than they do for an nba playoff game. But today was cool, bc I could tell them about how pearl was a basketball legend before he was even on tv. Before youtube and instagram. I could tell them about how the Pearl crossover came before Tim Hardaway, about how Pearl captivated an entire region maybe more than even steph curry does now. I showed them the half court shot and how Pearl ran straight to the locker room and they couldn't believe how loud and crazy the crowd was.

Syracuse basketball is a culture beyond just a university, city, region, or a single player or coach. You said it better than I. And it's been like that as long as I can remember.

I bleed orange. It's more than a color. It's my family.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

Word.

 

[Dave85]

Syracuse is a family. And it is. Whether you graduated from syracuse as I did. Whether your kid graduated from syracuse, as my parents kid did making them big Syracuse fans. Whether you live locally and syracuse is your team. Or whether you just adopted Syracuse as your team because you like jb or the school. It doesn't matter. We are all family. And this board is family to. We argue. We debate. But at the end of the day, we all love syracuse. Earlier this year I was out to a Texas roadhouse in Spfd Mass. And this guy and girl come in to the restaurant. Both in their late 20's. The woman is cute and she is wearing a Syracuse hat. So I said, hey nice hat. Why are you wearing it? She says, we just got back from the game. I said what game? She said Ga. tech. First I told her that they made great time. Second, Why did you go to the game? She points to her boyfriend and says he loves Syracuse. He has a Syracuse shirt on. So we talk Syracuse hoops for 5 minutes. He goes up to Syracuse 3 times a year to see games. Family. That is what JB has built here in 40 years. I'm 60 years old and the same guy coaching the sidelines was there when I was there. And today, we lost a special member of our family. It is a sad day for us. But we should also remember that we have a shared place to go to express our love of all things Syracuse.

I had no idea when I came to Syracuse I would be joining a basketball cult!

 

[Dave85]

I heard one of my Rutgers alum friend say one time in trying to get me to understand why Rutgers CBB has not been that successful, "You have a hall of fame coach and your fans treat your players like Gods!" The comment about the fans has always stuck with me.

 

[Jeremy L.]

I was working a Charlotte Knights game last week and met a man in a Syracuse shirt. No matter where I go in the city, I ALWAYS go out of my way to ask them if they are from Syracuse or not. Happy that I support the best fan base in the country.

 

[br801]

Beautiful sentiments, dasher.

 

[storange]

Great Post. Orange Football and Basketball are a huge part of my life. .....and will be till I die.

 

[JOC44]

I live in Alexandria, Virginia and my license plate is 44CUSE. I was at a strip mall picking up some food and as I was circling through the lot to leave, I see this reasonably large guy about 30 years old running through parked cars after me. I'm thinking either something's wrong with my car or he thinks I nicked his car or something so I stopped and rolled down my window. He said, "I see your license plate, 44CUSE. Floyd Little is my father-in-law." I ought that was pretty cool.

 

[FrancoPizza]

Amen to that, I didn't go to SU, but I love SU just like I was an alum.

The notion that an alum is somehow more of a fan - by default - is absolutely ludicrous - and anyone that continues that refrain should be hung by their testicles. In fact one has no bearing on the other. Town folk, at least in CNY, may not have attended SU, but they often see the school as the face of their hometown and the region. And that I think can instill a far deeper sense of pride and attachment than some Joe Schmoe from Long Island who gets his degree on The Hill and bolts for "greener" pastures. Maybe it's because we're a one-horse sort of town, maybe it's our winters, I don't know. But it doesn't matter.

I was groomed to be an SU fan because my family and extended family were all SU fans... which brings me to the final advantage of being born and raised into a townie family -- there's nothing more communal or bonding for boys and men than sharing a mutual passion for their favorite sports team. Its influence predates the college years, it starts when we're old enough to hold a pee-wee basketball, it continues long after we leave college, and it only ripens as the years pass by. For those who became SU fans because they attended the school, that's great, but the cumulative life experiences cannot compare.