Syracuse on National Blog

I was given the opportunity to write for the national college basketball blog Storming the Floor about the men's basketball season so far.

Otto's Army at Women's Basketball

Otto's Army is going to create a student section for this Thursday's game against Penn State. The ladies are 5-1 with their only loss coming to North Carolina. Penn State enters the game coming off a win against top ranked Duke. They enter the game with a 6-2 record with two wins against ranked opponents (Duke and Pitt). So again come out Thursday at 7:00 in the Carrier Dome and support the Women's Basketball team. If you can't make it to the game Z89 will have the coverage.

A founding father weighs in

This hurts.

The issues I’ve heard going on with the student section are disheartening and I’d like to comment on a few things. But before I do that, I want you to know that I never intended to be “that guy” who graduated but always seems to find a way into supposedly petty current student happenings at the university. Let me assure you that when you do see my name or face around an issue, it is because whatever is going on is of huge importance to me. I loved and cherished my time at SU and want you all to leave with the same positive feelings that I did.

When the bunch of us founders graduated in May and left the brainchild that is Otto’s Army behind, we thought we got the message across. I thought, at least, that its core values would be upheld.

If you attend SU sporting events, you are part of Otto's Army. It is not an elitist group and does not separate students from one another for seating purposes or otherwise. It is a group promoting spirit for SU athletics, a fair and fun student fan environment, and for the betterment of our relationship with the community. We do this through events and gatherings, representation of the student body to university and athletic administrative bodies, and service to our university and community.

The most active student fans have been doing great work for our athletic department and in supporting our teams. We hosted the Winter Carnival Pep Rally, we advertised and helped get more than 200 students sitting TOGETHER at the first men's lacrosse game last year (which typically has poor or scattered student attendance), and we raised thousands of dollars for Relay For Life.

However, there have been current students contacting me, distraught that the student section may be heading in the wrong direction. As I watched the Tulane game tonight, I noticed some of those complaints come to life. They became very real when I received phone calls and text messages after the game from upset student fans.

The Dynasty

I love the Dynasty gesturing and posing and think it created a unifying element for the team.

It should have stayed at the pep rally. I don’t think it is necessary for me to go on about how bringing stuff like that over to games that count make the team look way to focused on their ESPN image. After a completely senseless loss to UMASS, it looks like our team got the picture from Jimmy B. I didn’t see any posturing or diamond-throwing against Tulane.

Do I like that students still use the hand sign during games? Not particularly, and I can’t totally fault people for using it to be more personal with the team. I do, however, have a problem with the athletics department running promotions for Manny’s version of the dynasty t-shirt. And I have an even bigger problem with our own bookstore trying to cash in on this arrogance.

Most of our players aren’t 10 games into their collegiate career and you have to go turn their heads into hot air balloons. Selling that shirt represents the opposite of what should exemplify a collegiate athletics program – respect, humility, and pride. How is anyone going to take us seriously when the institution itself anoints them as gods? Could they win the championship in their time here? I do hope so, but it is not necessary to endorse the kind of behavior that the team now (hopefully) has behind them.

Player-Fan Interaction

I only read on blogs and message about the incident that occurred between Eric Devendorf and a student fan at the tail end of the UMASS loss.

I don’t support heckling your own college team. If you’re one of the culprits of this in our student section – and I know there are some – please stop. If you’re dissatisfied with their performance, just be quiet. They’ll get the message. These kids work hard to put on a good show for you and, although you’re probably ready to retort that they get free tuition – think about all of the money their talents bring to SU every year.

Alas, they sometimes make mistakes on the court. Dimwitted, ridiculous, “oh my god are you serious?” mistakes. You know what screaming and yelling at your peers on their home court accomplishes? Not a damn thing except making one of them snap at the end of a bitterly frustrating game. Eric should have kept his cool, yes, but what kind of messed up fan situation is it that we need to debate about an altercation between people on the same side?

Actually, heckling and fighting with your own team does appear to accomplish something. According to students who contacted me after tonight’s game, Eric looked angrily at the student section, and a number of reporters sought out “that kid” who fought with him. This is not the kind of attention our program needs.

The Hey Song

I watched the game tonight and noticed that people were singing it with about 10 minutes left and ‘Cuse clinging to a slim double digit lead.

Let’s go with bullet points for this one, because it’s getting late and I’m realizing how ridiculous it is that I actually need to write some of the stuff in this post out, most of which should be common sense. The Hey Song does have the words “suck” “shit” and “fuck” in it. This makes it incredibly fun to sing, which brings me to my first point:

• The Hey Song has the words “suck” “shit” and “fuck” in it. Some of the community dislikes it and the university officially dislikes it for that reason. We should not overuse it, lest we might (a) sever important relationships with the community and (b) face action from the university.
  

• In my 4 years at SU, if we sang the song before the game was in hand, 99% of the time someone on the opposing team would have the 5 minutes of their life, we’d lose, and make us wonder why we were so stupid to prematurely declare ourselves the victors. Ask Quincy Douby. And that brings me to…
  

• The Hey Song is a song of victory. It really should be brought out in moments of true elation, unexpected outcomes, and torrential beat-downs against hated rivals. Did that happen tonight? No. I saw people singing the song with 10 minutes to go with a minor lead against a school whose shirts we recently sold in our own bookstore to aid their hurricane ravaged campus. Yea, we ended up winning by 13, but they also lost to Buffalo by 14 a couple of nights before.

During my junior and senior years, we pretty effectively taught people the simple principles of The Hey Song: please, don’t be a prick. If you started the song for the sake of starting it, or because it “is a totally awesome song” or because you thought you needed to cheer louder, you missed the point completely – and you eventually listened to us who directed you to hold and cherish the song’s sacred words for the most spontaneous and fulfilling times. Now, I’ve heard that those same cries for moderation are falling on deaf ears.

My red-eyed conclusion

It’s now 3:30 in the morning and I’m still here pouring my heart out about this stuff. I could’ve still been at the bar putting $20 in the Buck Hunter machine or, better yet, sleeping. Instead, I answered the calls and text messages of my fellow befuddled Orangemen and Women who are not quite sure why there were students fighting with each other during tonight’s game.

I really do care about every one of you.

So, I’ll leave you with this: being an SU student is an amazing experience. Being an active SU sports fan while being an SU student is a couple of steps from heaven. Being in the student section is something you’ll keep with you long after you graduate, so don’t degrade it all with politics, anger, and cockiness.

Support your team whether at their highest highs or lowest lows. Or, if you really need to, just be quiet.

Don’t take for granted your 4 year excuse to be completely wild and rowdy at sporting events – no one looks at you strange. In fact, they love your enthusiasm.

Most of all, treat your onlookers, your team, and your fellow students with respect, humility, and pride.

