The 2016-2017 Orange Eagle Preview - The Trophy Returns!

History has been littered with great moments of sporting redemption. Moments where individuals and programs are the butt of jokes one minute, and the toast of the town the next. In such moments, the errs of the past are quickly forgotten, leaving instead a lasting legacy of glory which is gleefully immortalized by those fans who traveled from the depths of despair to the heights of ecstasy.

The 2015-2016 Orange Eagle Trophy was, for Boston College fans, the Lower Level Parking lot of the depths of despair.  From the outset, Syracuse dominated with a performance from its Olympic sports that was unrivaled in the school's history. SU won all but four head-to-head match ups against the Eagles and loaded up on bonus points at a startling pace including an ACC Championship in Men's Soccer, a National Championship in Field Hockey, and an ACC/National Championship Double from Men's Cross Country (all coming in the Fall Semester). In the end, 'Cuse walked away with a record 95-18 victory in year three of the competition, keeping the trophy for a third straight year, and leaving many in the TNIAAM and BC Interruption Communities wondering: "is this thing even worth playing for"?

For God's sake, YES people, it's worth playing for!!!  Let me ask you some questions from real life history:

• Did Herb Brooks ask the 1980 US Ice Hockey Team if the Olympics were worth playing for after getting drubbed 10-3 by the Soviets a mere 12 days before the Miracle on Ice game?
• Did Peter LaFleur ask Average Joe's Gym if the Las Vegas International Dodgeball Tournament was worth playing for after losing to a team of Girl Scouts and being humiliated and doused with beer by The GloboGym Purple Cobras inside The Dirty Sanchez bar??

• Did Danny O'Shea (above) ask his team of Little Giants if a one game playoff against his Heisman-Trophy-Winning brother Kevin's LOADED Cowboys team was worth playing for??

• Did Morris Buttermaker (also above) ask his band of misfit baseball players if playing Little League baseball was worth it, even though all he had was a girl for a pitcher and a chain-smoking left fielder??

Hell no they didn't!!!  And by NOT asking that question and entering the field of competition anyway against insurmountable odds, ONLY THEN were they able to ascend the mountain of glory and experience the euphoria of unexpected victory!!!!

And this is what we have here, folks.  The Eagles may have been blown out last year, but that was last year.  The score is nil-nil.  Expect competitive contests in most of the fall sports.  BC football is at home.  The schedule suggests a more competitive season, and surely Syracuse can't expect the flood of bonus points they received last season, right?  Right?!?

Who knows what drama awaits us, but the path to glory for one of these schools begins tomorrow at the J.S. Coyne Stadium, where Syracuse's National Champion Field Hockey team (4-0) unveils their championship banner and takes on the always-competitive Eagles (1-2) who have lost two close games against top 15 opposition.  Can BC spring the upset and grab the first points of the new season, or will SU pick up where they left off and sprint out into the lead yet again?  Stay tuned throughout the year as TNIAAM and BC Interruption fight for the title of College Athletics Premier Trophy Competition!