I was just reading over the lryics of the song "American Pie" and I realized that you could apply this to the St Johns program. Every alumni I talk to from '90 and below only remember the happy times of the program and see this current program is dead. American Pie was based off Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper deaths in the 50s, I think I may be wrong and I think there was one more. The first words of the song start off mostly how the music made me smile and for most of us, St Johns basketball used to make us smile. But "February made me shiver, with every paper I delivered, bad news on the doorstep" that part symbolizes how the news shows St Johns constant failures on the court and front office decisions on how to fix a broken leak (Not firing Norm). For us, the good times have died in this program. Now I know there are some optimists in this board but I see posts on various Redmen boards we should join the MAAC or A-10 or that they are not renewing their season (symobilized by the words "The day, the music died"). I am going to save the refrain for the end of this post so. Music in this song is a metaphor for the program and we look for St Johns to cheer us up after a long day of studying or work this program is meant to save our "mortal soul". The next several lyrics show the former joy of this program how we were the jesters of basketball (fans) on how we used to go to games and take joy in them. Get to the part with the "marching band refused to yield", we were so crazy as St Johns fans in the eighties, we were like dancing in the streets of Manhattan (not literality), not even an army of tanks could get us off those streets since we were so happy. Fire with the part "And as the flames climbed high into the night" was our passion that we got and fire means life and we felt alive in the 80s through St Johns basketball. Now to the sad part with the girl and the happy news and the man who said the music wouldn't play. I search these boards and I no longer see happy news, I go to the Garden only to see the National Guard throwing us out to give CPR to the sixth man section (except for the Seton Hall game). I see the university turing the university games over to Alumni who want it to be a ghostown. And I see the court, and I see nothing, its empty and souless. And the Holy Trinity, Harrington, Monasch, and Roberts, they all caught the last train "for the coast" The program has died. So bye, bye , St Johns Basketball, drove my Huyndai to Gantry's but found out it was no more (a cell store now), then some good old boys were drinking jagers and 40s singing, this be the day I die (as a St Johns fan). Overall alumni that I talk to who do not post on this board only talk about the Big Bopper days or Mullin and Berry and see this current program as dead. There was life once in this city. The day of my birth (March 13, 1983), the headline was St Johns win first Big East tournament IN THE TIMES. Now I think the TIMES stopped covering us. I see no joy anywhere on campus when it comes to basketball and I see no light towards improvement. Face it, all we have left is our "whiskey and rye" so I think, metaphorically speaking, we should start drinking our sadnees towards this program away