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As Syracuse Orange fans, we’re naturally biased toward SU in certain cases, though around here, we do try to keep things realistic. The glasses are orange-colored to some extent, of course. But we’re not blind.
Still, there are exceptions where we can’t be reasoned with, like our answers to this question posed on Twitter yesterday:
What’s your most biased sports opinion that you will think is true no matter what?
— Charles LaRocca (@CLaRoccaJr) May 7, 2018
Kevin was quick to add the answer many of us have around the 2010 national title. But if we’re providing a full rundown of the most (irrationally) biased Syracuse sports opinions, this is probably the short list...
Arinze Onuaku’s injury derailed Syracuse’s 2010 national championship
I knew it as soon as it happened. An injury in a meaningless (as meaningless as those games could get, anyway) Big East Tournament game vs. Georgetown immediately looked like it was going to cause some problems for the Orange in the NCAAs, even if we didn’t know Onuaku would be absent until later. Never mind the fact that Syracuse out-rebounded Butler by 10 in the Orange’s 63-59 loss and also out-shot the Bulldogs from the floor. The turnovers (18 in total) was really what did them in. But again, don’t bring any of these facts up in here.
Fab Melo would’ve led Syracuse to the 2012 national championship
This one has some more merit because of how the season ultimately ended. Melo had been a force inside all year, and the offense’s success was in part due to his presence. Without him, then-unproven Rakeem Christmas and Baye Keita were really the only answers inside, but that didn’t stop them from getting to the Elite 8. A whistle-happy game ended with a 77-70 Orange loss, but SU was out-rebounded by 13. Jared Sullinger did whatever he wanted inside and despite the close game, it did largely feel inevitable.
The Brandon Triche and C.J. Fair charge calls
These happened separately, but are linked by the fact that they were both egregiously bad calls that basically ended SU’s respective chances in close games. The 2013 contest hurts more, because it was the Final Four vs. Michigan and we were down just two when Triche was called. The C.J. Fair call vs. Duke in 2014 ended up giving us the Jim Boeheim jacket toss, but was similarly bogus otherwise.
Pat Dye is a bitch
Tied at 16 with the 11-0 Orangemen, Auburn coach Pat Dye opted for the tie to end the 1988 Sugar Bowl. SU would finish the season with one tie and no defeats, which sort of stopped them from any shared national title talk — though that didn’t stop us from printing t-shirts 30 years later. Dye was mailed 2,000 neckties following the game and is still considered terrible among Syracuse fans to this day.
Jim Brown and Don McPherson were both robbed of the Heisman Trophy
Actually, these are not arguable. Notre Dame’s Paul Hornung won in 1956 while throwing for 917 yards and three scores, with another 420 yards on the ground as a member of a 2-8 Irish team. That’s a joke compared to Brown, who had over 1,000 yards from scrimmage and 14 touchdowns — playing for a top 10 team. Same goes for the 1987 award, which was award to ND’s Tim Brown, who had 990 total yards and four TDs. Meanwhile, Don McPherson accounted for nearly 2,600 yards and 27 scores for an unbeaten Orangemen team. Both seem like no-brainers. Don’t @ me.
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There are plenty more of these, I’m sure. So what are your own heavily biased opinions about SU sports?