New Public Enemy #1

One of the biggest reasons most Syracuse fans are upset with the switch to the ACC at the end of the season is what it means for our rivalries.  Nothing makes you want to roll down the thruway in white-out conditions like a scintillating match-up between Syracuse and Wake Forest on a February night.

But nonetheless, the move is happening whether we fans like it or not.  That means no more Jim Calhoun (who retired anyways), Rick Pitino, and Jay Wright in our lives.

We need some new villains to fill this cavernous void and give Jimmy B someone to spout off about or disgustedly roll his eyes at.  Unfortunately, Coach K and Boeheim are friendly from spending the last few summers coaching the Men's National Team together and Roy Williams and his Huckleberry Hound attitude don't seem likely to ruffle any feathers any time soon.  Who's a fan to hate?

Fear not, fellow Orange faithful.  An unlikely candidate has emerged from the woodwork, and that person is... a writer?

Yes that is correct.  Ladies and Gentleman, welcome Ron Morris of the The State (a newspaper in South Carolina).

The first AP poll of the season came out this past week and Ron Morris is the only voter who did not put the Orange in his top 25.  This may not be that egregious if Syracuse was ranked in back-end of the poll and was considered a fringe top 20-25 team, but they are not.  They are a top 10 team in both preseason polls and in checking about 15 other AP voters polls, nobody else had Syracuse lower than 14th.

Still, even with those facts on the table, Morris could probably be forgiven.  After all, preseason polls are essentially meaningless.  We can assume that he would see the light after a week or two and make amends.  That is, if this was an isolated incident.

It is not an isolated incident though.  For those of you who may have had a nagging feeling throughout this article that you've heard Ron's name before, that is because you have.  He is the same voter who last season had an undefeated Syracuse squad at #4, behind one-loss Kentucky and two-loss UNC and Ohio State, at a time when 60 voters had Syracuse #1 and the other four voter had them at #2.

Rumors that Ron Morris was rejected from the Newhouse School of Public Communications or was squirted in the eye by the juice of an Orange at a young age are unverified at this time. Whatever the reason though, it clearly appears he has it in for us.  I look forward to seeing how he tries to exact revenge on us after we wipe the floor with Clemson next season.  We can only hope he covers Jim Boeheim's press conference after the game.