SU vs GU History

[Townie72]

There are younger fans on here, who understandably don’t know much about the GU vs. SU history. They think, based on their experiences, that UConn was the bigger rival.

These younger fans need a history lesson to understand just why we older fans get so worked up. This wasn’t like any basketball series they have seen. This was SU confronting pure evil.

In the 1984 Big East Tournament

A standing Michael Graham punched SU’s Andre Hawkins, WHO WAS LYING ON HIS BACK ON THE FLOOR defenseless. Graham was only given an intentional foul instead of an ejection.

After Georgetown pulled away in OT to win, a fuming Boeheim took the podium and said, "Michael Graham punched my player in front of 19,000 people, and the ref, Jody Sylvester, didn’t have the guts to call it! The best team didn't win tonight," before tossing a chair as he walked off.

1985 Big East Tourney

The next year in the Big East Tourney Syracuse and Georgetown met again. Patrick Ewing and Pearl Washington were running down court when Ewing caught Pearl with an elbow to the ribs. Pearl returned the favor shortly later with an elbow to the gut. An enraged Ewing responded with a haymaker that barely missed Washington. "Dwayne was just lucky that he ducked,’’ Syracuse’s Howard Triche said. "I don’t know if he saw it coming or it was just instinct, but he’s lucky he ducked out of the way or he’d have no head.’’

1985 Big East Tourney – Another Description

The Georgetown-Syracuse game was only six minutes old when 6-2 Dwayne (Pearl) Washington of Syracuse landed a punch to Ewing's midsection after a scramble for a rebound under the Georgetown basket.

The 7-0 Ewing held his stomach and staggered backward after the punch. He then swung wildly with his right hand as the benches emptied and the two players were restrained.

Ewing was removed from the game for 53 seconds by Georgetown Coach John Thompson. Three minutes later, Ewing and Washington jostled each other again. Ewing pointed a finger in the face of the Syracuse guard and warned, "Get off me."

While Ewing later dismissed the brief explosion with Washington, the Syracuse player said: "He shoved me, and I hit him in the ribs. It was just reaction."

Washington claimed that Ewing hit him twice during the incident, although Ewing appeared to miss him once before he fell to the floor.

 

[CaptainJ]

There are younger fans on here, who understandably don’t know much about the GU vs. SU history. They think, based on their experiences, that UConn was the bigger rival.

These younger fans need a history lesson to understand just why we older fans get so worked up. This wasn’t like any basketball series they have seen. This was SU confronting pure evil.

In the 1984 Big East Tournament

A standing Michael Graham punched SU’s Andre Hawkins, WHO WAS LYING ON HIS BACK ON THE FLOOR defenseless. Graham was only given an intentional foul instead of an ejection.

After Georgetown pulled away in OT to win, a fuming Boeheim took the podium and said, "Michael Graham punched my player in front of 19,000 people, and the ref, Jody Sylvester, didn’t have the guts to call it! The best team didn't win tonight," before tossing a chair as he walked off.

1985 Big East Tourney

The next year in the Big East Tourney Syracuse and Georgetown met again. Patrick Ewing and Pearl Washington were running down court when Ewing caught Pearl with an elbow to the ribs. Pearl returned the favor shortly later with an elbow to the gut. An enraged Ewing responded with a haymaker that barely missed Washington. "Dwayne was just lucky that he ducked,’’ Syracuse’s Howard Triche said. "I don’t know if he saw it coming or it was just instinct, but he’s lucky he ducked out of the way or he’d have no head.’’

1985 Big East Tourney – Another Description

The Georgetown-Syracuse game was only six minutes old when 6-2 Dwayne (Pearl) Washington of Syracuse landed a punch to Ewing's midsection after a scramble for a rebound under the Georgetown basket.

The 7-0 Ewing held his stomach and staggered backward after the punch. He then swung wildly with his right hand as the benches emptied and the two players were restrained.

Ewing was removed from the game for 53 seconds by Georgetown Coach John Thompson. Three minutes later, Ewing and Washington jostled each other again. Ewing pointed a finger in the face of the Syracuse guard and warned, "Get off me."

While Ewing later dismissed the brief explosion with Washington, the Syracuse player said: "He shoved me, and I hit him in the ribs. It was just reaction."

Washington claimed that Ewing hit him twice during the incident, although Ewing appeared to miss him once before he fell to the floor.

There was definitely magick in that rivalry, a chemistry that seemed to blend together and thrive naturally.

Your mention of the legends really struck me and made me think if that would have been possible in the current day to have that event with all the people likely recording it on their phones, and yet still have the legends about what was done? I wonder how much else could be potentially lost from factors we dont always consider. I think that's why I rivalry is so special, it takes chemistry like any good marriage, and I noticed one way certain parts of the rivalry likely wouldnt be possible in this age, and the rivalry may not have thrived as much. Im not sure if others think it'd make a difference, but I think it's at least worth consideration to help our perspective and appreciation of what we had. LEGENDS...or even potential ones, are something that seem to me to have been missing for a bit. Maybe the basketball gods will grant us favor on a day dedicated to a legend, and inexplicable chemisty will develop. Hey it's possible, and highly unlikely things happen often enough that I wouldnt bat an eye at it, personally. I cant wait til they flick that switch!

