Back in '97 (or maybe it was '98), we stormed the court after beating Georgetown. It happened to be the weekend my friend was up from Marist. He later told me that in the middle of the fracas, he rubbed the head of some bald guy wearing glasses who didn't seem like he belonged. I then told him he had rubbed the head of Jim Boeheim. He didn't know who that was. Ah, Marist kids... What is it about Georgetown that makes us want to storm the court? I don't know...I guess it's just been a perfect storm of events leading up to the game both times in the last two seasons (Syracuse on the bubble, desperate for a season-changing win, the Hoyas are nationally-ranked, Syracuse won rather handily both times). Even though I didn't actually see the game, I knew that we had stormed the court after we won. We must have. And I'm okay with that. As long as its a rare occasion, I can live with it.
Naturally, if there's anything you can put your money on after fans storm the court, it's that someone's gonna get up on their soapbox and decry it as heresy. And here he is. Via SyracuseSportsBlog, I have seen said soapboxer and he is a UConn Husky.
Right off the bat he lost me. It's okay for UConn to rush the field against a South Florida football program that didn't exist fifteen years ago but I'm about to learn why it's blasphemy to rush the floor against a hated rival...okay...
Look, I agree that storming the court is not something that should happen often. In fact, more than once a season is probably pushing it. But I don't buy the whole "Syracuse is a basketball school with past success" theorem for one simple reason...the people doing the storming have nothing to do with that.
Yes, Syracuse won the national title in 2003. But a current student at Syracuse wasn't there when it happened. Five years doesn't sound like a long time but in the minds of SU basketball fans, that was a lifetime ago. The current student body knows more about what's it like to lose in the first round of the NCAA tournament or miss it altogether than win it. And as we know, one season out of the Tourney feels like a decade.
If you've followed Syracuse basketball even remotely the last two seasons you know that this team has been in and out of NCAA Tournament contention on a game-by-game basis the entire time. Every game, especially in the Big East, has been crucial to our post-season status. And furthermore, every big win has been a vital victory, one that usually hasn't materialized. So when it does happen and the door opens ever so slightly to ensure that we can get back to the promised land, it's an achievement worth celebrating.
I had the good fortune of storming the basketball court twice and the football field once. One of the basketball instances was worthwhile and one was admittedly a little greedy. The football one (the last second win over VT) was completely and totally warranted. Like I said, it's a judgment call and not one to made often. But done in moderation, there's no harm in celebrating in a harmless, fun fashion. Unless you have a giant stick up your ass, but then again, if you do you probably stopped reading by now to go make some tea and complain to no one in particular about how the girls these days don't cover their midriffs quite enough for your liking.
The UConn writer makes one exception to the rule, and you tell me if it sounds kosher:
The only exception to this idea would be if a school's Hall-of-Fame head coach was coaching his final home game and everyone wanted to rush the court and carry him off as a way of showing their appreciation for more than 20 years of success. That's really the only time people at Syracuse, UConn and Duke could legitimately rush the court.Really? Who does that? When does that happen? You foresee a situation where a collection of 18-22 year olds will be unable to control themselves and rush the court in a frenzy of excitement because their Hall of Fame coach is leaving yet the idea of them rushing the court after a monster upset in a meaningful game that impact's the team's postseason chances is uncoothe? What am I missing?
And of course, our UConn friend can't skip a chance to take a dig at SU and our favorite son:
This isn't your football team, Syracuse, people expect good things from the basketball program. So do yourselves a favor and don't embarrass your program any more than Gerry McNamara's NBDL career already has.I tell you what. We'll make sure to do that if UConn fans do us a favor and don't embarrass themselves any more than their entire athletics department already has.