-Menotti Minutillo
Founding Member, Otto's Army
Syracuse University Class of 2007

To Hey Song or not to Hey Song

Before I go into the debate on the Hey Song, here it is in two forms:

National Championship Celebration:


After 2007 Georgetown game:



Tonight the Hey Song was done twice during the second half of the Tulane game. First with nine minutes left after I think a Jonny Flynn three in the corner. During the timeout that immediately ensued, the student section did the Hey Song under the direction of Otto's Army President Darryl Patteson. About three minutes left, the student section does it again, I can't really remember what happened before that, that prompted us, I think it was a Devendorf three. There were some students that did not approve of the Hey Song either time. Against UMASS with 17:41 after the Jonny Flynn no look to Donte Green dunk, the Hey Song was imminent. The students down in the floor seats didn't approve and it never happened. Syracuse went on to lose the game. So the debate exists: To Hey Song or not to Hey Song.

To Hey Song: Tonight the student section wasn't really going again partly due to a pretty boring game and probably because the team was coming off a loss. The Hey Song with nine minutes left really got the students going for about two minutes until the technical fouls got whoever wasn't into the game into the game. After the Hey Song, students were pounding the benches and chairs for the first time during Tulane offensive possessions. The UMASS game had a weak student section again, and probably would have been energized with the Hey Song. From that timeout on, UMASS slowly got back into the game and then finally put S.U. to bed late. In football the Hey Song is done after every touchdown when Syracuse has the lead. The Hey Song was done twice in the Rutger's game before the Scarlet Knights even scored, and look how that game turned out, but no one complained we were doing it then.

To Not Hey Song (The reasons I could come up with why someone against the Hey Song. If there are more post a comment.) : The student section shouldn't be doing a cheer which signifies that the game is over until the game is out of hand. There was nine minutes left against Tulane and 17 against UMASS. That is a lot of time for bad stuff to happen. The Hey Song should be reserved for big games.

To Hey Song: Name the most well known student section. Most will say Duke, and most will say they hate them because they are cocky. The Hey Song makes you look cocky and that's what you want. You want the opponent coming in knowing the student section hates you, despises you. Last time I checked, you don't want the rivals coming in saying, "jeez that student section likes to cheer, but they aren't cocky, they don't act like there is no doubt their team is going to win the game."

To Not Hey Song: It was said that the Hey Song makes Syracuse look cocky, and make S.U. look really bad if Syracuse was to lose the game. You don't want to cheer too obnoxiously when you are losing or have the chance to lose because that will also make you look bad should you lose.

To Hey Song: When your team is losing, you need to cheer harder and louder to encourage them. Now you wouldn't Hey Song when losing, but the student section should get as loud as possible during the game.


I'm for the Hey Song and tried to give all the reasons I could think of or heard already why someone would be against the Hey Song. I'm sure there are probably more for both sides. So what are your thoughts?

World's Largest Game of Freeze Tag

The S.U. Winter Carnival during the week of Febuary 20th will potentially feature a Guinness World Record. Organizers are trying to put together the World's Largest Game of Freeze Tag on the Quad. There aren't really any details other than it's a goal. I've done a little research and from what I could find, there is no existing world record for freeze tag.

The Winter Carnival features events such as a human dog sled race, Winter ball semi formal dance, concerts, and other competitions.

UMASS, We Played Like A--

Wow what a disaster. Every aspect of that game went wrong. Defense...Offense...Crowd...the relationship between students and players.

I guess I'll start with the obvious, the defense or lack there of. This has already been beat to death by everyone so I'm just going to put the final nail in the coffin. Yes, they don't get on defense, and yes they allow a lot of wide open looks, but something that isn't really getting air time is the defense's inability to create turnovers. A team cannot score if they don't shoot on their possession. Obvious right? Well S.U. isn't getting steals or forcing bad passes. The defense forced turnovers on just 13.6% of UMASS's possessions. To put that into perspective, Syracuse's season rate is just over 17% which is 318th in the country. Syracuse forced 11 turnovers in an 80 possession game which is unacceptable. In a fast paced game turnovers exponentially increase. An 80 possession game should result in 18-20 turnovers for each team.

Now with the offense. Okay they scored 100 points. Their offensive efficiency was 123, best for the year. The problem, they can't score against a 2-3 zone. They had 20 points to start the game in 5.5 minutes against the man to man. UMASS switched to zone and Syracuse scored about 8 over the next 7 minutes or so. The same happened in the second half. UMASS started in man, switched to zone, and UMASS came back.

Third thing that wasn't good. The student section was DEAD during most the game. Not many cheers started down on the floor. Darryl, Otto's Army President and Ryan tried starting stuff all game, but nothing really caught on. I think part of it was every time we scored, UMASS came right back and got a score before we could even start cheering.

Final thing, Eric Devendorf snapped and went off on someone in the front of the student section when he and the rest of the team was criticized. I'm not a hundred percent sure what was said, but Devo had heard enough and guys on the bench needed to physically restrain him. I'm really surprised no one from press covered this because they were right in the middle of it. Devendorf continued yelling towards the crowd as he walked off the court.

Check out the blogs on the Orangelinks blogroll to the right. Great info from all those guys everyday.

UMASS Preview

If you thought Siena or Washington played fast, just wait until UMASS enters the Dome Wednesday. They get up and down the court incredibly fast. They average 81 possessions a game which is good enough for 7th most in the country. What does this mean for Syracuse? Well they better be ready to get down court after they score. No admiring the great play they made or standing around in disbelief they didn't get a foul. Now I love the whole crowd involvement thing with the Dynasty symbol as much as anyone else in that student section, but too much celebration is going to get them down, and down in a hurry. Also, with Syracuse's rather small rotation fatigue could become a factor for Syracuse if this becomes a track meet. UMASS has nine players that are seeing significant minutes.

UMASS will give Syracuse fits if Coach Boeheim decides to go with the 2-3 zone. The Minutemen have attempted 132 threes in just five games. That accounts for nearly 44% of their shots. 6 players are averaging 2 attempts from long range a game. For a team that shoots a lot of threes, they do not knock down their free throws, shooting just 67.7% from the charity stripe.

The Minutemen have three offensive threats: Gary Forbes (23 ppg, 7.6 rebounds), Ricky Harris (18.2, .415% from the field), and Etienne Brower (15, 5.5 rebounds). This team lacks a defined point guard that distributes the ball. No Minuteman is averaging more three assists per game.

Here's three things this team doesn't do well: 1. Rebound. They are out rebounded by almost five per game. They are 314th in the nation in offensive rebounding. 2. Free throws, see above. 3. Two point defensive FG%. Their opponents are shooting 52% from inside the arch. A lot of this can be attributed to their fast play allows opponents easy baskets in transition.

My final prediction: Syracuse 89, UMASS 84.


This is a side note, but I've been watching Wake Forest for the first time since Skip Prosser's death. Wake Forest looks pretty good under Dino Gaudio, but then it's pretty easy to look good when their opponent Iowa can't score. At all. Period, Iowa just can't score. They really miss Adam Haluska and it doesn't really seem like they are buying into new headcoach Todd Lickliter's new grind it out slow it down system. Lickliter's Butler teams averaged under 10 turnovers a game, best in the nation last year. In the first half of this game, Iowa turned it over 14 times already. The Hawkeyes are playing good defense under him which is a staple of Lickliter.