 

[KaiserUEO]

Requiem For the BigEast is all anyone really needs to see to 'get' it.

if theyre still thinking storz is our top rival after that, then there is no help for them.

 

[cuseinseattle]

It's 8:38am pacific time and Georgetown still sucks!

 

[CaptainJ]

Requiem For the BigEast is all anyone really needs to see to 'get' it.

if theyre still thinking storz is our top rival after that, then there is no help for them.

I think possibly the biggest factor Storrs had it's advantage was that the rivalry was far more current. I mean it was in the NOW while some people were won over. The in the now with Georgetown feels more like a prehistoric thing where belief comes into play, not disimilar to religion. I cover this more later on.

It's something even some of the fans who experienced the Georgtown hatred were able to use as a replacement to fill that void. It's similar to finding a new romantic partner, and suddenly(even if the new partner doesnt quite measure up to the old one in your current opinion) the one you couldnt live without is a memory that doesnt bother you and/or attract you the way it did before the void was filled. In short, I think it's subjective, depends on experience, and how strong memory and attachments are. I dont have a horse in this race.

 

[GooseMutt]

There are younger fans on here, who understandably don’t know much about the GU vs. SU history. They think, based on their experiences, that UConn was the bigger rival.

These younger fans need a history lesson to understand just why we older fans get so worked up. This wasn’t like any basketball series they have seen. This was SU confronting pure evil.

In the 1984 Big East Tournament

A standing Michael Graham punched SU’s Andre Hawkins, WHO WAS LYING ON HIS BACK ON THE FLOOR defenseless. Graham was only given an intentional foul instead of an ejection.

After Georgetown pulled away in OT to win, a fuming Boeheim took the podium and said, "Michael Graham punched my player in front of 19,000 people, and the ref, Jody Sylvester, didn’t have the guts to call it! The best team didn't win tonight," before tossing a chair as he walked off.

1985 Big East Tourney

The next year in the Big East Tourney Syracuse and Georgetown met again. Patrick Ewing and Pearl Washington were running down court when Ewing caught Pearl with an elbow to the ribs. Pearl returned the favor shortly later with an elbow to the gut. An enraged Ewing responded with a haymaker that barely missed Washington. "Dwayne was just lucky that he ducked,’’ Syracuse’s Howard Triche said. "I don’t know if he saw it coming or it was just instinct, but he’s lucky he ducked out of the way or he’d have no head.’’

1985 Big East Tourney – Another Description

The Georgetown-Syracuse game was only six minutes old when 6-2 Dwayne (Pearl) Washington of Syracuse landed a punch to Ewing's midsection after a scramble for a rebound under the Georgetown basket.

The 7-0 Ewing held his stomach and staggered backward after the punch. He then swung wildly with his right hand as the benches emptied and the two players were restrained.

Ewing was removed from the game for 53 seconds by Georgetown Coach John Thompson. Three minutes later, Ewing and Washington jostled each other again. Ewing pointed a finger in the face of the Syracuse guard and warned, "Get off me."

While Ewing later dismissed the brief explosion with Washington, the Syracuse player said: "He shoved me, and I hit him in the ribs. It was just reaction."

Washington claimed that Ewing hit him twice during the incident, although Ewing appeared to miss him once before he fell to the floor.

Sir, please don't forget when Georgetown beat a highly ranked cuse in I believe 1980 at Manley Field house for the last game there and at the end of the game Thompson declared Manley " officially closed". OUCH

 

[orangefog]

Up until 1988, the only team to beat Georgetown in the Big East Tournament was Syracuse.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Up until 1988, the only team to beat Georgetown in the Big East Tournament was Syracuse.

Final BET tally when all was said and done: the series was tied 7-7.

 

[HoustonCuse]

Requiem For the BigEast is all anyone really needs to see to 'get' it.

if theyre still thinking storz is our top rival after that, then there is no help for them.

Yep. The fact that Yukon is basically not even referenced in that series tells you all you need to know.

 

[ForeverOrange]

I know it's hard to accept, but this "rivalry" has really lost its attraction. Even after all that history, yes they are still a rival, but at this point you need only view the comments when both schools are referenced to see what team really gets people talking. As much as some purist may hate this, that 6 OT game with Uconn sent this rivalry into another gear. It is what it is. Maybe in time something will heat the gtown rivalry back up, but it will take more than some old scuffles and words JT said back in the 80's for that to happen IMO.

 

[Eric15]

Both UConn and Georgetown are having sub-par seasons this year. There was an 18 page thread ripping on UConn for theirs. There was nothing even close to that celebrating Georgetown's struggles.

It doesn't in any way minimize the greatness of the SU/GTown rivalry in the 80s to admit that right now, and since the mid 90s, we hate UConn more.

