This whole Big East swan song can be numbing. It’s a little like finals week senior year in high school. I’ll never sit at this desk again. This is the last time I’ll be walking through this hallway. But since everything is viewed through this prism things lose significance.
So when Syracuse travels to Providence for the last time as members of the Big East, or Rutgers comes to the Dome for the final soiree, our eyes tend to glaze over. But today is different. There’s no way to overstate the impact of this game. Forget what it means in the standings. Yeah, these are two of the best teams in the league. This is a top 15 matchup on national television. It’s a notch in the belt heading to the tourney, a resume-building win for the committee. (continued below Game Cast)
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But even if these two squads were staring at the NIT, it would mean something. Everything. The Big East was built on basketball, and Syracuse-Georgetown was the foundation it was set on. For all of the sh*t we give ESPN (and it deserves plenty), the network did bring the college game to prominence. When the Bristol start-up was just finding its feet in the early ’80s, campus hoops was its most important commodity. And two annual showdowns between larger-than-life coaches, New York versus D.C., the pulsating masses in the Carrier Dome, made for great theater. ESPN put it on a national stage, and it took off.
The serendipity of the Big East’s birth and death is interesting. The conference was conceived with television in mind, like-minded schools in large Northeastern markets (New York, Syracuse, Hartford, D.C., Boston, Providence, Philadelphia) playing terrific basketball in hostile arenas. That product launched an empire, a made-for-TV spectacle that exploded in the first decade, then crested over the next two.
Now, the Big East is no more because of television. Football is the driving force, and if you don’t play it, you’re left out of the party. So if Georgetown doesn’t field a team on the gridiron while Syracuse does, they can’t be at the same table. It was always a tenuous hold, basketball-only schools trying to make ends meet with a league of football-playing members. Two different sets of priorities, two diametrically opposed viewpoints. And eventually it was too difficult to make work any longer.
No one wants to see this go, the rivalries are too good, the emotional bonds are too strong. But ultimately, the Big East ends as it began. Like disassembling a Hollywood set, it was built for the show, then torn down when the show was over.
This does nothing, though, to diminish today. John Thompson’s Hoya Paranoia of the ’80s, with the star of all stars, Patrick Ewing, were the bad boys from the city. He screamed, and carried on, and swaggered, and created a rep that was insidious and renegade. Georgetown went to the Final Four in 1982, ’84 and ’85, launching a national brand. At the same time, Jim Boeheim pushed Syracuse to new heights, winning 20 games a year and making the Orange a permanent fixture in the top 25. The nation was captivated by the sight of 20,000 delirious fans wearing Orange filling a bubble in Central New York. And when the two met, either in D.C or at the Dome, it was always epic.
1980: John Thompson “officially closes” Manley Field House.
1982: SU fans throw Oranges at the backboard and Ewing.
1985: Pearl Washington throws a punch at Ewing in the Big East Tournament, after knocking off the #1 Hoyas in the regular season with buzzer beater.
1990: Syracuse wins in OT thriller, Thompson is tossed after three technicals.
This is it. The final time Georgetown comes to the Carrier Dome as a Big East foe. National TV. A record crowd awaits.
Today is different.
Posted: D.A.
8 responses to “The Final Frontier: Syracuse-Georgetown, The Big East Ends as It Began”
Over the last 20 some years we kept on hearing from the pundits that the Big East has gotten to big and would never last. Well here we are in the 35 year of some of the greatest basketball ever played and the nay-sayers that were pushing for the demise of the league is finally getting their way.
Today’s game between Syracuse & Georgetown marks the end of an era,an era that will never be duplicated IN COLLEGE ATHLETICS AGAIN. How sad it is to think that something so big,so good,could ever be brought down by a bunch of college presidents that get more greedy by every second that ticks off the clock. After today Syracuse has 4 more league games left to play along with the BE Tournament.
Then it’s going to be over and all that the fans will have are the memories.
HOW SAD.
To Ron……..Yes it is sad that this is it for the Big East. But, we have had great times, happy times. And I for one will not be sad, I refuse to. The future is bright and SU is still going to play basketball. Just as when I was watching them on TV as the ECAC Game of the week! If the school stops playing b-ball then I would be sad, but now I am happy! So Ron, don’t be Sad, be Happy as the song goes!
@Frank;
Your comments Frank indicate to me that you go back aways,if so do you remember all the times Syracuse played ST.Bonaventure? What a game it was.
But I’m not sad for the Syracuse Basketball Team losing it’s rivalries,I’m sad because of losing the Big Eaat and the great games that we as fans have had the pleasure of watching. I’ve enjoyed watching the Louie & Bouie show from 1976 and enjoyed all of the games in between from then until now. If you go to the Basketball Hall Of Fame you will see just how much Syracuse and Coach Boeheim has meant to the college game. Let’s face it,the fans of the Big East have enjoyed the best basketball ever played at the college level for the last 25-30 years. that’s going away Frank and that’s why I’m a little down.
Embarrassing 46 points!! JB lost this team. Moving to ACC is for the best. Dead end staying in BE. Its only the BB people whining about the move. Its an upward move. Get over it!!
Terry,what makes u so sure?Have u no sense of history?…were not even sure what the ACC will look like in a year or two…we may find we went thru all this just to end up where we started when we thought we were “moving on up “…BE2…but w/o WVU and RU as the only 2 who really left!!Thats why I warned Stumpycuse about gloating when we first left!!Ron,NOTHING will ever eclipse the BE at its best in hoops!!
On the mention of St.Bona…I grew up in Olean and hated Syracuse…Bonnies record was 51-4 in games I attended…two losses to Detroit (Vitale coach) and two losses to Syracuse (also beat the Orange twice). I remember being there when Bouie and Orr came into the Reilly Center. As it happens, I then went to SU and changed my loyalties (sat right on the half-court line, third row, my freshman year)…still have a soft spot for the Bonnies but they obviously can’t ever complete as they once did…coming up for the Louisville game next week.
@Russell MacEachern,
I couldn’t agree with you more Russell. Nothing ,not the ACC or the Big 10 could even get close to whar was happening on a daily basis in the Big East. Every game played was a war. The tournament was the best in the land for over 25 years. and now it’s gone.
@Brian;
Great story kiddo. I had a niece that went to St. Bonaventure. She invited my wife and I down a couple of times so that we could watch some live basketball. We set right behind the team and my knees were almost hitting the players in the back. It’s a real nice place to watch a game,real cozy. What does that stadium hole,8/9,000 people?
Ron: Those were some great times going to Bona games – capacity was right about 6,000. I remember in the ECAC days Syracuse and Bona were the two toughest places to play.
As for the current SU squad, the only guy that shows up every game is Fair, expectations for the tournament are a bit lower than what we’re used to seeing, so maybe that will work to their advantage.