It still warms my heart to think about it.

It has been five years. For some it feels like an eternity. For me, I was just happy to be in school when it happened, and was able to share it with my friends and family. It seems pretty unbelievable still that I was in the Carrier Dome watching Syracuse win the National Championship in basketball. Everyone has a story. Here is mine.

I had watched the Road to the Final Four from many places my sophomore year. For the games in Boston I watched from my 7th floor dorm room in Dellplain Hall. I was at the games in Albany, New York courtside playing in the pep band. For the games in New Orleans I could not attend due to school obligations and other forces beyond my control. I accepted this fate and tried to make the best of it. I parlayed the fact that they had a pep rally at Manley for the departing team into getting my “Class and Politics” class canceled in favor of driving to Manley to see the team off. The professor was at the time the chair of the Political Science Department, Professor Jeff Stonecash, and an avid basketball fan himself. Thank you JStone. My colleagues also managed to get ADA Rick Trunfio, professor of my “Judicial Process” class to extend our ten page final paper another week because we all knew no one was going to be doing any work if Syracuse won on Saturday and/or Monday. So then it came to Saturday and the game versus Texas. I watched the game on a mostly uncomfortable, typically college apartment, couch on the corner of Livingston and Stratford in my friend Anthony, Jeff, and Marcus’ apartment. The game was an exciting one, with big dunks by Warrick, nice shots by Anthony and McNamara, and Jimmy B. guiding it all. The game to me now is a little more than an orange blur, probably due to the sheer euphoria of it, and a few adult beverages. Then the magical thing happened. As soon as we won, someone yelled “we have got to get to M Street.” So we poured out of that apartment, on a Livingston street that has quite a few “real people” living on it, as in not college students. The amazing thing that happened was that apparently every other college kid on the street, all of whom had been watching that game, ran out in the street as well, and literally we all just began hugging each other and jumping up and down. I hugged about 14 complete strangers that night. We than ran towards Euclid, still in the street, and about ten feet from the corner a Syracuse Police Department radio car pulls around the corner with the lights on, stops, and we hear “get out of the road or you are going to jail.” We immediately complied with the law enforcement professionals, and proceeded to run, on the sidewalk, to Marshall Street. Not on my account, but the trees along M Street paid a hefty price that night. There was such a sentiment of disbelief that night. I remember running into people I had not seen since freshman year. I remember thinking “so this is what it feels like to play for a National Championship.”

Monday came. I had class that day, but was a little too excited to really focus. There was a buzz and an energy on campus that somehow made it seem like the Maxwell Auditorium was vibrating. I remember I wanted to have a drink in the Carrier Dome during the game, but all I had was Amaretto and sour mix. Yes, I realize that is extremely terrible, but you have to realize I was under age and it was all I had access to. So you make do, I mixed, poured it into a bottle, and promptly hid it in my coat for transport to the Dome. We arrived early, just after the gates opened, awaiting a 9:00pm tip. I was seated in Section 103 about four rows from the railing. The Dome was in the football configuration for lacrosse games, so there were no extra bleachers, only that old Astroturf. They had big screens set up on about the 20 yard line facing the end zone and each side. For only having like 13,000 people, it was loud as hell. I was with some of my best friends not in New Orleans, and could not wait for the game to start. I, not having a basketball jersey at the time, actually wore a Syracuse baseball jersey. Syracuse currently still only has a club team, so I don’t even know why they sold them in stores, but I being a Syracuse and baseball fan got one. So I, like Barney Stinson, suited up! The first half was amazing. After six three point baskets from a tiny kid from Scranton, Syracuse was up 11 points at the break. I remember the “holy shit we are going to win this” feeling the entire Dome had. Syracuse continued to roll until Kansas started climbing back. Warrick missed some free throws, and that old feeling of “how will Syracuse blow this” started rolling back. I may have been only four when that ’87 team lost to Indiana, but I was well acquainted with the legend. Then, the biggest demon that ever haunted Syracuse basketball or Jim Boeheim was exorcised in one move. Hakim Warrick made the block of his life, sending the ball out of bounds, only giving Kansas time for one more shot. With the lead at three points, and I with my friends arm in arm, Kansas inbounded the ball, Kirk Hinrich shot and missed, Duany rebounded, and the game was over. Syracuse had just won the 2003 NCAA National Championship. The Dome erupts in massive cheers, people rush the floor, my friends and I all hug and we all jump up and down, holding up our fingers in the #1. I called my mom and dad and shared a moment with my father who was born in Syracuse, was a big fan that took me to my first game, and vividly remembers the 1987 game. It was a special moment that rarely comes along between a father and son because of sports. We then run, although we felt like we were floating, down to M Street again. This time riot police are present in full riot gear. People climb trees again, t-shirts are burned, and then, as if God was smiling because of the win, it began to snow over us. It was as if all of the bad feelings and missed opportunities were burned and were falling like ashes over us. My night was by no means over. Some bets had to be cashed in. Because of the win, I was witness to a couple of naked laps on Ackerman Avenue. Walking all over campus, every person had to acknowledge to each other that we had won. It could have happened with a conversation, or simply a “Go Orange”, or even just a woo. I still had that paper due a few days later, but that night I could have failed all my classes and it would not have mattered. Every member of Orange Nation felt satisfied and finally vindicated. None more so than probably Jim Boeheim himself. Either way, what was guaranteed was that Syracuse will be National Champions until they held another one, and that was the most thrilling thought for any fan of Syracuse. I dreamt of the great moments and great games I had watched all season, and knew that I was part of a once in a lifetime college experience and something I would never forget.

Everyone has a story. Everyone that is a fan remembers exactly where they were. This is one of a million stories. Hopefully you were able to enjoy the game, especially with friends or family. I hope you could wave your championship flag in someone face that is an annoying fan of another team. Perhaps you were able to use “unranked to #1” often in your daily vernacular. Either way, it was a great moment in Syracuse history and one that should be remembered fondly. Please, if you feel so inclined, leave a comment about where you were when we won the National Championship, or feel free to reminisce with me. This is what makes being a fan all worth it.