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Message: [QUOTE="Flacusian, post: 1388322, member: 264"] Placing all the blame on the NCAA is disingenuous at best. At some point you have to lay the blame at the feet of those who are the stewards of the program. What we are now seeing is the effects of years of laying eggs which now have suddenly hatched. All of the twisted and convoluted rationale about each of the events which collectively have cast a very negative pall over the Syracuse Basketball program need to be seen for what they are. Some here have been quick to say that similar things occur at other schools and somehow Syracuse has been singled out. The facts are this: The actions of the program and those in charge of it have resulted in the situation we find ourselves in. As strong as the program has been it's ridiculous to think that a litany of negative press over an extended period of time won't have some type of resultant negative impact. We've been in the cross hairs of the negative publicity gun for a long time. The Bernie Fine mess, the drug testing mess, the Fab Melo debacle, the rumors of assaults against coeds by players, the eligibility problems with Southerland. Jimmy B. being called out as tone deaf with respect to the allegations made against Bernie Fine and his outbursts to the press. Hey, I'm not saying that there haven't been mitigating circumstances with many of these things and certainly we have been cast as being guilty when we haven't been. But the bottom line is this stuff has been going on. A lawyer asks a defendant in court, "So how long have you been beating your wife?" Even if the defendant has never done so it still puts that idea in the heads of the jurors. The jurors for the program are these young kids who are looking for the best route to the NBA. All things considered it's naive to think that they don't take all of the turmoil that has surrounded our program into consideration. You can't blame them if they choose to avoid a program which is going to be under the pall of punishment from the NCAA for the next couple years and also a program which is in the midst of a huge transitional and redefining period. Most importantly, the program has a rich tradition and will be able to endure and perhaps thrive in spite of the current challenges to the program. We will emerge from the transition as a better and stronger program. Of that I have no doubt. It's really a shame that this is all going down like this and sadly I think things are going to be very difficult with respect to attracting top talent here in the years while the sanctions are in place. And so it is. I've been a Syracuse fan for 40 years. I don't like what's going on but I will stick by the program as we endure through the sanctions over the next several years. That's what fans do, they stick by their program no matter what but at the same time they can be honest in accessing what the problems are with their program without looking to place blame anywhere other then where it belongs. In the mean time the kids we do have that are carrying the program forward over these next several years deserve the unquestioning support of the fanbase. As fans we can just sit back and take it all in but the kids in the program are asked to give a lot. I continue to feel for Rak and all that he gave to the program only to have his Sr. year marred by being banned from post season play which he so richly deserved. If he and others in the program can keep their chins up and soldier on through the tough times... certainly we as fans can do that... on here too. [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?