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The general public waited 405 days to attend its first men’s lacrosse game in the renovated Carrier Dome. On Saturday, 683 fans watched Syracuse’s game against North Carolina, potentially the last and only home game this season that the general public was able to attend.

Syracuse welcomed a limited number of students back to the Dome beginning on March 6, and just over a month later, the general public returned for SU’s women’s lacrosse game on April 10.

Parents who waited a year to watch their kids play in the Dome were in attendance on Saturday and last weekend, too.

The Daily Orange talked to fans before and after Syracuse’s 21-9 loss to UNC about their favorite Dome memories, what they missed the most and what they were looking forward to about the renovated venue. Here’s what they had to say:

Ian Findlay
Fan, pregame

It’s been a rollercoaster ride over the past year — that’s the way I’d put it … I was most looking forward to having more fans in the building than we have today, but just looking forward to seeing the players on the field and hearing the fans, as opposed to watching it on TV. 

It’s been hard to yell at the TV and not at the field. It’s been frustrating. It’s been a year since I’ve been here, so I guess I just missed the colors on the field and being so close to the players themselves and hearing them on the sidelines.

Ian Findlay said that the last year has been frustrating, having to watch games on his TV at home, but he appreciated being back in the Carrier Dome stands. Roshan Fernandez | Sports Editor

Joe Varello
Brother of SU faceoff specialist Danny Varello, pregame

It’s so great that we’re back and we’re able to see (Danny) play, especially for his Senior Day. It’s been a long time coming … We left this morning at 5 a.m. to get COVID tests up here at 11 a.m. I left last night from where I work in Rhode Island, drove to New York, and then left this morning with my parents to come up here.

We’ve just been patiently waiting to have the opportunity to see him play in the Carrier Dome, and thankfully we’ve been able to get at least one … My mom, dad, sister have been traveling up and down the east coast to watch (Danny) play. So the family as a whole would be here every weekend in the Carrier Dome … If this year had been a regular year, all five of us would have been here every single game no matter what.

The main attraction is Danny Varello and the Syracuse Orange tonight, so we’re really looking forward to that. 

Dennis and Elaine Costanza
Brother and mom of faceoff coach Tommy Costanza, pregame

Dennis: I think (we missed) the general atmosphere, just being in the Dome. It’s the Dome. It’s home. It’s awesome. Just simply being in there, the atmosphere, the crowd — especially for a lacrosse game — when the guys score, nobody does it like ‘Cuse, I think. 

Elaine: It was a great atmosphere, and I’ve sat at a lot of lacrosse games in my lifetime outside. I like being inside instead. 

Dennis: (We miss) the nachos, the Dome dogs … 

Elaine: … the bathrooms. (No, I’m just joking). We haven’t seen the new Dome, we just want to see it renovated.

Elaine Costanza (left) and her son Dennis (right) came to the first men’s lacrosse game with fans to support Tommy Costanza, who’s SU’s faceoff coach. Lucy Messineo-Witt | Asst. Photo Editor

Carole Kametz
Fan, postgame

It’s nice to have a big center sign like you see in most of the bigger, newer stadiums. Otherwise, it was the same. The bathrooms were the same, unfortunately.

Larry Koch, Bob Ledyard and Chip Wilby
Fans, pregame

Chip: (On gameday), it’s about a five-hour drive from Connecticut. We meet in Scranton, (Pennsylvania) go to Coopers Seafood House, then drive straight up … 

Bob: We’ve known each other since seventh grade, 1966 … and we generally come to two or three events a year. 

I was impressed last year how they handled the handicap situation, because of my crutch, and I’ve had a condition for a while. And they put us up on this ramp, and there’s another friend of ours, and he was with us. They got up on a ramp, got to see very well, they were just very accommodating for my situation, so that’s very impressive. 

Chip: Bob always gets the best seats in the house, because he’ll go in, and then they’ll (tell us), “Well, your tickets are up in the nosebleed” and then “Oh, Bob, come down with us.”

Kevin and Patriece McPeak
Parents of SU goalie Nate McPeak, pregame

Kevin: We live in San Diego, so we watch all the games on ACC Network or ESPNU, so this is our first time in-person this year … Because we’re at a distance, we would probably come to one in-person game in other years too. This is our traditional one game this year. 

We realized 10 days ago (that the general public was allowed), and we were shocked and surprised. Like how can we make this work for our kid, just to celebrate him on Senior Day. We said “Let’s buy some plane tickets.”

Jim Daignault and Steve Silky are former lacrosse players who said they missed attending live games during the past year. Lucy Messineo-Witt | Asst. Photo Editor

Jim Daignault and Steve Silky
Fans, pregame

Jim: We got four games in last year, but it’s great. It’s exciting (to be here now). It’s better than TV. We both played lacrosse, so it’s an important part of our lives, and you want to be a part of it. There’s nothing like being at a game live as opposed to watching on TV.

I’ve had season tickets for 47 years for football, so I’ve seen the Dome as it progressed through the 40 years that it’s been open, so (the renovations) have been a small factor … I am curious to see how the lighting, how the boards and stuff are, but hopefully come September in football I’ll be able to see that again. I was disappointed that the Utah game was unfortunately canceled, but this is our shot. 

Steve: I worked up here for 14 years. I was a yellow coat (Dome staff member), and I haven’t seen the Dome yet. For me, the renovations are a lot because I spent so much time here. 

Richard Long (left) took his daughter, Shannon (right) to her first game in the Carrier Dome when she was younger. Lucy Messineo-Witt | Asst. Photo Editor

Richard and Shannon Long
Fans, father and daughter, pregame

Shannon: I think we missed being with other fans and being able to cheer with other fans. You can watch at home, but it’s not as fun. It was more comfortable on the couch.

Richard: You knew that when you got done with the game you wouldn’t be walking through the cold to the parking lot or anything else, but it’s not the same thing as being there. It’s more the aura of being there too. 

The biggest thing that I remember was the fact that there’d be so many people here for a lot of the big games. And trying to go to the concessions, or even if you’re trying to make your way to the bathroom, you’d have to go up and down the steps to the upper aisles to be able to make any headway. I think a lot of it is just looking to see the renovations, but whatever they end up being, we’ll end up coming anyway.

Tucker Dordevic
SU All-American midfielder, postgame

The vast majority of the fans in the Dome, it was our parents and our loved ones. So that made it even extra special, the fact that you can look up in the stands and see mom and dad and know that they’re finally going to watch you play after such a long break. 

These interviews were edited for brevity and clarity. Sportscast host Thomas Shults contributed reporting.

Published on April 18, 2021 at 10:36 pm

Contact Roshan: rferna04@syr.edu | @Roshan_f16