When / why did Syracuse become ESPN's punching bag?

SU(3) beat Oklahoma(1) Texas(1, [who beat UConn, who beat SU during the season.]) and Kansas(2), who beat Duke(3, but 1 in espn’s heart), Arizona(1) and Marquette(3), and Marquette beat Kentucky(1). Ergo we beat everyone’s preseason, midseason, and postseason favorites and proved everyone wrong. Wrong people hold grudges. #6DegreesOfKevinBacon’d

Or at least, that’s how it seems. I enjoy pissing ESPN off now, though.

Of course, according to a bunch of posters here, ESPN treats SU like any other school (cough*bullshit*cough).

ESPN execs are Newhousers. Great way to stick it to your boss.

“Syracuse doesn’t play a ranked team on the road until February 5th!”

Which, I guess, is the only thing ESPN considers to be a “real” game.

Now, even this wouldn’t be as big a deal…..if they didn’t hold teams like Kentucky or UNC or Dook to the same standard. UK isn’t playing any “real” games in conference until February 7th and ESPN only peeped once, and it wasn’t in the mocking way they do it to us. As for UNC, they’re guilty of about 90% of the sins we’re guilty of, their only difference being a road game at UK, which is forced every year. And then there was the whole FSU drubbing on the road which ESPN didn’t mock them for as much as they mocked us for our road loss at ND which wasn’t nearly as bad. As for Dook, how many teams can you find that lose a game and then move UP in the rankings three spots? Also it seems like Dook almost NEVER leaves Cameron Indoor these days.

in the Big East -SEC challenge.

because he doesn’t suffer fools.

ESPN pulled the strings to get Syracuse into the ACC because 1) that would make their basketball conference more appealing and provide much needed programming during the winter, 2) they wanted to stick it to the Big East for turning down their proposed contract, and 3)it is a proven fact that 100% of all Newhouse alum work at ESPN*.

But, ESPN cannot come out and be pro-Syracuse because then it would be obvious that the network colluded/tortiously interfered with SU/Big East. So they have to appear as though they truly hate Syracuse and have a bias against their sports, and as long as SU fans appear jilted then the rest of the world will be convinced.

*May not be factual

Look, we know Gottlieb has it in for SU and will take any/every chance he can to knock SU. We should be thankful that Tom Brennan, his former tag-team partner/deal-with-the-devil-maker, is no longer at the network. But to suggest that ESPN, which is crawling with SU alumni, is anti-Syracuse is just plain wrong.

And while I don’t agree with many Penn State alums/fans who went crazy on ESPN for their coverage of the Paterno/Sandusky matter (even suggesting that the network was soft-shoeing how it handled SU in comparison to the PSU football program.), we are not being treated totally unfairly by that network. The Fine thing deserved coverage. The schedule can be critiqued. The Fab Melo thing has to be mentioned because the team is really different without him there.

Sometimes, I think we’re too sensitive as a fan base. The way we’ve reacted to every piece of somewhat negative news reported by them would lead one to believe that there’s nothing but Georgetown alums there.