Syracuse Football’s Vale of Tears

“Between grief and nothing, I will take grief.” That’s from

, or maybe its actual source, Faulkner’s story “The Wild Palms,” but let’s all be honest: You thought it was a Principal Ed Rooney original, and you should admit this before we get any further. ↵↵Okay, now that you’ve admitted that, let’s get to the advice. If you’re a Syracuse fan, you should probably choose nothing. Your program has had the worst three-year stretch in school history. This will surprise no one with college football ADD, as Syracuse now right next to “subprime mortgage rate” and “Russian submarine safety” as synonyms for poor management and worse execution. Remember, though, for a minute that this was once a proud program, and that in the ashes of what used to be their football offices you can find the dusty, half-scorched jerseys of Jim Brown, Donovan McNabb, Larry Csonka, Dwight Freeney, and Marvin Harrison. You know, underneath the rubble. ↵

↵↵We’d like to say there’s hope, but there’s two especially discouraging things making this very difficult to do. Sarcastic “YAY!” No. 1: Your AD has been offered a lucrative contract extension despite a near-complete lack of results. Sarcastic “YAY!” No. 2: You just lost your top recruit to Central Michigan. Rephrased: He’d rather be toiling away in the MAC with the Chippewas than at Syracuse. Rephrased again: “He’s just not that into you” does not begin to describe it. ↵

↵↵Between grief and nothing, you should take nothing, Syracuse fans. The good news? That represents zero change from what you have, football-wise. ↵

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