Dissapointing but Still Worth the $45

11/22/07

Happy Thanksgiving officially now- Unfortunately my Holiday break really got off on the wrong foot.

I got lucky in the fact that Syracuse was going to playing a season tip-off tournament at Madison Square Garden while I was home in Queens. When I found out, I immediately bought tickets, which happened to be 8 rows off the court.

Not only were the seats out of this world amazing, but th Garden is Syracuse's home away from home, and tonight was no exception. The Worlds Most Famous had moments where it was transformed into the Loud House, with everybody standing and cheering and reminding me why nothing compares to seeing Syracuse Basketball in the Carrier Dome.

Being a Knicks fan (sad to say these days), going to the Garden to watch basketball is an experience like nothing else. They always say New York is the mecca of basketball, and its absolutely true. It may a self-proclaimed title, but the Garden is easily the Worlds most recognizable entertainment and sports venue.

So getting my first chance to watch my favorite college basketball team play there was something I was not going to pass up. And if you take the final score out of the equation, the night lived up to and exceeded my expectations.

The atmosphere was incredible, standing until Cuse hit their first field goal (we all know free throws dont count), the Lets Go Orange chants, seeing the entire crowd stand as though we were one giant student section screaming when we needed (but never actually got) a big defensive stop. It was amazing.

But the sad reality was the game itself was a big let down. And thats pretty much how things go when it comes to the sports teams I root for.

Syracuse got completely outplayed and in my opinion out coached (sorry Jim) by a young, hungry Ohio State team, bringing Orange basketball fans back down to earth.

The offense struggled and never really got into any sort of flow, the ball movement wasnt there most of the night, the rebounding was a joke as it usually is, but most of all, the defense was nowhere to be found. And as a result, Ohio State scored inside and out at will, and Syracuse just could never recover.

So all in all, the game itself was really disappointing, however the experience itself was really great. Just seeing (in my opinion) 80% of the crowd- most of whom don't currently attend Syracuse Univeristy- completely turn MSG into the Dome was worth going for.

If they can figure out how to fix their defensive issues and get more comfortable running the offense, I see no reason why I wont be able to make a return trip at some point down the road.

I'm thinking Big East tournament.

See you there in March.