Until next season

Stately in defeat. As we retreated from the JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse thoroughly vanquished by Florida State by the demoralizing tune of 38-3 as a 6-0 start of the season has now slid down the hill to 6-4, I thought that yes, I know that my dear wife Karen and I will want to return…

Play under review

Decision maker. Never did I ever … Think that I’d have such a close up view of the referee watching a replay to decide whether or not a play stands or the original decision should be overrided because of what he sees on the video.

Ohhhhhhhhhhh, kickoff!

Let the game begin. Watching a major college football game from the front row most certainly brings a different perspective, from the opening kickoff onward. Right down the line. It was a thrill when Syracuse finally moved the football not only to our end of the field, but right in front us, inside the 20.…

Fancy colors

Grand band. The new lighting elements in the JMA Wireless Dome allows some interesting moments, pre-game and halftime. The Syracuse marching band, the Pride of the Orange, was colored in different hues. Fans stand out. The crowd looks different in this lighting, too.

Bingo, we’re in the front row

Welcome, squad. Since moving to Syracuse in almost 40 years ago, I’ve watched football games at the dome from the press box. From the upper deck. From the second section sandwiched into the corners. Saturday, my dear wife Karen and I marched from the first-level concourse down, down, down to the seats she’d purchased online…

Different angles of game night

November night glow. The shuttle bus from Shaughnessy’s Pub dropped us off on Waverly Avenue, in front of Byrd Library, a short strut up the hill to the Syracuse University quad but most definitely a full block further to the left from the street we took up in years past. We appreciated the new perspective.…

Split loyalties

Orange side. With our season parking pass a thing of the past, a cool way to handle our Saturday night this-is-our-game-this-season excursion to the JMA Wireless Dome to watch Syracuse play Florida State. Shaughnessy’s Pub in the old Hotel Syracuse on downtown Syracuse’s Warren Street offered an intriguing plan. So we drove into their parking…

What happens in the front row

Yes, that is me. My phone dinged while my dear wife Karen and I rode the shuttle bus back to our great parking spot next to Shaughnessy’s in downtown Syracuse, where we’d decided to take advantage of their eat-first, ride to-and-fro the Syracuse game service Saturday night. Why, yes, I answered the chain from my…

It shaped up as a good day

A solo trip to the final game of the Syracuse football season allowed me plenty of snapping time for interesting scenes. Even though it was below freezing, some fans still dotted the reserved lots and tailgated for all they were worth as time wound down to the 12:30 p.m. kickoff vs. Wake Forest. It was…

Where have all the fans gone?

It didn’t seem like too far past that the parking lot up on the Syracuse University hill was packed with optimistic football fans for a big night football game against defending national champion Clemson. When I pulled into our Lot for the final game of the season at the end of November, I felt isolated,…