To My Fellow Orange Men And Women,
We made it. We made it far. And we crushed it. The final freaking four, baby! That's an accomplishment within itself.
Everyone said we should not have even been in the tournament, but we said, "Forget that!" and did it (and beyond) anyways.
We've heard it before again and again. 'Cuse should not have even been in the tournament to begin with.
Our friends and family have yelled at us for messing up their brackets, but we don't care. We celebrate. Hard. (Example: Castle Court the past two weekends, especially right after the game last Sunday night after we beat Gonzaga.)
The party, the spirit and the adrenaline rush continued all week long, as students balanced schoolwork and the excitement of the Final Four game. Campus was blooming and poppin', the local apparel stores were flooded with Syracuse residents and college students buying merchandise for the game, and the excitement was palpable.
Whether watching from home, across the world or actually breathing in the excitement in 'Cuse, we all bled orange all week long. United, determined and routing for out team.
And then the Final Four Game came. We persevered until the very end, routed for our players and, yet again, shouted at our screens loudly.
Unfortunately, UNC ended up beating us, and out of the tournament we were. After some disappointment, we reflected on how amazing our season was, despite facing multiple hardships, including Coach Boeheim's nine-week suspension. But we still did it.
We are Orange, we bleed Orange and we are one. We came together, celebrated our team and cheered for them throughout the games (and maybe yelled at the screen a little bit too intensely).
So here's to all of my fellow Orange men and Orange women across this world of ours. We did it. And we certainly aren't sad or sorry about it.
Until next season,
One Happy And Proud 'Cuse Fan