 

[CaptainJ]

I know it's hard to accept, but this "rivalry" has really lost its attraction. Even after all that history, yes they are still a rival, but at this point you need only view the comments when both schools are referenced to see what team really gets people talking. As much as some purist may hate this, that 6 OT game with Uconn sent this rivalry into another gear. It is what it is. Maybe in time something will heat the gtown rivalry back up, but it will take more than some old scuffles and words JT said back in the 80's for that to happen IMO.

I want to "like" your post, but with the LEGENDS that I mentioned before, this thing is constructed very similarly to a religion if you examine it. I mean a good example is we now have people telling you to believe it is an unchanging truth that you must accept.

 

[orangefog]

I want to "like" your post, but with the LEGENDS that I mentioned before, this thing is constructed very similarly to a religion if you examine it. I mean a good example is we now have people telling you to believe it is an unchanging truth that you must accept.

That's right, now fill the basket or baskets, depending on if we have a secondary collection this week.

 

[CaptainJ]

That's right, now fill the basket or baskets, depending on if we have a secondary collection this week.

I'm not sure about filling baskets, but that message beckoning me to remove ablockplus(tm) may be wearing me down to the point where I feel guilty and give in.

NOTE: I didnt intend to mock any religions, but just to show how some of the same processes were being employed here with this.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I know it's hard to accept, but this "rivalry" has really lost its attraction. Even after all that history, yes they are still a rival, but at this point you need only view the comments when both schools are referenced to see what team really gets people talking. As much as some purist may hate this, that 6 OT game with Uconn sent this rivalry into another gear. It is what it is. Maybe in time something will heat the gtown rivalry back up, but it will take more than some old scuffles and words JT said back in the 80's for that to happen IMO.

Yeah, I feel the same way. Tread lightly with the OP though as you'll likely be getting a personal history lesson or scolding.

 

[orangefog]

I'm not sure about filling baskets, but that message beckoning me to remove ablockplus(tm) may be wearing me down to the point where I feel guilty and give in.

NOTE: I didnt intend to mock any religions, but just to show how some of the same processes were being employed here with this.

I did. The notion of big business religion amuses me.

 

[Jeremy L.]

 

[81South]

There are younger fans on here, who understandably don’t know much about the GU vs. SU history. They think, based on their experiences, that UConn was the bigger rival.

These younger fans need a history lesson to understand just why we older fans get so worked up. This wasn’t like any basketball series they have seen. This was SU confronting pure evil.

I went to high school during the mid 80's with several Hoya Fans...it was always VERY heated between us when SU played those thugs. And it seemed like every game had "something" big. I remember the game in the Dome when Ewing was shooting free throws and someone threw an orange at the backboard. JB had to take the mic and tell the fans to stop throwing stuff on the court. The 3 technical foul game on Big John. Charles Smith going coast to coast with the buzzer beater. Our huge comeback on Sherman's senior day. The game where we finally ended our losing streak at the Cap Center...I think we won by like 20.

I absolutely hated them because I felt they played dirty all the time. And I hated Big John and all the stands he took for his players on things like Prop 48.

 

[RF2044]

In the immortal words of Shaquille O'Neal:

 

[HOFCeluck]

 

[MSOrange]

Both UConn and Georgetown are having sub-par seasons this year. There was a

n 18 page thread ripping on UConn for theirs. There was nothing even close to that celebrating Georgetown's struggles.

It doesn't in any way minimize the greatness of the SU/GTown rivalry in the 80s to admit that right now, and since the mid 90s, we hate UConn more.

There's an internet rivalry with UConn due to the history of these boards. A large percentage of fans have no idea these boards exist. Plus most Georgetown fans are probably still trying to figure out how the internet works.

It sickens me to write these stats but our recently rivalry with Georgetown isn't the mismatch that most people might think it is. We're ahead 16-12 since 2000 and the last 10 games, the series is tied at 5 and 4 overtime games since 2008. And how the heck did we let Craig Esherick beat us 4 times including 3 in a row??

It's not quite the same since John Sr left, I admit that. But it still makes me sick how they beat us last year. It is too bad that the older fans don't seem to have passed down the Georgetown hatred to the younger fans very well.

 

[Eric15]

It's not quite the same since John Sr left, I admit that. But it still makes me sick how they beat us last year. It is too bad that the older fans don't seem to have passed down the Georgetown hatred to the younger fans very well.

I think it's mostly that Georgetown simply no longer has villainous-type people. Thompson, Graham, Ewing, Mourning, Iverson had an aura of "bad guy" about them, whereas JT3, Jeff Green, Greg Monroe, Otto Porter, etc. just aren't particularly hateable personalities.

 

[MGP]

I think it's mostly that Georgetown simply no longer has villainous-type people. Thompson, Graham, Ewing, Mourning, Iverson had an aura of "bad guy" about them, whereas JT3, Jeff Green, Greg Monroe, Otto Porter, etc. just aren't particularly hateable personalities.

Exactly. "Hoya Paranoia" was a culture. JT2 wanted to sell an image and he did. It was also a player's rivalry back then because most players stayed 4 yrs...Oh yeah, to me, Georgetown still sucks!!! (see my tag quote below)