Syracuse 61, Lehigh 54

The ladies moved above .500 again when they defeated my hometown Lehigh Mountainhawks 61-54. The game was one of the last games for the women's team in Manley Field House as from now on their games will most likely always be in the Carrier Dome. The game was at Manley because of the football game that ended late Saturday night. But back to the actual game, the Orange jumped out to and 11-2 lead and didn't ever look back. Nicole Michael got on track for the first time this year leading the team with 18 points, but turned the ball over four times. Her biggest problem last year was her habit of turning the ball over too much, but that was partly caused by Michael being the centerpiece of the offense. This year she has several other scorers around her like Chandrea Jones, Erica Morrow, Fantasia Goodwin, and gasp I say it Vaida Sipaviciute. They also hit the boards harder, a theme for the first three games. S.U. out rebounded LU 50-28, led by Chandrea Jones's 10 rebounds. Three point shooting has also been a problem as they hit just 4 of 21 threes. Overall this team does look much better than last year, Syracuse lost a tough one to Lehigh last year in Bethlehem, PA.

Wednesday's GOI

As Syracuse gets pounded here are the other games S.U. fans should care about:

(5) Georgetown 57, Ball State 48. Ball State clearly outplayed Georgetown in the second half but it wasn't enough to comeback from a large first half deficit. Ball State slowed down a highly efficient Hoya offense.

(6) Louisville 66, UNLV 48. This game was in Las Vegas so it was a trap game. The Cardinals were able to pull away after trailing by one early in the second half.

BC 76, Rhode Island 72. Rhode Island plays S.U. five games from now, and finally suffered their first loss of the season.

Marquette and duke will finish in a little bit.

Tuesday's GOI's

(13) Marquette 91, OKST 61. Marquette came back strong in round two in Maui. Jerel McNeal scored 20 and Ousmane Barro had 10 rebounds. During the first half the Golden Eagles were putting on a defensive clinic. This was one of the strongest games I've watched so far of any of the ranked teams.

Connecticut 89, Gardner-Webb 72. This was the second meeting between the two in about a week. UCONN got the best of GW in both games. UCONN got out to a strong lead in both games and cruised to victories in both games.

Seton Hall 94, Loyola 80. The Pirates finally get an easy win after two double overtime victories against Robert Morris and Monmouth. No matter how they are winning, the Pirates are off to a 3-0 start. They play a relatively weak non-conference schedule, so there is very likely Seton Hall could go into conference play with at most two losses.

Rutgers 55, Dartmouth 50. The Scarlet Knights win an ugly one. They needed a second half comeback after trailing 27-21 at half. JR Inman had another 10 rebounds to lead Rutgers to a 4-1 start with their loss to Florida.

St. John's 76, Sacred Heart 49. St. John's easily handles winless Sacred Heart. Really not much to say about this one.

Virginia 72, Drexel 58. Virginia controls this game from the beginning practically. Sean Singletary drops another 24 on the Dragons. Virginia beat probably the best team in an early season tournament based in Philadelphia which leaves the Cavaliers as the hands down favorite to win the tournament.

Women's Basketball

The men's team brought in arguably one of the best, if not the best recruiting class in the nation, but we cannot forget the ladies.

Coach Quentin Hillsman has spent the last several years recruiting the nation's best women's basketball players. His work has resulted in the incoming class that was ranked 11th. It included standouts Erica Morrow, Tasha Harris, Chandrea Jones, Vionca Murray. This year's class announced this week is ranked 13th in the country. The class includes four top 60 players and the 30th best Junior college transfer. The seniors, rank, and highschool: Tyler Ash, 24th, Liverpool in Syracuse. Shakeya Leary, 54th, New York City. Lynnae Lampkins, 58th, Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Troya Berry, 59th, Flint. The Junior college transfer is Lynnise Nixon from Philadelphia.

I personally am very exciting for the future of Syracuse women's basketball. This program is clearly on the rise. Coach Q has this team headed in the right direction. It clearly showed at Midnight Madness. They showed a great ability to shoot and score.

The team started off the season by squeaking out a win over Coppin State, but in their second game, they were beaten pretty badly by 6th ranked UNC 97-72. The Orange can take many things out of that game. First, they hit free-throws, draining 25 of 29 shots. I had live stats up the entire game from collegesportstv and noticed the 'Cuse was outrebounding UNC the majority of the game. The Orange finished down 8 in rebounds, but showed great poise on the boards hauling in 24 offensive rebounds. The ladies also forced 27 UNC turnovers. The Orange shot just 29% for the game and 20% in the first half which was the major difference. If they shoot even 30% in the first half and 35% for the game, this is easily just a 10-15 game. To me, that is making great strides for a program that historically has rarely ever been able to complete with top notch programs.

The ladies are back in action Sunday against my hometown college of Bethlehem: Lehigh Mountain Hawks. Last year Syracuse went to Stabler Arena and lost a close game. Expect this year to be much different in Manley Field House.

Monday's Games of Interest

Today's GOI:

(13) Marquette 74, Chaminade 63. This game was within a few points late in the second half. Chaminade is a Division II team for anyone who doesn't know. That is just inexcusable on Marquette's part. Poor shooting performances and a scrappy Chaminade team kept the Silverswords in this til almost the very end.

Georgia Tech Ramblin' Wreck 70, Notre Dame 69. Notre Dame loses again, yesterday to Baylor, today to the Yellow Jackets. South Bend we have a problem. Those are two teams the Irish cannot afford to lose to early on if they want to be seriously considered a tournament team. They are going to have to really play well the rest of the non-conference schedule and put together a solid 11-7 or 12-6 in the Big East to have any chance of dancing with those two loses.

Belmont 85, Alabama 83. Belmont now has two wins over BCS schools: Alabama and Cincy. Go Atlantic Sun early in the year.

Ohio State Scouting Report

Ohio State enters Wednesday's game with Syracuse with a 2-0 record with a 91-68 win over UW-Green Bay and a 68-54 win over Columbia in the first two rounds of the Preseason NIT.

BUCKEYE OFFENSE: In those two games the Buckeyes ran a highly efficient offense, with a 122 rating, which means in 100 possessions they'd be expected to score 122 points. That's 14th in the nation right now, but when their opponents defensive strength of schedule is factored in, that rating drops to 105. Ohio State has held onto the ball very well this year, turning the ball over just 14% of the time. Syracuse turns the ball over 24% of the time. Ohio State only returns one legitimate three point threat from last year. Jamar Butler is 9-18 from three this year in two games. The rest of the team is just 8-26. The 2-3 Zone should work against OSU if Syracuse can make sure that they limit Butler's attempts from three. As long as the Orange do not let Butler try to shoot them out of the zone, they should be alright. The zone should also make OSU's 7 foot freshman center Kosta Koufus a non-factor. Another weakness for OSU's offense is their foul shooting. In two games, the Buckeyes shot a mere 61% from the line.

