NEW ORLEANS — Rumors circulated this weekend that soon after the Syracuse men’s basketball team’s charter flight to the Big Easy took off last Wednesday, a few Orangemen felt a little queasy. And this was more than a case of pre-Final Four butterflies.

Supposedly, the plane took a 10-second nosedive, sending players, coaches and administrative assistants into hysterics.

The story turned out to be false, but hey, would it have been so surprising if it were true? This entire season has, after all, been a wild ride, culminating last night in an on-court celebration and net-cutting ceremony, as the Orangemen beat Kansas, 81-78, to win the first national championship in school history.

The Orangemen’s mere appearance in the national championship game was a vindication, an honor for a group of 15 players that brought this university, this city, on a roller-coaster ride so fun even Jim Boeheim has been smiling. Well, smirking, at least.

Today, the Orangemen, and the rest of us, can step off the ride onto the platform and take a deep breath. There’s no reason to be sorry the ride’s over. Just celebrate because it happened.

Consider that, one year ago, Syracuse played in the NIT Final Four. In between arrests and in-fighting, that group learned to lose basketball games. Heck, they practically earned a Ph.D. in it. Roller-coaster ride? More like train wreck.

But this year’s Orangemen have been different from the start. Six months ago, before Carmelo was King and Gerry was golden and Billy was back, they came together as a group after each practice, put their hands together and shouted, in unison, “Final Four!”

“That’s what we’d say after every practice,” SU guard Josh Pace said softly, reflecting on those practices that seem so long ago. “We really believed we could get here.”

We laughed at them then. Final Four? Come on. Not one year removed from a car-accident season, and certainly not with four underclassmen starters, including two freshmen.

Then Syracuse dropped the season opener to Memphis at Madison Square Garden. The Orangemen missed foul shots down the stretch and played like freshmen. Who knew it’d be the last time that would happen?

“Phew, I don’t even remember that to tell you the truth,” SU center Craig Forth said. “I probably didn’t score though,” he added laughing, something he’s done more of this season.

“We played well,” Boeheim said of the Memphis game. “We played well during the middle of the year. We played well at the end of the year. We’ve been playing well in the tournament.”

So when, then, did the whole city hop on board? When did the rest of us start believing what the Orangemen believed all along?

Maybe somewhere in the midst of three court rushings after a home win against Pittsburgh. Or perhaps when Syracuse won three tough road games — at Michigan State, Notre Dame and Georgetown. Or it could’ve happened when Carmelo Anthony extended an invitation in the form of a Final Four guarantee.

Admittedly, just like after those early season Final Four chants, we chuckled at Anthony’s audacity. And we’re still smiling now, because, regardless of last night, the Orangemen have given this community so much to celebrate.

Before Sunday’s practice, the last of the season, the Orangemen used their latest rallying cry.

“Together!” their collective voices echoed through the cavernous, empty Superdome.

“Together,” Pace said. “That’s what we say now. We win together, we lose together.”

Last night, they won together. And this season, they brought this city together.

Pete Iorizzo is the sports editor at The Daily Orange, where his columns appear regularly. E-mail him at pniorizz@syr.edu.

Published on April 7, 2003 at 12:00 pm