I am saddened by the end of Syracuse's tenure in the Big East but even more disheartened by the way it ended, 4 losses in the final 5 games (though all four against teams in the top 12 RPI) culminating in an embarrassing 61-39 loss to Georgetown. I've written before about the
conference realignment, and I continue to be sad about Syracuse leaving the Big East, but I understand it was needed and I will enjoy our new opponents in the ACC.
But Syracuse will never be to UNC or Duke what it is to Connecticut and especially Georgetown. Having Georgetown as a foil is part of what made me such a devoted Syracuse fan at such a young age. The details of the early 80s games escape me (though I've seen the Pearl Washington game several times on classic) but I do remember being a young kid and needing to go shopping for a suit for someone's Bar Mitzvah. So I set the VCR to record the Syracuse-Georgetown game. But I was a rookie at this sort of thing and only recorded 2 hours, missing the end of the game.
It was this rivalry with Georgetown that encouraged me to march into Manny's as a freshman and buy a "Your Mother's a Hoya" t-shirt. Still fits!
And it was my first SU-Georgetown game that is still my fondest memory. February 1997, Otis Hill and Etan Thomas both in foul trouble, they'd foul out eventually. And a 6-foot-2, seldom-used guard comes off the bench to score 10 points and grab 6 rebounds (4 offensive), in only 19 minutes. That guard also happened to be the football team's star quarterback, Donovan McNabb, which added to the mystique of the game.
A year later in the last regular season game SU beat Georgetown and we stormed the court. In the picture of the fracas you can see my friend EZE, in the right side of the picture, with the green hat.
After John Thompson and Allen Iverson left Georgetown wasn't a consistent national power again as it had been in the 80s, but those games always meant a little something extra to the fans and according to this oral history from the Washington Post, to the players and coaches as well.
Note: this video is only diminished by the lack of rights to video for rebroadcast on the internet.
I'm hopeful SU can keep the rivalry against Georgetown alive, because those games always provided a chance for SU to be in the national spotlight.
But even if they never play again, your mother's still a Hoya!
And it was my first SU-Georgetown game that is still my fondest memory. February 1997, Otis Hill and Etan Thomas both in foul trouble, they'd foul out eventually. And a 6-foot-2, seldom-used guard comes off the bench to score 10 points and grab 6 rebounds (4 offensive), in only 19 minutes. That guard also happened to be the football team's star quarterback, Donovan McNabb, which added to the mystique of the game.
A year later in the last regular season game SU beat Georgetown and we stormed the court. In the picture of the fracas you can see my friend EZE, in the right side of the picture, with the green hat.
After John Thompson and Allen Iverson left Georgetown wasn't a consistent national power again as it had been in the 80s, but those games always meant a little something extra to the fans and according to this oral history from the Washington Post, to the players and coaches as well.
Note: this video is only diminished by the lack of rights to video for rebroadcast on the internet.
I'm hopeful SU can keep the rivalry against Georgetown alive, because those games always provided a chance for SU to be in the national spotlight.
But even if they never play again, your mother's still a Hoya!
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