Saturday, January 19, 2008

Syracuse Basketball...a modern day dynasty...clearly.

It's like that character in horror movies, like Jason, that looks as if he's dead, but keeps on coming back. No matter how dead it appears, it's still breathing.


What is the "it" I'm referencing? It's the Syracuse "dynasty" hand-flash and t-shirts. I thought it was dead. I thought Jimmy B said something and we hadn't seen a dynasty symbol hoisted above a head since the preseason NIT in MSG. But then, against the Big East colossus Rutgers, Donte Greene threw it up as the Orange decisively pulled away from the Scarlet Knights. Some clueless students of course returned the favor...and also still wear the t-shirt from Manny's (pictured below). And then, inexplicably, Scoop Jardine threw it up in the middle of the Villanova contest Saturday, before the Orange was dropped 81-71.




For the love of God...please stop. If the injuries, lack of depth, and overall youth are not frustrating enough with this Syracuse team, the players and some spectators feel the need to embarrass the rest of us Syracuse fans with this dynasty hoopla.


The Orange is 13-6, 3-3 in the Big East. The team has dropped three home games, including a loss to a Rhode Island team - which, despite being a solid squad, just lost to a St. Louis team that scored 20 points in an entire game. Six losses, many more on the way, nowhere close to a national ranking, countless dumb mistakes, no depth, porous defense and a struggling half-court offense. That's what I call a dynasty - or how it is defined on the t-shirt "a team that dominates their sport for a period of time."




Sure, Cuse won in 2003. And SU is still one of the most recognizable and successful programs in America. But the timing here is just off. Two years of first-round tournament losses, an NIT appearance last season, and who knows where the Orange is headed this year. Not exactly the 1990s Chicago Bulls here.


So please, for once and for all, stop this crap. Syracuse is not a dynasty. It is not something you can just invent at Midnight Madness before the season starts. That's basing it off nothing, and now, with a 13-6 record, everyone looks foolish (even people like me who have thankfully never flashed the sign). I know SU has had horrific luck, but you can't just proclaim yourself a dynasty. First you actually have to prove yourself, even if you have an incredibly talented freshman class. So while I hope to one day claim that Syracuse is a dynasty, now is not the time. End it...or at least prove me wrong and don't lose again this year.


-Pat


Photo credits: syracuse.com, mannysonline.com

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think that Pat here is clearly not a Syracuse Basketball fan. I really think that this article is no more than an opinion. I'm sure if Pat was a Syracuse fan and had season tickets to their home games that he would surly feel apart of the Syracuse Dynasty. Yes, there is a dynasty and if your a true Syracuse fan than you know exactly what i'm talking about. I just wanted to say that we have a very strong top 25 team this year and that the Syracuse Dynasty in not "crap". Thanks for listening.