In a recent article in The Daily Orange football section, Sports Editor Michael Cohen criticized Syracuse fans for not showing support, as evidenced by thin attendance in the Carrier Dome against Toledo. He questions fans for not supporting a team ‘on the rise,’ citing the team’s winning record and high-scoring overtime thrillers. Lastly, he described the first three home games as ‘scintillating.’  

The simple truth is that this season Syracuse football has been a disappointment to many of its fans. There is nothing scintillating about your team struggling for three quarters, at home, to scratch out fourth-quarter and overtime victories over below-average to average opponents you are favored to beat. Coming off a controversial bowl game win last year; struggling at home to beat Wake Forest University, University of Rhode Island and University of Toledo, who have a combined record of 27-44 the last two years; getting beat down against the only major Bowl Championship Series contender in University of Southern California; and winning games with extra points that shouldn’t even count are nothing to be excited about. I won’t even mention the double-overtime debacle that occurred Saturday against Rutgers University, picked by most to finish last in the Big East.

Sure, the games are exciting for the players. I played football all four years in high school, and there is no better feeling than your team having a comeback win in overtime. However, speaking as a fan now, the simple truth is we Syracuse football fans have a short attention span for a program that has just recently had any type of success. It is no easy task, but if Syracuse wants to get its fans and especially students back in the Dome, the program needs to start scheduling bigger name opponents at home and at least competing with them. In the future, the move to the ACC should help with this. In the meantime, if there are to be any more ‘swarms’ of students in the Dome, the university should expand on its most recent gift to its students and make the rest of the home games free. Go Orange.    

Spencer Herbst

Sophomore in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management    

       

 

Published on October 3, 2011 at 12:00 pm