Soak it in.
Somewhere Jake Crouthamel is smiling. Not because he likes what is going on, but because he was right about it. Most likely, because of the PAC 12 and the ACC there will be about 4 "superconferences" instead of six conferences. Jake predicted it. Finishing off a pack of cigarettes as he sits on his porch in New England somewhere. Watching the demise of the conference he helped form.
And it's sad. Since 1979 the Big East has been around and has been the greatest basketball conference in America for a majority of that time. Syracuse, Georgetown, Connecticut, Villanova, St. Johns, and all the other teams before the first ACC realignment... they were part of my childhood, my collegiate career, and everything after. My first trip to the Carrier Dome was to see Syracuse/Georgetown when I was in elementary school. Just like that, conference ties can be forsaken. After a year or so of seeing the shifting occur, and witnessing the shift in the last decade, it is bizarre to be seeing it from this side of the fence. Part of the traitors, the defectors, the ones that are part of the problem and not the solution. I say that as a fan because we all know I had nothing to do with it personally. There's really only one person to blame. That is the current commissioner of the Big East Conference. He sat around and "made phone calls" and hung around to "see if Villanova will move up" instead of getting on the phone and signing teams to the league in the future. So in that regard I'm glad Syracuse has determined a safe course for the future. But we will be losing a lot of familiar things too. We all know Syracuse will schedule Georgetown, and probably UConn and St. John's every year in basketball anyway. But most likely unless there is a conference move to the ACC, West Virginia and UConn are gone from the football schedule. Same with Rutgers. No more Providence or Notre Dame for basketball. I could watch just about any Big East Basketball game any given Saturday. Can't see myself being like that for the ACC. Clemson/Virginia doesn't rev my engine like St. John's/Villanova from the Garden. Not to mention the Big East Tournament. Remember '06? '09? Yeah, the stuff of legends. While there is a waiting period to leave the Big East chances are a lawsuit or a settlement will get Pitt and SU out of that and we'll be playing ACC games before you know it. Just my opinion. But the lawyers at the schools have to the thinking the same thing. Lacrosse will get a fun change up, so that's cool though.
For our new ACC friends, just a couple rules. First, say what you want about our football team and how good or not good they are, but you better think twice about saying disparaging things about Jim Boeheim. He's been around long enough to say whatever he wants, he knows more than you, and the man will be defended vigorously by any and all Syracuse fans. Syracuse has pretty good barbecue. Just saying. Finally, Syracuse has the most NCAA Championships in lacrosse than any school in the nation. Your sham of a "lacrosse conference" finally got legit.
Really, it boils down to the fact that I can't change anything about what went down. No use being sad about it. The only option is to look back fondly. I'll say to my kids one day that there was the greatest basketball conference ever called the Big East, and Syracuse was in it and it was amazing. Then things changed. By then we'll know if it was for the better or just another lateral maneuver. Either way, Marrone, Boeheim, and Desko are going to try and win games no matter what league they are in. That's all you can ask for. And don't worry, we'll still hate UConn and Georgetown plenty around here.
Labels: ACC YA, Crazy Conference Calamity
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