BUCKEYE DEFENSE: Ohio State's defense struggled against Columbia and UWGB in two aspects. The three point shot and an inability to force turnovers. They forced turnovers on only 13.9% of the opponents possessions, good for 330th in the nation. The three point shot accounted for 48% of OSU's opponents field goal attempts. OSU's effective three point FG% is good, but a high number of threes means an overall less efficient offense. The Adjusted efficiency rating for this defense is just 100.2. Two things OSU does well: Block shots and prevent offensive rebounds. The Buckeyes are 19th in the nation in percentage of opponents possessions that end in block shots (19%).

Overall, S.U. can win this game by playing an active two-three zone, letting OSU hoist threes as long as it's not Jamar Butler doing the shooting. The Orange also need to hold onto the ball and get good looks from three because OSU plays strong interior defense.



Thanks to Ken Pomeroy and Ohio State Athletics for the Statistics. Ken Pomeroy's blog can be found on the right.

Sunday's Games

Sunday's Games an Orange fan might care about:

Temple 73, Marist 69 (OT). This is only relevant because Louie McCroskey scored 18 for the Red Foxes.

Seton Hall 111, Robert Morris 107 (OT). The Pirates improve to 2-0. The Big East is really coming out strong early on.

(6) Louisville 84, Jackson State 53. Jackson State went to the tournament last year, but they were still no match against the Cardinals. Earl Clark almost became the second Cardinal in two days to record a triple double. He finished with a 20-14-7 line. Louisville is coming out of the gate firing.

Rhode Island 74, UAB 69. The Carrier Dome bound Rams improve to 5-0 with a win in the Glenn Wilkes Classic at Daytona Beach.

West Virginia 106, Prairie View A&M 41. WVU dominates for Coach Huggins. Enough said, score says everything.

Villanova 70, Bucknell 64. Nova uses a 7-0 late when the game was tied at 57 to take control. The two Cory's, Fisher and Stokes don't score for Nova. The two freshmen were excepted to come in and make an immediate impact. At least for today, that did not hold true. Bucknell hit 15 three pointers in this one, good thing they aren't playing Boeheim's 2-3 zone this year.

Miami and Providence are playing right now. South Florida is at Florida State in a little bit. Baylor travels to Notre Dame at 8:30. Syracuse handily beat the Bears last year in the Dome.

Games of Interest

This is irrelevant to Otto's Army, but not to S.U. fans. Here's some scores from over the weekend of some games that S.U. fans should care about. Overall, the Big East is 30-8 through Saturday's games.


(6) Louisville 104, Hartford 69. Terrence Williams records a triple double, but turns the ball over eight times for the Cardinals season opener.

South Florida 100, Florida Atlantic 69. South Florida gets their first win of the year behind Big East Player of the Year candidate Kentrell Gransberry's 21 and 9. The big man is averaging 15 and 11 in three games.

Siena 79, (20) Stanford 67. Stanford some how got into the tournament ahead of Syracuse last year, but this year the Cardinals fall to Siena, at Siena. Siena is the team that just lost to S.U. The win for the Orange looks a little better and will be an RPI booster.

Depaul 54, Northwestern 53. Depaul gets their first win of the year. They lost their opener to a MVC team for the second straight year.

Florida 88, Rutgers 53. Only thing of note here is JR Inman for the Scarlet Knights is good. The Junior Forward is averaging 20 and 8 this year and is the reason the Knights are 3-1 early.

St. Joseph's 57, Boston 48. Keep winning St. Joe's, they make Syracuse's win look better the more they win.

UMASS 93, UWGB 83. UMASS looks like they score at will early on here. They have jumped out to a 4-1 start averaging closer to 90 points a game. Their ability to score could give S.U. fits.

Rhode Island 80, Stetson 65. Rhode Island is undefeated so far at 4-0. The Rams square of with the Orange December 8th. They have a deep rotation with 8 players seeing 20 minutes a game so far.

Division II Alaska Fairbanks 62, Oregon State 60. Are you serious Oregon State? Everyone knew they were going to be bad, but that bad?

Virginia 75, (17) Arizona 72. S.U. goes to Virginia in December for probably their biggest game in the non-conference schedule. Sean Singletary is a great player, he led the Cavaliers with 24 points. UVA is also undefeated so far at 3-0. Something interesting to note, UVA has played 13 players in three games so far that have averaged at least 4 minutes a game. No player on that team is averaging more than 5 rebounds per game because of this depth.

Sunday's games will be up when those games are over.

Game Day

I am not afraid to post when I GOT THERE to the game. I have no problem if people beat me there anymore. For Fordham's game, I purposely left out when other groups got there, but made note that others were there. The point of this blog is to tell people about what goes on in Otto's Army and about our waits outside the Dome. The amount of time we spend there is very important to the story.

On a side note, if you have an issue with anything on this blog, please contact me in person or through phone call.

Thank you,
Jameson

Fordham Wait

I got to the Dome at 8:30 or so and there were already three groups ahead of me. As of 11 o'clock, there are 6 groups there which means the front row is already taken up.

Good and Bads of Preseason NIT

Good: No Carrier Dome Ads, pure college basketball at its best. Two games involving solid teams each day.

Bad: 30 member band, one person can be Otto (he musta been deadtied by the end), smaller dance team and cheerleading squad, opposing fans in our student section, no running of the flags, and most of all that damn St. Joesph's Hawk that doesn't stop flapping his arms. He's got to be the most pathetic mascot ever, he literally doesn't do anything but flap his fake wings.

Overall, I'll pass on the Preseason NIT in the future when it comes to having it in the Dome. It was a home game with some strings attached. I'll take just normal home games down the road, we can schedule good opponents down the road if we want to instead of facing Ohio State, and the winner of most likely Washington and Texas A&M. Of course with the upsets already that matchup isn't guaranteed.

Syracuse 72 St. Joesph's 69

It looks like we could be in for some long waits outside the Carrier Dome if the team keeps playing like this. The seniors got there at 9:30, followed by the new freshman group, and then us at 10:30.

The game was amazing again. The student section is getting really loud really early in the year. It's great. We opened the Go Orange chant to the entire crowd with the student section pointing around the Dome to the rest of the crowd yelling GO! hoping the rest of the crowd responses with Orange. It worked alrite, the enthusiastic people out there do it but not too many other people.

My simple breakdown of the game, again we don't have the greatest vantage point, is that we need to cut down the turnovers. The really bad ones that aren't going to lead to baskets even if the pass goes through need to stop. I don't mind the occasional Alley-Oop when the game is tight because it sucks the crowd back into the game. I don't like the fact that Boeheim isn't using his bench. Scoop should be seeing 10 minutes or so and Rick should see around the same, probably more towards 15. Kristof should get probably 5. After that I don't care if anyone steps out there. It definitely showed in the last 10 minutes, the guys were getting tired. They were as efficient on offense. They also were getting a little lazy in the 2-3 zone. The forwards were not stepping up as quickly on the wings, leaving the guards hung out to dry. That right there in my mind was the fatigue.

