There are only three sports teams that I have any emotional attachment to, in terms of supporting and cheering. They are the football and men’s basketball teams representing Syracuse University, my alma mater, as well as the Chelsea Blues of the EPL.
There are individuals in sports who I root for, and like to see succeed, and that is because they have helped me in terms of my career, through interviews, and educating me on the finer points of their particular sports. I always want to see good people do well, in whatever field of work they are involved in.
When the NCAA men’s basketball tournament gets underway, and the Syracuse Orange are participants, I become like most other fans of any team you can think of in any sport, becoming absolutely hyper about every moment of the game they are involved in, getting very excited with every field goal, block, rebound, and steal, or very upset when the bounces don’t go their way. My language sometimes becomes less than what is acceptable in public, and where possible, I mutter under my breath. Sometimes however, I do go over the top, and verbalize at the top of my lungs what I am feeling at that moment – good or bad.
With the Orange having lost on Sunday to Big East rival Marquette 66-62, I was feeling the bitter sense of defeat and the end to what was overall, a pretty impressive year for Hall Of Fame coach Jim Boeheim’s squad. Considering that he had lost his three best offensive and defensive players last year, with two of them, Wesley Johnson and Andy Rautins in the NBA, as well forward Arinze Onauku, the ‘Cuse did well to win as many games as they did, with a 27-8 record this year. The game with Marquette went down to the final shot, so it was hard fought match, tied at 59 with 1:29 remaining, typical of almost all games in the brutally tough Big East Conference, the most competitive in all of college hoops.
I hear that Syracuse has some McDonald’s All American recruits who will be playing for them next year, so along with some of the freshmen who played this year, like Dion Waiters ( 18 pts against Marquette), Fab Melo, James Southerland, and C.J. Fair, there will hopefully be a lot to look forward to next season, and beyond.
Having been a graduate student at Syracuse in 1980-81, the University is like a second home for me, and seems almost like family, with the friendships and connections I have made and maintained over the years. I go back every year for about a week, and aside from watching Orange basketball practices and games, I speak with the students studying broadcast journalism, and am always made to feel at home at the pubs, coffee shops, or anywhere else. That’s why I describe it as being close to a family like environment for me.
I mentioned my soccer passion, a relatively new one, having adopted the Chelsea Blues of the EPL as my favorite team in 2007, when I began following the Premiership. Some friends of mine who work at a Swiss Chalet near the Fan 590 in Toronto, Milan, originally from Serbia, and Mortez, born in Iran, educated me on the sport, and Chelsea seemed like a good fit for me. I’m glad they schooled me on football, and got me hooked on the Blues and the EPL. I become as intense watching their games, as I do with those of the Orange. Chelsea certainly helped to boost my weekend sporting spirits, by prevailing 2-0 over Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, and moving them up to third place for the moment, keeping them in line for a spot in the Champions League for next season, if they remain among the top four. After a tough couple of months for Carlos Ancelotti’s squad, it seems that they are slowly returning to the form that was expected of them, when they started the season with some very impressive wins.
March Madness is the perfect description of what this past weekend was like for me. It was an absolute roller-coaster of emotions, that left me lacking for sleep, due to a sports fan inspired adrenalin rush, that other fans probably experience more often than I do these days. It’s a good thing that the NCAA tournament only goes on for about three weeks. I’m not sure I could handle much more of the same, without completely losing my mind, as I almost did in 2003, when Syracuse won the national championship, led by the Most Outstanding Player, Carmelo Anthony.
If you are going to lose your mind, that’s probably the most harmless, and most fun way to do it, as any sports fan would attest to.