Take it as a compliment, Villanova. Every time you come to the Dome, we show up in record numbers to watch the Orange beat you.
First it was G-Mac's last game, which you somehow won. There were 33,633 of us there for that one.
Your ears are probably still ringing after last year, when 34,616 of us watch SU bring down the hammer.
Now, despite the fact that there will be no Gameday crew and no public attempt to break a record, Cuse fans are on pace to top last year's record-breaking attendance number. Well if that don't beat all.
Syracuse officials said Wednesday that more than 33,000 tickets had been sold for the game, and coach Jim Boeheim was featured in a video on the university's athletic website encouraging fans to buy the few nosebleed seats still available.
One person in particular that everyone will be happy to see in attendance is Kris Joseph. The wounded Orange recovering from a concussion that kept him out of the Pittsburgh game. He's been practicing and he understands how important it is to get back on the court and help SU win.
"I know I feel a lot better, and every day I get better," said Joseph, who averaged 19.5 points in the Orange's first four Big East games before getting hurt. "Today, I'm just going to get some shots up and see how that feels. Tomorrow, I'll do a little bit more. Every day I have to do a little bit more to see how I feel. Hopefully, I'll be back."
"We're trying to break that 34,616," he said. "I heard there was already students camping out, which is amazing. You've got to love Syracuse fans. It's going to be a great game, and I definitely want to be a part of it, be able to play and not just watch from the sidelines."
KJ says that even if he isn't cleared to play, he still wants to be there to support his teammates:
"Even if I didn’t play, I would have rather been there, so I could give guys like James (Southerland) and C.J. (Fair) some instructions on the court," said Joseph, referring to the two young forwards who took on more playing time in his absence. "It’s harder to watch at home where no one can hear you when you’re screaming at them. That was the toughest thing for me, watching the team when I couldn’t do anything to help them."
I'm not a psychologist but there's something about the way Kris uses the past tense when discussing the upcoming game. It's as if he doesn't believe what he's saying about not playing. That would make sense considering what he said on Twitter Wednesday:
Don't take it as gospel, but, it's encouraging.