We will be back friday. A good friend of mine Jordan "Shut Up"malis (inside joke) will be singing the nation anthem and she's damn good. So go to the game and listen to her...oh and watch a great team on the side.

Syracuse 97 Siena 89

From the front row perspective, this team is going to be really, really exciting to watch. The players started the diamond hand gesture above their heads to signal the formation of a dynasty. It seems kind of cocky, but the student section loves it for the most part. It's something that is really connecting the student section and the players. It seems this year the players are more fan friendly. From the front row, we chant all their names at different times through the pregame, during the game, and post game, and we get a response. This team truly has the talent and attitude to be something really special.

For my game analysis, granted we have a very distorted view of the game from the front, is that we are going to try to win as many games possible 90-85 instead of 65-60 like past years. This may be fun to watch, but it doesn't mean it's better basketball. There will be many games in the Big East where we might not be able to just outscore the other team. But anyways, Jonny Flynn, wow. He wasn't suppose to be a great slasher, he wasn't suppose to be a bigtime three point threat. I know it was only one game, but man did he show off some major skills. Donte Green appeared to struggle offensively, but he was only 4-10, not terrible, but he still finished with 14 points. Paul Harris showed tenacity grabbing 15 boards, a career high for him. Rick Jackson is as an anonymous front row would say, "The steal of this Class." I agree with him. The kid has a sweet lefty baby hook. Don't see that too often for sure. It's happened almost every game so far including the exhibitions, but when Kristof and especially Scoop step on the floor, the opposing team steps up pressure with double teams. It caused two straight Scoop turnovers, and with Boeheim's quick lease, it sent him to the bench for the rest of game.

Tomorrow we'll be back out there. I'm guessing some people will be there as early as 10 A.M. in line, if not earlier.

Non-revenue events

Otto's Army is expanding to non-revenue sports. We are going to our first women's soccer game Friday night at 7:00 at Manley against Notre Dame. We are hoping for a good turn out. So come down to Manley tomorrow and support the Ladies against the Friggin Irish.

Save Syracuse Swimming and Diving

Note: This post does not reflect the opinion of any particular group.

I'll make this short. It's no secret that the large majority of the athletic department's revenues come from Men's Basketball and Football. They rely heavily on those programs and I think that the lagging Football attendance is a financial stress. I'm a huge fan and I think I missed 1 or 2 games my whole career at SU in a time that the program was in bit of a swan dive, but I think athletics built an expectation of revenues from that program and didn't prepare well enough for a down time in overall attendance, so they're making swift cuts. However, they have been quite quick to spend a LOT of money changing uniforms and logos multiple times, and on a huge NYC marketing campaign.

I think we are looking for some chance to let the Swimming and Diving team meet the goals of the athletics department through alumni and other support. As a former Student Association rep, I found it extremely disrespectful that no one from the department attended the assembly meeting they were invited to a week in advance to answer questions about the cuts. I will continue to applaud the efforts of SA in defending their fellow students on this issue. I'm guilty of never attending a S&D meet, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve fair process. And before you jump on me for not offering any idea, here's one – the university is looking to spend a lot of money to replace Archbold gym, so how about building the necessary swimming facilities into it? It could be a great collaboration effort between SU athletics and the University at large.

Menotti Minutillo, Jr. '07
Co-Founder, Otto's Army
Student Association Assembly Representative, 50th Session

FXB

Many members of Otto's Army play Focrossketball. What's focrossketball you ask? Possibly the greatest game ever invented. The inventors? Seniors Lisa Corolla and Bagel Dilks. Focrossketball is a mix of football and lacrosse. As you can see the video, someone takes a lacrosse and throws it with a lacrosse stick across a field, in our case the Women's Building field. Then the two teams chase after the ball, starting from the same fence. You proceed to then pick up the ball and run it back to the fence, but if you are tackled by the opposing team, you must throw it backwards. You score once when you get the ball back to the fence, then repeat the process until someone needs stitches or everyone is tired. I believe this is the fourth season of focrossketball.

So without further ado, here's focrossketball.

Got any questions about this wonderful game, leave a comment.

Otto's Army

Otto's Army had their first meeting of the school year tonight. For anyone that doesn't know, Otto's Army is generally a pep-club type organization mainly in charge of organizing the student section at Syracuse University sporting events. We also do charity work, organize Homecoming Activities, run the Winter Carnival, and help run Midnight Madness among other things. We are just in our second year of operation and funds are short. So alumni out there if you to help out, maybe sponser t-shirts to give out at games, or anything you think could make a difference. Either e-mail me at jsflemin@syr.edu or the president of Otto's Army Darryl Patterson at dapattes@syr.edu, or just leave a comment on here.

Thanks!
GOOOOOO ORANGE!!!!!

Capital One Mascot Challenge

Otto is trailing by 100 votes early. Orange fans unite, go to the link on the right and vote for Otto.

Vote for Otto

The Capitolone Bowl Mascot Challenge is up and running again. You can vote for Otto here starting September10th. Last year Otto didn't do too well, but that needs to change.

Let's GOOOOOO ORANGE!!!

Huskie Hell

So we've been very quiet over here at Cuseline for awhile now mainly because we have no reason to camp out for lacrosse and really football for that matter. However, we were at the Washington game, bright and early. Amy and I got to the Dome at 11 in the morning and were the first ones there. A giddy freshman by the name of Trevor, joined us at 11:45. As the day went on the crowd kept coming. The early afternoon was filled with some tossing around of a nerf football followed by some booing of Washington faithful passerbys. By 5:00 the line to get into the student section was almost out to the quad, and by gates open the line was apparently at the quad if not further. Bravo students on that one. The atmosphere in the Dome once gates opened was electric, the best i've ever seen it in my one plus year on the hill. The football team came in shortly after to greet the students and get everyone fired up. It seemed the student section might finally be back and rowdy. It was while we were still in the game, but by the second quarter, very few people past the first couple rows were cheering nonstop anymore. By the time it was 21-6, most of the students decided it was game over and left. At the end of the game I doubt there was more than about 200-300 students left. Shame on the student section. When it was 21-6 the game was clearly not over, weirding things have happened in football. (See 58-42 Louisville over Middle Tenn. State. Who saw that score coming). Overall it was a dissapointing game, hopefully down the road the students won't give up so easily. I know it has been a tough couple years, but for all the students who got to the game hours in advance, why would you leave so early in the third quarter?


And for the helluva it, because you can't get enough of the Final Countdown video.

And when it was played at the Dome

GOOOOOOOOOO ORANGE!
-Jameson

Through the dark...

Menotti put it pretty much perfect... but I wanted to add something on the more optimistic side of this shitty situation. This is from the Axeman Blog on Syracuse.com: Give the Fans an Assist

Can't stand these pundits

I've been quiet about this for a while, but I guess it's time to weigh in our NCAA tournament selection snub.

