The Syracuse University football folks did a good job of upselling me between last season and this.

No, I didn’t go for the next price level of tickets for me dear wife Karen and I.

But I did decide to join in on the university-sponsored parking plan for the first time in the almost-decade we’ve been spending our football Saturdays with the Orange.

The bonus: We’re halfway up the hill toward the Carrier Dome from the lot where we’ve parked in seasons past. Yes, it costs a lot more. But Karen agreed it was time to cut down on that steep hill.

All the luxuries of our kitchen in the back of my car.

And after game one Saturday, we agreed it was good.

These people know how to do it.

I pulled my car into a lot full of very involved fans.

I may have met him when I was in college.

One guy walked around with his self-made cart, spreading his doctrine and collecting empties.

Right on!

Moments after we pulled in, Karen told me I would be making friends over the season. Sure enough, one guy spotted my NY hat and immediately started talked to me about the Mets. An hour or so later, he presented me with a bumper sticker he’d made for Orange coach Dino Babers because he, too, is a Mets fan. He smiled as I immediately pressed it on my car adjacent to my Syracuse Mets decal.

We’re in.

Five home games to go, starting with a noon start Saturday. We’ll be pulling into this scene a couple hours earlier than that …