Again, the matchup benefits both SJU and SU. Building an even greater rivalry with that dirtbag school and filling the garden is great for assuring our future and recruiting circles. This is a brave new world with respect to the new conference and having a built-in matchup that packs the Garden and gives us an edge is excellent. It is also great for our relationship with the Garden and encouraging that playing us there is in demand.
It is simply good business and no good programs should ditch a game that fills the place. I hate Syracuse as much as anyone but I'd rather pack the Garden and actually start beating them for a change. Make it like the UNC vs Duke rivalry. Plenty of bad blood there but in that one it is a two-sided matchup. We need to make it so.
How does it benefit us besides a 'sold out' building?
If you don't see it, I can't explain it any further Moose. It fills the building, pays the bills, is an intra-state rivalry and has recruiting implications. There are a lot more negatives to canceling a potentially yearly matchup.
I told you how many times the bills were paid just fine drawing 6k while Norm was coach. Doesn't take much to break even. I don't see the point in allowing a team that has tormented us and called themselves NY's team another chance to play in MSG every year. Lord knows they will probably get a game there anyway.
So many posters kicked and screamed when they left yet these same posters are bending over the table and oh so willing to allow them right back in.
Like you said they will most likely play a game there every year anyways, so that game should be against St. John's. In order to remove that NY's team title from them is by playing them and beating them.
You think they are just going to stop at 1 game vs. us? They are going to get another game against a premier team (ie Duke, etc). Forget them already. I'm amazed how many people are so attached to an original team that pretty much hammered the final nail in BE coffin.
I'm more concerned with taking the NY team title away from Cuse and in order to do that you must play them.
We cant beat Asheville your asking for Cuse
Mr. Moose, you musta had high hopes after we lost to the Bonnies and Rams. We really won't know where this program is going for a while. No way we should be getting to nuts or to smart. I do know there are programs out there that would be sky high if good teams would actually give em a home game. Best case is we beat em up at MSG and refuse to go up there.
That team was full of 4 yr players. This team isn't.
I think we have quite a few 4 year players. Problem is that the fans don't seem to want to let them get past freshman or soph years. We are still very young in Lavin's total rebuild with all of his recruits in only their first or second years. Anybody expecting a polished, veteran team isn't on the same page. I certainly thought we'd have two or maybe 3 losses the most before League play, but we have some issues still to iron out, and I thought we'd have Sanchez Eligible. Not having Sanchez has hurt us more than I thought it would.
Again, while it isn't in our nature to be patient, we are still a real young team and it will take time to get to where we want to be. I'm hoping we have an epiphany as a team pretty soon and get back to playing the way we did vs South Carolina, Schaumburg I thought was exactly what we were aiming for.