First, I'm going to ignore the numbers and talk about something that's really getting under my skin. I'm getting sick and tired of these talking heads making predictions and determinations and then saying "I told you so" when something different from their prediction turns out.

Take Doug Gottlieb. First, he said we needed the Georgetown win to be in the tournament. We got it - handily. What does Doug do? Change his mind. He states we need to beat UCONN in the Big East Tournament to be in. So, we go down to MSG and beat UCONN.

Finally, Doug is satisfied and says we're in during a segment on SportsCenter (or was it ESPN Bracketology? I can't remember)

So, what happens on Selection Sunday? He says we deserved not to be in the field of 65 after we're left out. What gives?

Well, maybe this will (not) answer your question:
Doug Gottlieb on ESPN Radio

So, what does he say on this show when talks to maybe the only other mouth that agrees with him in the country? That he believed that SU was in because the committee wouldn't have the guts to leave us out. It seems that the only one without guts is Doug when he retroactively formed the intent of a previously made statement.

What a coward.

Now, a look at the numbers from coach Boeheim, who in my opinion absolutely tore apart John Kincaid on ESPN radio

Let me summarize the most important point made by Jimmy B: our non-conference and overall strength of schedule is not a valid argument against our being left out of the tournament.

Here are the schools with worse OOC SOS than Syracuse:

Washington State
Notre Dame
Oregon
Texas
USC
Georgia Tech
Virginia
Indiana
Louisville
Georgetown
Kansas
Stanford

These teams had worse overall SOS than us: Nevada, Notre Dame, Old Dominion, Xavier, Butler

Without that argument, or the false argument of our weak BE schedule (1. of which we have no control over and 2. was the 4th strongest in the conference), there isn't very much of a case for us to be left out over a few of the questionable inclusions.

The Final Coundown Saga Continues...

First of all, the game: unbelievable. The only thing I can say, is I am so happy that the seniors- both players and more importantly my fellow fans, had one of the greatest games ever to go out on. The feeling of rushing the court was indescribable and I'm only happy I had 4 or 5,000 others to be there and experience it with me.

Now- on to this video: The Final Countdown. As you may know, it was played on the big screen of the carrier dome before tip-off. It was also featured on News Channel 5 in Syracuse as a quick bumper shot. Today I got a call from one of the sports guys at CBS 5, and if everything goes well, the band and I will be featured on a special about the orange that will air prior to playing in the NCAA tournament (if everything goes well). It's a testiment to the internet age that we live in- we just did it to have some fun and it caught on and spread like wildfire. We appreciate all the hype! Thanks for everything, keep reading.

For the moment, indescribable

Yesterday was one of the most incredible experiences I've had at SU. I'm too busy with catching up on missed school work to write about it at the moment, but a post is coming soon.

-Menotti

The game and the seniors

I haven't posted, but my name is Jameson, and I'm in the group of freshman in the front row. I got on the list on Thursday. The long wait for the game was 100000% worth it. The atmosphere in the student section couldn't have been any better. The cheering was better than the UCONN game just last week. With two minutes the crowd behind us rushed forward to get ready to storm the court. Finally after our favorite walk-ons got to play the last minute, we stormed the court.

I would like to thank the seniors of Otto's Army, Harry, Bobby, Menotti, Dave, Sean, Dennis, and Jon for making the last four months of my life probably the most memorable. I wish them the best of luck down the road. Without them, I probably wouldn't bleed orange when pricked with a needle.

GOOOOO 'Cuse.

-Jameson

Pep Rally and Pre-Georgetown Huge Success

Wow. Tonight's pep rally at the Women's building was intense. I felt like a kid at a candy shop, as I played just about every inflatable and carnival-style game there was to play. I had the esteemed privelage of jousting with Otto the Orange atop the inflatable joust-arena. While he was crafty enough to knock me down once (damn orange) I came out on top 2-1. The same can't be said about the obstacle course... I got my ass handed to me in that and I think we all have the rug burns on our elbows (battle scars) to prove it.

As you know, or maybe not, I've been unable to camp out for this, the final game of the season. But I am here to tell you that the orange pride is alive and well on the hill. Most people I've talked to are excited about getting to the game, many getting there early I might add, and even the dumbest of sports fans grasp the importance of this Big Monday game against Georgetown in the Dome. In the mean time, time to go to sleep- it's going to be a long day, and hopefully great day tomorrow. Look for the front row crew on the tube! Until next time...

Some thanks, some news, and a rant

This is a long one. Stay with me, it's all really good stuff!

The Thanks
First of all, I'd like to echo was Dave said in the previous post. That was one of the coolest things ever done for us down here. I know that in a few years, I'll be having pizza and wings delivered to our successors. Class of '92, whoever you are, you made our day. The way it happened was pretty funny, too. I was about to take a little evening siesta when we hear some honking from the top of the steps. Then, a voice yells down, and here is the abridged conversation to the best of my recollection:

Delivery guy: Someone order food down here?
(I pop my head out)
Me: I don't think so. What is it and who ordered it?
Delivery guy: It says here for Dave Griffiths
Me: Really? He's not even here right now, let me call him.
(I gave a call to Dave, but he was working at the station and couldn't answer his phone)
Delivery guy: It also says "Love, class of '92" and it's paid for.
Me: OK I'LL SIGN FOR IT!
(Delivery guy proceeds to unload 5 pizzas and what looks like about 6 dozen wings from the truck)

And there was much rejoicing. My best guess, and tell me if I'm
right, is that you put Dave's name on it because my name was the only other full name on the blog, but it's pretty difficult to say.

This made our day. Thanks Class of '92

Anyway, thanks again whoever sent us down that delectable feast. We'll surely be doing to same for the next generation of Orange fans.

The News
Yesterday was a really good day. Aside from the food delivered by the Class of '92, we had another awesome event: a visit from Otto!

I was just getting back from the gym and about to go into my tent when Otto's face creeped around the corner (and scared the bejeesus out of me). After I was done screaming in terror, I realized who it was and yelled for everyone to come out of their tents.

Otto and some of his crew entertained us and also gave us some hot chocolate. We took some pics, Otto did the patented roll into the Green Tent a few times, and they were off. Totally sweet, thanks Otto!

Dave and Otto enjoying some hot chocolate.

The Rant
There's an article on ESPN.com about some Duke students camping out for the Duke v. UNC women's game happening today. Now, let me make this clear: I understand that this article is primarily about the equal ground and respect that women's sports are getting at Universities, and I agree that it is a great thing and will not take anything away from women's sports.

What irks me about this story and others like it is the attention given to the "harsh conditions" the Cameron Crazies endure, and all attempts I've made to get us some publicity goes south (pun intended).

You've seen them before, articles talking about students fighting through the weather, true supporters of their team. Well, that same weather is the reason why the Krzyzewskiville phenomenon is possible.

