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Message: [QUOTE="'72 Orange, post: 146519, member: 400"] [FONT=Calibri][COLOR=#000000]Born in the Bronx in ’51. As a big fan of NYC professional sports, I thought that Jim Brown was evil incarnate. Was at a Giants-Browns game in Yankee Stadium in ’63 where Brown single handedly beat my beloved Giants 35-24. Thankfully the Giants repaid the Browns in spades 33-6 later that year and went to the title game where they lost to the Bears 14-10.[/COLOR][/FONT] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Calibri]My first recollection of Syracuse sports was watching the ’66 Gator Bowl against Tenn and rooting big time for the underdog team from NY State. Was disappointed that they fell short in that game but loved their grit and determination. Attended ESF from ’68-’72 during which I became a full-fledged maniac for all SU sports. My first big thrill was the 20-7 upset of then #4 UCLA in ’68 when Ben left the field uncovered in the days leading up to the game and the typical Syracuse weather made the field a mess, which cut into their superior team speed. At one point that season the team was 6-2 but lost the last two games to WVU and PSU to post a sub-standard 6-4 record (some things never change). After that it was all downhill as the college game passed by Ben. [/FONT][/COLOR] [FONT=Calibri][COLOR=#000000]The basketball program started to finally click in my last two years - making the NIT which we thought was just the greatest. My junior year I attended the Fordham game at the Rose Hill Gym during Christmas break and we got creamed 98-75. That was the powerhouse team coached by Digger Phelps that finished the year 26-3 and won the 3rd place NCAA East Regional consolation game against South Carolina. I went to my first post season game in the Garden later the same year when SU took on Michigan in the NIT. Although we lost 82-76 it was the start of a great string of post season appearances only broken by the NCAA sanctions in the ’92-’93 season. During my senior year SU appeared in the Holiday Festival in MSG. I went to the first game when we ran into a Denny Crum coached Louisville buzz saw that spanked SU 103-84. When SU beat Duke in the losers’ bracket I went to the Penn State consolation game and we prevailed 92-77. Since SU played a home & home series every year against them we wound up playing PSU 3 times during that year – winning two. The first (and only) NCAA game I attended was against Furman at the Palestra in ’73 where we squeaked out an 83-82 win. The game was memorable in that it was one of the first dates with my future wife. Well at least she got to see first-hand what she was getting into.[/COLOR][/FONT] [COLOR=#000000][FONT=Calibri]Perhaps the one lasting sports addiction I picked up while a student was the love of lacrosse. Growing up in the Bronx I had no idea that the game even existed, but two gangs chasing each other with sticks and beating the crap out of one another really appealed to the city kid in me! I have wonderful lasting memories of sitting on the hill overlooking the lacrosse field drinking beer in the warm spring sunshine and cheering on my beloved Orangemen.[/FONT][/COLOR] [/QUOTE]

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