Oh no, what? Wait. It happened again? Yes. It did. Call it a reoccurring nightmare, call it déjà vu, call it the collapse 5.0, call it brutal. Syracuse’s disaster third round NIT loss to UMass - in which the Orange led by 19 at half, 22 points with 15 mins left, 14 points with just under eight minutes left, 10 points with five minutes left, five points with a minute and a half left left, and then lost - well you might just call it this.
How fitting is the fact that he’s wearing an orange wig? Is he the Orange Santa from the Dome?
Yes, sorry for the graphic nature, but that’s what Syracuse basketball has given us. If it’s something you don’t want to hear about, don’t continue. And don’t become a Syracuse fan.
Instead of being a welcome relief from the relentlessly painful football program, the Syracuse basketball team has given us fans several kicks to the nether region. Torn ACLs, then last second losses to Georgetown, UConn, Pittsburgh. The home losses to URI and UMass. The no-show at South Florida. Relentless ball bashing. Sorry again, but I just can’t think of anything more fitting. As a man myself, the pain is just eerily parallel to the sting of this Syracuse basketball season. Just as the fellas start descending from one’s stomach, just as you get comfortable, bam! Right to the babymakers.
But you know what? As my fearsome twosome begin their descent from the Minutemen’s unforgiving booting, I really am not that upset. I’m not sure why, but I think it’s because of a tolerance that this season has helped to build up. If you think of this season as a complete failure, think of it this way. We got to see three more home games, one that was extremely entertaining (Maryland), experienced some great crowds and didn’t have to hear Dunk N’ Bright furniture commercials. I know, that’s not enough. But what might be the most valuable asset from such a horrific season is the ability to take a kick to the balls (for the fans that is, it’s not a good trait for the players to accept). Things just can’t get worse than this. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty desensitized. Or at least, the losses don’t leave me absolutely distraught. And after being so low I think that this team can only go up. Hopefully they got the, “holy shit we can’t close out a game” syndrome out of their systems this season. Because next year, the team will likely have enough talent to be a force. Paul Harris throwing the ball away again, a completely distraught half court offense and a zone in disarray - that’s really going to need to be fixed in the offseason.
So enjoy your time off from the ball bashing, it’s now baseball season! There are 100baseball games played before they even start to get nerve-racking. So sit back, relax, and let ‘em hang. I think they’ll be safe for a while. At least until Daryl Gross hexes the lacrosse team.
-Pat
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