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Syracuse Basketball: What Should You Do After An Early NCAA Tournament Exit From The Orange?

Syracuse's unexpected loss to Dayton in the round of 32 probably made SU fans do a lot of things they don't normally do afterwards. So, how exactly should one handle a situation like this?

By Jared E. Smith

What the hell do you do this time of year, after your favorite college team--in our case, the Syracuse Orange--fall short of meeting expectations, thus, leading to a crappy mood for days, weeks, possibly, months after?

For me, I try to keep to a vow I made with myself a few years ago--do not get emotionally distraught over a loss for more than 24 hours. Much like going through a bad break-up, I give myself time to grieve and that's it. No more. It is time to feel better and move on with my life.

But, what do I do in those 24 hours before my personal deadline?

Well, on Thursday night, in the middle of Syracuse's frustrating Round of 32 loss to the awful, terrible, terrible, awful Dayton Flyers, 55-53, I decided to take it out on some sheep skin.

(Pretty sure, I threw-out my arm. It tingled a lot after that.)

Right now, I am writing about it. I might hit the gym later today and reflect about this season a tad bit more.

How do others do it?

Unconfirmed reports say this Florida man decided to, literally, burn a place down.

Police said Jason Buchanan walked into a bar on South Ridgewood Avenue and ordered $80 worth of shots of alcohol Friday.

According to investigators, Buchanan, 33, downed all the shots and then set fire to a trash can in the bar's men's room.

When Buchanan went to leave, multiple people tried to stop him. Police said he punched them all in the face, including one man over 70 years old.

(Note: there's no proof this man actually did this because of Syracuse's loss, however, I am pretty sure there's someone in the CNY area that may have done a similar thing.)

Meanwhile, a piece of Orange Nation decided to blame. Blame Tyler Ennis for his decision making (even though, SU wouldn't have been in the spot it was without the freshman). Blame Jim Boeheim's for his inability to create some roster depth during the regular season. Blame Trevor Cooney's inconsistent shooting. Blame the referees for missing a traveling call. Blame the referees for being flat out bad, overall. Blame C.J. Fair for not delivering a top-notch performance when SU needed it the most. Blame me for writing this piece back in early February.

(I stand by the article, but I'll admit when I am wrong. So, sorry for being wrong. Again.)

Placing blame is the easy thing to do, and is a pastime for many sports fans after a loss. It is basic human nature, as humans naturally need something to point the finger at, or a scapegoat, because it is impossible to believe that reality just sucks sometimes.

After a bad loss, some fans reflect and be real, like TNIAAM friend @HoyaSuxa:

(Amen, brother.)

Other TNIAAMers immediately start talking about next year (I'll get to that tomorrow), or just plain lose their minds and apologize for it later.

Getting back to yours truly, I tend to gravitate to TNIAAM more during loses than victories because I know, for the most part, the takes in the post-game comments section will be emotional but fair--which is how I like to look at things. See, the great thing about Syracuse basketball is it has helped create a great community here that we can all use as a therapy session, which features a group that cares passionately for its team but doesn't take itself too seriously because we've been through this shit too many times before.

Luckily, it looks as if the men's basketball program's future will feature more success than failures, and, let's be honest, before the first loss to Boston College, this season was filled with a lot of unexpected success.

Right now, this does suck and it should because you care. But, let me toss you some advice, try not to let it carry on for more than 24 hours. It is not worth your sanity and this season gave us a lot more than we ever expected it to.

No, there's no gravy here but the meal was pretty good without it.

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