The Basketball Tournament was created only two years ago but so far it’s been a big success both for players and fans. It’s easy to see that the competition will continue to thrive in the future. Watching old Syracuse stars compete for $1 million dollars has been an exciting an unexpected basketball bonus for SU fans this summer.
Boeheim’s Army may have been eliminated from the tournament Saturday night after losing to City of Gods 80-76 in Chicago, but a promise to compete next summer already has Orange fans excited for 2016. For as fun and entertaining as TBT was for Orange Nation, the media coverage of Boeheim’s Army was at times a little annoying and just too much.
Various media outlets in Syracuse covered this tournament like it was the real NCAA Tournament. All people really needed from the press was information on how to watch Boeheim’s Army games and then recaps with box scores after the team played.
It became a chore to look at the Syracuse.com basketball page during TBT. Too many of the headlines were dry, pointless, or writers trying too hard to find a story
After Boeheim‚Äôs Army won it‚Äôs two games in Philadelphia there was this headline: ‚ÄúJim Boeheim on Boeheim’s Army in The Basketball Tournament: ‘They’ve got a chance.’‚Äù You don‚Äôt say.
This story was also published: ‚ÄúBehind the scenes with Boeheim’s Army: 3 towels, a missing jersey and Thai Sweet Chili bars‚Äù Kudos for digging deep on this one, but how many Syracuse fans really care about Eric Devendorf‚Äôs take on chili bars? People want information on the actual games; this was over the top.
There’s no denying that Syracuse basketball fans are some of the best in the country and that the way Orange Nation rallied around Boeheim’s Army was special.
The good people in the 315 care; but they don’t care enough to know that Devendorf introduced a team full of former SU players to meditation, or how Baye Moussa Keita’s relationship with his girlfriend’s brother is going. Both of these topics were featured in articles on Syracuse.com.
Next summer, Boeheim’s Army will need to use a different strategy to try and win the $1 million championship. It would be nice if the Syracuse press altered their approach to The Basketball Tournament as well.
Posted: Connor Morrissette