Are they really enduring harsh conditions, as these reporters say? K-Ville is equipped with power outlets and both wired and wireless internet. The area they camp on is nicely finished grass, and if temperatures drop below freezing, line monitors can call a grace period - a time that everyone gets to return to the warmth but retain their place in line. Not to mention that during the day, 1 person can sit in line to represent a group of 12.

Grace periods!? Otto's Army would've had 4 days of grace this week that we've been out here.

Left: Durham. Right: Syracuse. Note that the height of the columns is relative.

And what we'd give for some grass! We have our tents set up on frigid concrete in the crevices of the Carrier Dome - not out of choice over a grassy area, but out of necessity, as every area with grass also has a few feet of snow on top of it.

I guess there are some advantages to being below ground level near the gates: if you set up your tent just right, you can avoid the whirling winds that often bring the "feels like" temperature to -10F or lower.

My message to the national media: get a clue. What Duke students do, while impressive in their sheer numbers, should be at least looked at with a critical eye or compared with other schools once in a while.

Or, I'd be happy if you returned my attempted contacts and talked about us just once. If 40-some students camping out in North Carolina is newsworthy, 20-some students camping for a week in Syracuse is, too.

Thanks to the Class of 1992

Around 4pm today, a rather large amount of food arrived for those waiting at Gate E of the Carrier Dome from "the class of 1992". The five or six pizzas and three boxes of wings are very much appreciated (and delicious). All of us here wanted to thank the sender(s) very much for their generosity. We were already aware that Domino's delivered to Gate E. Apparently Cosmo's does as well.

(Personally, I was unfortunately unable to be there right when the food arrived as I was anchoring the Live Post Game Show at CitrusTV known as Orange Press Pass, but I did manage to arrive soon after the delivery. Much to my surprise, Ogre (Menotti) hadn't eaten everything already).


We celebrated the occasion by watching the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. CLASSIC!!

THANKS AGAIN, AND GO ORANGE!!

Saturday update

Hey all, just giving an update on Saturday at around 2:30. There are still only 7 groups represented, and I'm not really sure why. One guess I have is that the game is on a Monday, and some groups simply can't make the game until game time, so they aren't camping out, which is understandable.

Last year, on the night before senior day vs. Villanova, there were probably about 100 people to meet and greet Terrence Roberts (above)

I suspect that by Sunday we should see a few more tenters, and hopefully we'll get a good turnout at the Pep Rally (7-9pm in the Women's Building).

In other news, we all went in to watch the lacrosse game last night. We lost, but had a great student turnout.

<-- Some of the lax student section

We had some really good cheers going, and we will probably try to formalize our player introduction heckling. For hoops, students run across the front of our student section with signs that say "Who's he?", "So what?" and so on. Last night, we pretty much ad libbed every one beyond the 5 that we know - "Less than average!" "Inadequate!"

Hopefully, the loss doesn't deter anyone from seeing this great team we have this year. Early season setback, but I'm sure they'd appreciate that kind of turnout every game. Too bad that the Hopkins game is scheduled during our Spring break.

That's all for now. Peace out.

-Menotti

What's with this "List" and line process I keep hearing about?

So, we've been getting lots of questions from local media, staff, alumni, etc. about The List system we've implemented for men's basketball games. Some thought we might be waiting in line just to get tickets, while others thought we were really fighting with each other for seats.

Photo of students outside of Gate E before The List was created, circa 2003-2004

Here's a crash course in how the process we've developed works:

• When a student arrives to wait in line, they are added to The List. Along with their own name, they may add up to 3 fellow students to their group.
• As long as at least 1 representative from a group is present at all times, that group's place in line is valid. This allows people to wait in shifts and maybe even go to a class or two.
• The max group size of 4 was chosen to prevent an unfair ratio of students waiting to the number of students represented by a single person. If we allowed 1 person to wait for 10 people, the shifts would be a bit too easy to organize and it would unfairly put people in seats they didn't necessarily "earn". Essentially, if a person wants to wait a number of hours so they can get 3 of their friends in too, that's OK with us, but anything larger than that seems unfair.
• About an hour before the gates open, which is approximately 3 hours before game time, the groups are lined up in the order of their arrival.
• When the gates open, everyone calmly goes down to the student section, where the people facilitating The List allow the groups to choose their seats in the order they arrived. Important distinction here: No one is waiting in line to be assigned a particular seat. We wait in line for the order of our choice.

So, that's the basic gist of it. Before a bunch of us came together and thought up The List system, it was mayhem to get your seats. The doors would open, people would get stuck pushing through, kids would be tripping and tumbling down the concrete stairs, bodies would fly like superman across as many seats as possible.

We've put something together here that ensures the safety of everyone and gives fans their seats pretty fairly, too.

I'll post the official document (more detailed) tomorrow.

Until then, goodnight.

-Menotti

The numbers grow

We're up to 7 groups now. The 9-oh-5 Crew and Company showed up around 2pm, but they forgot a set of tent poles! Doh! Lisa ran back to her house, but the poles were nowhere to be found.

Their tent, affectionately known as The Tunt, was demolished before it was ever constructed:

But all was not lost. There were some "extra" poles that weren't linked up with string, so they began to MacGyver them together. As they were doing this, they realized that these were, in fact, the set of poles they were missing from before, but the strings holding them together broke the last time they took the tent town.

So, The Tunt is alive and well, and the group of freshmen, some of whom made that sick Final Countdown video, are now represented.

Lisa and Jill really enjoyed their Moca Javas

By the way, go to http://www.suathletics.com on Sunday for the game preview article that will highlight Otto's Army, as well as this blog.

Menott out.

Freshman update from the warmth

First of all, I'm Greg. You might know me as that kick-ass keyboardist from Syracuse University's official air-band. You probably don't know me at all though. I'm a freshman here, from Baltimore, and am crazy enough to usually be at the dome hours (days) before the basketball games. Unfortunatley (sp?) for the first time this season- and thus, my life- I am unable to make it early to the Georgetown game. I have a class that doesn't get out til after gate time, and, I will have to settle for the back.

My buddies in the Frosh tent will, however, be there making me proud. And though I'm sure they will get flack from the green and blue tents, the red tent twenty-tent will reign superior in the end.

While I am enjoying the warmth of central heating systems in the dead of winter, I think I will probably end up spending a night at Gate E with the boys... because, I kind of miss it. Weird. I will defintley be at the moshing prior to tip-off on monday, though, because I need to get elbowed by Menotti one more time for old times sake. Stay warm boys... and girls.

Another Night at Carrier Dome...

Bobby VI writing from the prestigious and superior blue tent on the evening of Wednesday, February 21, 2007.

Not much going on - I won't make you read some stupid stuff about what I am up to, you don't really care - frankly neither do I.

A couple of things: 1) James Graham blames me for the overnight tradition. I disagree. I blame Harry Shafer. The earliest I ever came before he started to beat me to Gate E was 7 AM for a 7 PM football game (Florida State, Homecoming 2004). You'll have to forgive James though, he is a 21st year senior. 2) The experience this week, while it will be fun, is also going to be bittersweet, it being our last game and all. I've made some great friends while camping out down here, friends I'll never forget. I'm really going to miss doing this.

