0:00
And yeah, I'm wearing my Syracuse
0:02
hoodie. And this week there was
0:05
photographs at the start of a a game
0:09
against Cal in which the the school the
0:14
attendance at the dome was sparse at
0:17
best for tip off between Syracuse and
0:19
Cal. And there were so many people that
0:22
took to social media to say, "Look at
0:25
how this program has fallen." and
0:28
pointing the finger at the ACC and see
0:31
they chased the money and did the deal
0:33
with the devil and that's why nobody in
0:35
central New York cares. That's why this
0:45
that is as loyal to the history and
0:51
than yours truly. You all know that.
0:54
And I loved the Big East and I used to
0:57
go to the Big East tournament annually
0:59
and I sat in the Carrier Dome for games
1:02
against Satan Hall and St. John's and
1:04
Pit and Yukon. I I I sat in that dome
1:09
when the place was on fire and there
1:12
were 30,000 people there and it exploded
1:15
in this regional intensity and your big
1:18
Mondays and your big players and your
1:21
big personalities and your big coaches
1:23
and your Georgetowns and your your
1:25
bloodthirst for these schools. I know it
1:29
and I loved it. And yeah, I don't like
1:32
the ACC. I never have and never will. I
1:34
don't like being in the ACC.
1:38
But the narrative that Syracuse ruined
1:41
itself by chasing the ACC dollars
1:46
is also not rooted in reality
1:48
because what was the alternative?
1:52
It is true. You go to the Carrier Dome
1:54
and aside when from when Duke and North
1:57
Carolina come to town, the dome never
1:59
feels the same. A game against Florida
2:01
State, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech doesn't
2:04
feel anywhere close to what it used to.
2:06
And the Big East in basketball is still
2:08
fun. It's still cool. And you'd still
2:11
love to be in it. No doubt about it. You
2:13
want Providence coming in. You want
2:15
Georgetown coming in. You want Yukon
2:17
coming in. You want Satan Hall coming
2:19
in. That would be beautiful.
2:23
But what was the alternative? Because
2:26
you still got a football program.
2:31
That's that's the nut here. That's the
2:34
nut and it's the unfortunate nut. But
2:37
it's the nut. What are you going to do
2:41
Are you going to say, "Okay, football
2:43
drops to FCS like Villanova. So, you'll
2:46
be in the Big East in basketball and
2:48
then in FCS school in football cuz yeah,
2:52
you'd love Nova coming to the Carrier
2:53
Dome, but what happens to football? is
2:57
that you become an independent. Okay,
3:01
look at what happened to Yukon football.
3:04
Look at what happened to Yukon football
3:08
came back to the Big East. And look at
3:11
what happened to Yukon when they were
3:13
left out of the ACC and went to the
3:17
I mean, it nearly destroyed all
3:19
programs. They had to come running back
3:22
to the Big East because it was such a
3:25
debacle. Because instead of selling
3:28
Syracuse Georgetown or Syracuse Georgia
3:30
Tech rather, they were selling Yukon
3:35
Even more meaningless.
3:40
What is Syracuse football going to go to
3:42
the MAC? You going to play Bowling Green
3:44
now? You going to play match Tuesdays?
3:48
See, that's the problem is that all
3:50
those Big E schools, which you would
3:51
love to be tethered to in every other
3:53
sport but football, don't have football
3:56
programs of note. They don't. They
3:59
either don't have them or they play him
4:04
It doesn't matter. Most of them just
4:08
So, I think it's convenient excuse or
4:10
it's a convenient talking point to say,
4:12
"See, they ruined everything by going to
4:14
the ACC." which don't get me wrong, I
4:15
wish we were not in the ACC,
4:18
but unless there was a power conference
4:21
in football that still wanted Syracuse
4:25
football and didn't want their
4:26
basketball program, okay, which hard to
4:34
the problem wasn't going to the ACC. The
4:36
problem was there was no other choice.
4:41
That is the problem of college
4:42
athletics. That is the problem of the
4:44
NCAA. That is the problem with how the
4:48
whole thing is built. Conference
4:50
realignment sucks. Who knows where
4:53
anybody is? Maryland shouldn't be in the
4:56
Big 10. Syracuse shouldn't be in the
4:58
AZZ. West Virginia shouldn't be in the
5:00
Big 12. Nebraska shouldn't be in the Big
5:03
10. There should be Arizona shouldn't be
5:06
in the Big 12. There should be a Pack
5:11
But because of the way it evolved,
5:16
grabbing onto the lifeboat and saying,
5:19
"Save me," has been the only way to
5:24
I don't like what it's become, but you
5:28
give me the alternative.
