Syracuse vs. Georgetown: Hoyas Bring Rivalry, Sour Grapes To Dome

When you look at the history of the Big East, the Syracuse Orange and Georgetown Hoyas were the two schools most responsible for building the conference, and not just for what occurred on the court. So it's with more than a tinge of regret that we enter what is sure to be one of the final Big East contests with them on Wednesday.

But what's that you say? That's not how some Georgetown fans see it? Well enlighten me, how do they see it?

As Syracuse prepares to slink off to the ACC, it's possible that we won't see the Hoyas in the Carrier Dome anytime soon. The Big East will also be different, but no worse for the loss of Syracuse. The Big East became an institution in the 1980's. Looking at the numbers this much is clear - Georgetown made the Big East and the Big East made Syracuse.

...Syracuse will miss the Big East a lot more than the Big East will miss Syracuse.

My goodness, if that's not the most Georgetown thing I've ever read, I don't know what is.

I think I've got it now. If it weren't for Georgetown, there would be no Syracuse and hence, there would be no move to the ACC. Got it. Georgetown's going with the "we were really awesome 30 years ago and you owe us for that" approach. Noted and recorded.

It's the perfect Big East mantra, really. "We have tradition! We have legacy! We might not be quite what we used to be, but...it's still real to us, dammit!"

Look, it's not our fault you didn't have the foresight to see that college athletics was about football revenue. Just like the Big East itself, you can't expect those of us that did (and built a quality stadium all the way back in 1980) to wait around for you to figure it out.

That said, yes, let the record show that we think it sucks that our rivalry is ending. Syracuse fans are not happy to see the Georgetown series end, or at least end as a conference battle.

We are, however, realists. We move forward, living in the present. You can live in the past (and considering almost everything written so far on Casual Hoya is about how Georgetown dominated Syracuse in the 1980's, it looks like they are).

ANYWAY, the Georgetown blog Vox Populi takes a pragmatic approach to breaking down the history between our schools, making an excellent point. While most college rivalries are born of geography (Duke - UNC, Mich - OSU, Florida - Florida St.), Syracuse and Georgetown grew merely out of the simple fact that we were both almost always very good. Syracuse vs. Georgetown mattered every single time.

Of course, they then go one to use two instances 30 years apart to paint Syracuse fans as scumbags while glossing over their own player and fan indiscretions, but, such is fandom. I can dig that.

To be sure, I'll miss all of this. They're right when they say it won't be the same when we play Wake Forest, Georgia Tech or Florida State in the Dome. Those rivalries will take years to develop, saturate with emotion and form into must-win contests against hated foes. If they ever do.

Unfortunately, those above both Syracuse and Georgetown's pay grade set in motion the events (or lack thereof) that will end the rivalry. If that quote from above is correct, if Georgetown made the Big East and the Big East made Syracuse, then perhaps it's only fitting that Syracuse knew when to walk away while Georgetown sank with it's creation.

Syracuse expects 30,000-plus fans for Wednesday's game against Georgetown...Syracuse.com

Important Georgetown-Syracuse Information: A Flowchart for Sound Decision-Making...HoyaSuxa

Syracuse scouting report: Georgetown...The Juice Online

Former Player Looks Back to the Beginning of the Georgetown-Syracuse Rivalry...Casual Hoya

A Tradition Unlike Any Other: The Wager with Hoya Suxa on Georgetown-Syracuse 2012...Casual Hoya

Georgetown, Syracuse Set to Clash at Carrier Dome...The Hoya

SU students camp out for Georgetown game...YNN

SU, Hoya Students Join To Combat Hunger...SU Athletics