Anyway, I'll write more later. Got other stuff to do for now.

Until later,

Bobby VI

An Ancient Conflict: The Blue vs. Green Tent

Last night, Harry showed up and set up his group's (inferior) green tent.

This conflict has been going on so long, some would call it ageless. Back around 72 AD, when the Colosseum in Rome began construction, some enthusiastic peasants began camping out for the first gladiatorial event, one in which Gerard McNamaximus would face the Uconnian Empire's greatest warriors.

As you may suspect, there were two main "tents" originally made from animal skins. Little to the peasants' knowledge, the wait turned out to be about 8 years, and tensions rose. As each tent added complicated stone technologies to stay warm, battles over those materials escalated into full out wars.

Gerard McNamaximus

So, here we are in AD 2007, and the conflict is far from over. Just last year, someone from Harry's group decided to yell "blue tent sucks" and, well, you'll be sorely missed, Richard.

That's all for now. More of this story to come.

Peace,
Menotti

Dome Update

WHAT'S UP CUSE FANS?!?!?! THIS IS DAVE GRIFFITHS COMING TO YOU LIIIIIIIVE FROM THE CARRIER DOME. GREAT TO BE A CONTRIBUTOR TO THIS BLOG!

A short introduction of myself: I'm a senior at SU from Wilmington, DE (about a half hour south of Philly). I came to the Cuse to major in broadcast journalism, and I'm specializing in sportscasting. I bleed Eagle green and was very disdraught when Andy Reid decided to punt on 4th down with less than 2 minutes left in the playoffs against the Saints. Just ask Bobby, Dennis, Menotti, or Sean. They'll confirm it.

It's Tuesday evening right now, nearly 7pm, and I'm alone at the moment down here. The lacrosse team was practicing inside for a while and now the band is playing. They started playing Road to the Final Four and I really wanted to mosh, but as I said, I'm alone. That doesn't help the moshing situation.

I'm really looking forward to lax season this year. The team has a bunch of experienced upperclassmen meshed with a VERY VERY promising sophomore class. Seriously, have you ever seen Pat Perritt play lacrosse? You should. The kid's a monster.

Anyway, I'll be here till 9pm when someone will be taking over while I get stuff done elsewhere on campus. The list still stands at one group.

GO ORANGE!!!

And so it begins

The waiting begins! Bobby, Dave, Sean, and I showed up at Gate E around 10pm last night and set up camp. We got the tent up in about 10 minutes without a problem, as opposed to the usual hour long debacle that usually ends with us calling Jeff - an alum and tent-construction extraordinaire who now lives in Colorado - for help.

Sean and I slept out and it was actually warmer than last year's nights for the Villanova game. We spent about 2 and a half hours watching SU Physical Plant and another construction company demolish and move snow drifts. Yeah, it sounds boring, but it's not like we could goto sleep with the blaring sirens of their trucks going in reverse.

Anyway, here is the current state of The List (if you're not familiar with our line up processes, a later post will explain this, so don't fear):

Group 1 - Menotti + Dave, Sean, Bobby, Dennis (5)

That's it for now. Check back later for more updates. Also - do you have an idea of an interview you'd like to see up here? Let us know. We're already pursuing some Dome staff, but if there are others who are important to the student fan experience, we'd like to talk to them, too.

Peace,
Menotti

The Final Countdown

If this doesn't get you pumped up for Georgetown, I don't know what will.

Traditions - The Mosh (part 2). A response from James Graham, '04

So in my previous post, I tried to give some info about the nature of the pre-game mosh. I also, admittedly, was a bit shaky on its history. I suspected it might be a little older than my time. I contacted James Graham, an '04 alum, to get his take on it. Here are some of the highlights of his response (I've inserted some info in bold for clarification):

"2002/2003 was the season that the student section general admission (and thus, the line waiting) began.

Before that, it was all assigned seating, so a lot [students] would not get to their front seats until well after the game started.

The moshing did not start, however, in 02-03 (which was also the Champ year). Mostly because we were still developing the art of line waiting, testing the limits of others, or not yet willing to skip classes. As a result, the members of the front row often changed. But as that was going on, myself, the Craig Nasties (i didn't know them personally yet), and others started one-upping each other with getting in line earliest.

Note: we'll talk about the Craig Nasties and their legacy in a later post.

The NEXT year (2003/2004), it so happened to be that Tibs (Jeff Tiberii) and I were both RAs (Resident Advisors) in DellPlain, and all the Craig Nasties lived there as well. We decided to join forces to monopolize the front row, and after a few games the gentleman's agreements as to who's groups sat where were formed. (we tried to avoid overnights, Bobby (Bobby Patrick VI) changed that)

I'm not sure who specifically could be credited with starting the mosh. The easiest answer is that we all love the Road to the Final Four song, and it just got us AMPED. I know Matt Blitz liked to jump around like a Cameron Crazy, and perhaps that rubbed off on us.

On the whole, we always tried to break from the mold of normal fans and be as irreverent as possible. There are hundreds of pics of us just mugging for the camera instead of smiling."

So, there you have it. Since the start of it, the mosh has grown to be almost a rite of initiation for those crazy enough to sacrifice lots of time to be in the front. James actually had a lot of other interesting tidbits in his message to be, some of which I'll get to later.

Traditions - The Mosh

If you've been at any SU basketball games, you've probably seen some of us students jumping and bumping into each other with glee when the band plays the CBS NCAA theme song (Road to the Final Four) prior to the tip-off.

Let me tell you what I know about this tradition:

• I was introduced to it as a Freshman in 2003/2004, so it's been going on for at least 4 years. I suspect it may have been started during the championship run the year before, but that's unconfirmed. I sent a few messages out to recent alums to find out if it started during their tenures.
• The mosh itself occurs in front of the first row of the student section, but it is an activity not exclusive to students sitting in the front. We've had people come down from much higher rows to participate and even had some non-students, too.
• You might find some of the Dome staff clearing the area before the start of Road, particularly Bill G.

I'm sure there are some more interesting tidbits about this, so hopefully one of us will get to them later.

Introductions - Menotti

Hey everyone,
My name is Menotti Minutillo and I'm a senior at Syracuse University. In a little more than a week, Georgetown is coming here for a Big Monday match up against our beloved Orange.

For a game of this magnitude, there is going to be an extensive wait for the best possible seats in the general admission student section. As we've done for 4 years, we will be outside, braving the winter elements for a pretty long time.

In this blog, you'll find daily (or multi-daily) updates from the line forming at the Carrier Dome - (Gate E) by myself or one of the many other superfans. There will be great stories, pictures, and maybe even some movies. We should be getting some guest appearances by some pretty important people along the way, too.

So, when will we be getting in line? Check back to see!

Some of your authors: Dave, Bobby, Menotti (me), and Dennis