Ryan Nassib, good. Greg Paulus, bad.
That seems to be the fan rationale after SU’s loss to Cincinnati this weekend. When Paulus was in, he’d hear the boos, and when Nassib got in, he was cheered.
There is some shift in mentality to boo the hometown kid brought in by the new coach, versus one of the last recruits of the Groobers era.
Couzens made a bold statement¬†on the FizzCast; he thinks Syracuse football as a whole has a poor fan base as a whole. I couldn’t completely agree, and D.A argued against it.
It’s time to compile the evidence.
The first, as The Fizz noted on Halloween: just over 33,000 show up to watch Syracuse play a team that could end up in the BCS national title game (Scary but possible. Dave Rahme puts that in perspective).
Tickets were free for students, and only $10 for the rest of Orange Nation.
Ladies and gentlemen,¬†The Fizz is reporting more undergrads showed up for Sig Ep’s Halloween party than the Cincy game. You know, the same fraternity that¬†could barely fill it’s own house with brothers two years ago.
And they charged $5 at the door. Yikes.
So SU fans have checked out before checking in.
But what about the fans in attendance? This has always been a hotly contested argument, but while attending all but two home games this season, the number of “down-in-fronts,” early departures, and general apathy once the opponent scores has become too obvious to ignore.
And now the boobirds between Nassib and Paulus. What is this, Philly? Does Santa Claus get it next? Check two: SU fans have stopped giving their full support to this team.
It’s still unclear if Nassib is mobile enough to take the reigns full time, but that doesn’t seem to bother ‘Cuse fans one bit. Paulus is old, and new is always better. Even if it’s not.
Yes, the football has been bad. For a while. But this team is still bowl eligible, and many don’t seem to realize the biggest change that’s happening in Syracuse: Their football team is better than last year.
