If SU sports pride and passion translated into the community (Rochester: 2009, how much)

[bellafinzi]

I've always thought that if die hard Syracuse Orange Basketball and Football fans had the same level of pride, passion commitment, and enthusiasm for Greater Syracuse that they have for SU sports, this community could potentially be ten times better than it is today.

OK, so imagine if local Syracuse area residents had pride in the area? That would mean:



-keeping up the appearance of one’s front yard ~ beautification

Some SU fan do anything they can to support their team. If they thought this way toward the Syracuse area, people would pick up trash in their neighborhood, beautifully landscape their yards, paint the house if necessary to make their little corner of the Syracuse community look impeccable. And if a neighbor didn't have the same pride, this "Syracuse fan" would nag the neighbors constantly until they also clean up their act.

Now imagine the whole Syracuse area with beautifully landscaped front yards, and very little litter...including the small businesses! Think of all the positive first impressions that visitors would then be treated too.



-promoting the area instead of bashing it ~ good reputation

Instead of the Syracuse media and local residents constantly bashing the area. They would promote and defend the area from attack. Ever notice the great coverage of SU sports on the news, radio and newspaper. Imagine that translated to the community at large. Our local news would be more upbeat and positive. Our media would actually hold public officials accountable....like they do now with Syracuse coaches.



Passion, Commitment, Enthusiasm would mean:

-great leadership, no more mediocre leaders ~ smart civic leaders with a vision for the future

Instead of solely focusing on "the city", the Syracuse area civic leaders would use all our assets to create a better future for everyone in the area no matter where they live. Boundaries created 100 years ago wouldn't define what is important and what is not. Instead of in-fighting, civic leaders would work together.



-demanding our fair from the State ~ nomore is the Syracuse area some footnote in the State

Instead one average person (me) writing numerous letters addressed to State and local leadership asking why Syracuse wasn't included the high tech "Center of Excellence" program when Gov. Pataki first proposed it... thousands of citizens and all our leadership would be outraged that Syracuse was once again treated differently than Rochester and the Capital District.



So IMO if the Syracuse media and general public treated the Greater Syracuse region the same way it treats SU Sports….Football and Basketball….we’d be at least on par with all other Upstate metros. I find it sad that Syracuse residents have pride, passion, commitment, enthusiasm and whatever it takes attitude toward Syracuse sports, but not toward this community.

[bellafinzi]

The lack of big time sports in Rochester could be a blessing in disguise.

Since the Rochester area doesn't have any big time sports programs....the support and backing that would go toward those sports teams in Syracuse...are funneled into pride in the Greater Rochester community.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by bellafinzi

The lack of big time sports in Rochester could be a blessing in disguise.

Since the Rochester area doesn't have any big time sports programs....the support and backing that would go toward those sports teams in Syracuse...are funneled into pride in the Greater Rochester community.

Well, there was a time when the fan base used to be very loyal to SU sports in the 80's like no other for Football and Basketball, as well as Lacrosse. Packing the Dome with 33,000 fans for a Basketball game was no biggie back then. You could see that pride in other areas of the Syracuse area too.

[bellafinzi]

Opps, I stated that wrong. I meant that since Rochester doesn't have sports teams of national exposure, all the pride and loyalty of Rochester area residents that would go normally go sports teams is funneled into pride for Greater Rochester.

Anyway, I guess I’ll never truly understand how a person could have such a passion for Syracuse Football/Basketball, yet at the same time not have pride or passion for the Syracuse area community.

[kmbell]

Good teams are what pack the Dome. That, and affordable ticket prices. We set all kinds of attendance records in 2003 because of the great team, but also because you could still get a youth ticket for under $10, due to the team not being that great in previous years. I believe they were $3 for certain games, no more than $7.

This created a sense of inclusion and allowed families to go as a group. Involving families in taking care of their own urban and suburban space is what is needed.

People shoveling their own sidewalks and not trampling their yards is its own issue, especially in the University Neighborhood. Most people just don't realize that this is something everyone should do for themselves and not wait for the landlord to do it for them.

Interesting metaphor though.

[Jeromeville]

I agree that the sports culture in Syracuse is something of a time and energy sink. If folks spent one ounce as much energy on demanding better municipal leaders as they did on howling for Greg Robinson's ouster, we'd be better off. It boggles the mind to think of how much energy grown men and women spend on talking about, analyzing and booing or cheering games. Did anyone notice how the paper just shrunk its national and local news section, and yet mysteriously, the sports section remains just as large.

[proulxfamily]

And now the daily paper is 75 cents. Oy. With prices like that, I'm mightily tempted to stop buying papers and just read online. How short a time ago was it only 35 cents? Just over 5 years, right?

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by proulxfamily

And now the daily paper is 75 cents. Oy. With prices like that, I'm mightily tempted to stop buying papers and just read online. How short a time ago was it only 35 cents? Just over 5 years, right?

I know and you're not the first person I've heard say that about not buying the newspaper.

[ki0eh]

Originally Posted by Jeromeville

I agree that the sports culture in Syracuse is something of a time and energy sink. If folks spent one ounce as much energy on demanding better municipal leaders as they did on ...

Just the same for the state, and the nation. But those in power are happy to see us sit on our ***.

[FL Beaches]

Syracuse men's lacrosse wins NCAA title with 10-9 victory over Cornell, team includes five Jerseyans - New Jersey Sports - NJ.com

We were thrilled to see Syracuse men's lacrosse win the title against Cornell...in overtime...by one point! SPECTACULAR game!

When they showed Cornell's coach at the end, the look on his face said...What happened? We were just ahead of them by 6!

Way to go, Syracuse!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. We have a high schooler who just finished his first year of lacrosse.