#OrangeEagle: The Most Important Game in The History of Anything

"Look, if you had one shot or one opportunity to have everything you ever wanted in one moment, would you capture it, or let it slip?" -Eminem

On Thursday night in Charlottesville, VA, the Syracuse Orange will play the Boston College Eagles in the first round of the ACC Women's Lacrosse Tournament (6:00pm EST;  RSN, ESPN3). An objective observer might comment that it is a matchup of two ranked teams that are trying to grab a high seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. An objective observer might also comment that it will be a rematch of a Feb. 28th matchup where BC nipped the Orange 10-9 in the Carrier Dome.

Good lord, objective observers are boring as hell...

This game is for all the marbles, folks!

The always awesome Claudia Ceva broke down the upcoming matchup earlier this week, so I don't have to tell you that this game is kind of important...like "win, and we keep the Orange Eagle Trophy!" important...like "lose, and we're pretty much screwed!" important.

Indeed, with the score locked at 51-51, a win Thursday night gives SU a six point advantage, and forces BC to have to win the NCAA Women's Lacrosse Championship in order to take the trophy. That will be a tall order and I think we can start breaking out the victory beer (craft beer of course, John). But a loss??? Well, a loss forces SU's Men's or Women's lacrosse teams to win a National Championship, and if BC should actually run the table and take the ACC title, we are all but done and the trophy heads East along the Mass Pike to Chestnut Hill...the very thought of that makes me want to curl up in the fetal position and rock back and forth holding my plush Carmelo Anthony Bleacher Creature doll.  Don't ask.

So there should be no doubt about the stakes on this one. It's our moment, and we must capture it!

So to Orange Nation, Coach Gait and our mighty Orange warriors, I'd like to pump you all up and address you directly in the only way I know how: by generally plagiarizing arguably the greatest motivational speech in movie history:

Great moments are born from great opportunity.  And that is what you have here tonight.  That's what you've earned here tonight.

One game...if we played them fourteen times, they might win one of them. In fact, it took them fourteen tries before they won one of them, but that win was earlier this year and it really let them back in this Orange Eagle Competition. I mean, darn it team, if we had just won that one, we'd be up 56-45 and I wouldn't even need to be sitting here in front of you giving this unnecessarily wordy motivational speech! Alright, point delivered...let's stay on message here.

They might be able to win a game, but not this game.  Not tonight.

Tonight we play with them.

Tonight we stay with them, and we shut them down because WE CAN!!!

Tonight, we are the greatest lacrosse team in the world.

You were born to be lacrosse players -- every one of you.

And you were meant to be here tonight.

This is your time.

Their time is done.  It's over.

I'm sick and tired af hearing what a great lacrosse team The Eagles have. And I'm frankly terrified of the thought of losing the Orange Eagle to BC Interruption. The shame! And do you have any idea how much it will cost Sean Keeley to ship the trophy across the country??? I mean, DOC Gross' football assistant coaches salary budget wouldn't have been able to cover standard shipping let alone express...

So screw em!!! This is YOUR time...now go out there and take it!!!

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That should get 'em going...