Over the years, players and coaches come and go. Rarely is it that things stay the same.
Even this past year with Syracuse basketball returning all five starters, it was a completely different team. Elijah Hughes became eligible to play. Buddy Boeheim joined the team and left an impression. Jalen Carey came off the bench as well.
But as we get caught up in the day to day transactions, one thing we don’t think much about is how to say goodbye. Usually the day comes where a player or coach leaves, we talk about it for a moment, and then we move on.
While fans might cheer for the same team year after year and we sports staff may cover teams through the seasons, really, the team is constantly changing. As fans cheer for the Orange, they are really shouting praise for so many different people who have worn the color over time. It comes to represent all of them together. Forever Orange.
It’s part of the deal. To have the great moments—whether it be a great player for one season, two seasons, three or four or whether it is a great coach who then decides to go to another school as Mike Hopkins did—those moments come at the price of having to say goodbye at some point. And maybe we like to ignore it in the moment or just get carried away with the present, but, eventually, a player or a coach moves on from Syracuse.
Eric Dungey was sent off this year at the highest of highs. He had a true origin story four years ago when he took the field in the first quarter of his first college game. Then fans chanted his name as he walked off the Carrier Dome turf for the last time as a four-year starter.
Tyus Battle said “so long” in a letter and gave fans final high fives as he walked off the court.
The same goes for us writers here at The Fizz. Just like the players, we have four years to give it our all, to play hard and continue to improve. We hope to build a fan base here at Orange Fizz through our writing, tweets, FizzCasts and Fizz Radio.
And so we do. But it’s also part of our deal that we will move on, hoping to be “drafted” to work professionally as well.
So, players say their thanks as they move on, and here is my moment to be nostalgic, too. I try to make my posts about the games and the players, not about me (though they sometimes may include my blogging thoughts and opinions put out there for consideration, and I’ve definitely seen and heard your Syracuse sports opinions over time as well). But I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to thank you as well as I move on, just as the Syracuse figures we write about do.
Thank you Seth Goldberg (remember him?) for recruiting me to Orange Fizz. Thank you coach D.A. for training me, supporting me along the way and providing these excellent opportunities to learn about sports reporting and how the business works. Thank you fellow Fizz team members for being awesome to work with and taking the content we produce to whole new levels.
Thank you fans for your support.
And thank you Syracuse football and basketball for the highs and the lows (*cough* we could have done without some of the lows, thanks very much *cough*).
Keep reading OrangeFizz.net for all your Syracuse football and basketball news. Keep listening to FizzCasts and Fizz Radio on SoundCloud, iTunes and Spotify (and Saturday Mornings 9-10 a.m. on The Score 1260). Keep responding to @OrangeFizz tweets on Twitter.
Orange Fizz is the place to be.
Thank you.
Until next time,
David
Published: David Edelstein
