Syracuse Homecoming

The Lynch Family met in Syracuse, New York for SU Homecoming. Mom, Dad, Daren (with girlfriend AnnMarie), KeriAnn and myself had a great time. Here is a fragmented blog with my thoughts:

Welcome to Syracuse I
-While KeriAnn’s friend Colby (think Mike the Miz + well…more Mike the Miz)and I were ogling the girls in black pants, KeriAnn found $20 on the ground on Marshall Street.

Welcome to Syracuse II
-While trying to find parking near the HSBC bank, we were run off parking lot by some asshole in an SUV attempting to exit through the entrance. I’ll give you one guess as to what baseball team’s jersey t-shirt he was wearing. If you need a hint, I actually felt bad for him by the end of the weekend…okay that’s not a hint, that’s a lie.

Welcome to Syracuse III
-Approximate time to get a beer, 30 minutes. Because these greedy assholes that run these bars refuse to add a bartender on known-to-be busy weekends. Ridiculous.

Pittsburgh 21, Syracuse 11
-Field Position, Penalties, Turnovers and LaRod Stephens doomed Syracuse. Syracuse got a late touchdown to cover Josh’s 14 point tease but not my 9 point cover. I actually had a horrible weekend picking games nationwide. Maybe I’m just excited to see my favorite college team running my favorite NFL team’s offense but I do believe the Syracuse offense is like an oil change and we are bleeding out the option quarterback and big slow linemen for a stretch run centered zone blocking West Coast offense that will someday in the next year or two be exciting to watch and productive. Delone Carter might end up breaking the SU all-time rushing record. That kid IS a find, no matter what Catholic League he played high school football in Ohio. When you run for 2,200 yards your senior year of high school, you learn how to run, impossible not to.

Upstaged I
-I felt bad for the current Orange Girl Melissa, who’s actually a former student of KeriAnn’s when they asked KeriAnn to wear her old costume and twirl on the sidelines during the game. As I would feel bad for Perry Patterson if they asked Donovan McNabb to lead the offense for a series or two. KeriAnn got invited to a frat party and a bar and got a phone number while on the sidelines. The walk around Marshall Street was a lot of “look it’s baton girl!” In two weeks she won’t be there to the disappointment of the student section.

Upstaged II
-Pittsburgh brought their band. I now feel like Syracuse has the worst band in all of Division I-A football. Pittsburgh’s halftime was a blaring rendition of John Williams’ Movie Themes. Syracuse did a barely audible compilation of songs from Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean”. To accent the Pirates theme, the band had two members sword fight on the fifty yard line. Reportedly Syracuse officials, after bringing their band to Notre Dame last year felt the need to make improvements to the band. I hope this wasn’t what they had in mind. It was embarrassing.

Other In-Game Entertainment
-Everything from Sports Event Marketing 101. Otto with a down marker on the screens and a prompt for the crowd to chant “FIRST DOWN” after every SU first down, a race between computer imaged subs sponsored by Subway and a Kiss Cam. KeriAnn, Melissa and Otto were the final shot on Kiss Cam. Unfortunately both girls were confused as to what to do until the producer told them to “Kiss Him” and KeriAnn gave Otto a kiss. I was nervous for a few seconds she was going to kiss Melissa for a cheap pop from the Carrier Dome males in attendance. Even when the score was 21-3 they didn't do as much "Great Moments in Syracuse History" or announce "BASKETBALL tickets go on sale in four weeks".

Good Fans
-The student section was packed, prompt, and involved. Which is a miracle for a noon game for anyone that remembers going to those games when we were undergrads. Making the student section general admission with tickets sold day of game helps this and is a good idea.

Bad Fans
-The band dorks in our section questioning EVERY play call (in a profane manner every time) like they had ever played the game in their lives and the kid that asked my brother’s girlfriend AnnMarie for a pen so he could do the DO Sudoku during the 3rd quarter. Not sure how many fans will be playing Sudoku in Columbus when I go there in three weeks.

Minor Upgrade
-The Carrier Dome for putting up posters of Syracuse legends and other entertainers who played at the Dome (e.g. Marvin Harrison, Hakim Warrick, Carmelo Anthony, Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, Jerry Garcia) along the still poorly lit concourse, the 2003 National Championship Display and decorative banners on each corner of the dome saluting the 1959 Football Champions, 2003 Basketball Champions, Jim Brown and Basketball Hall of Famers. It’s good to think someone walked in that building and thought “what a dump, what can we do?” What they’ve done is a good START.

Major Upgrade
-Maggie’s. Moved from it’s crappy University Ave. location to underneath Student Choice Market where the Coffee Cave used to be and has 15 High Definition TVs. Imagine that a bar in a major college sports town with a bar with more than three TVs on campus. Of course all 15 TVs were tuned onto the Yankee playoff game but I was still impressed.

Major Downgrade
-The dance floor at Darwin’s where guys and co-eds were just hanging out TALKING. BACK IN MY DAY guys didn’t talk to girls on the Darwin’s dance floor. You went out shook your ass, bumped into a girl, turned around, made out then took her back to your house, uphill in the snow and did it. That’s the way it was and we liked it! Some of us LOVED IT!