1987: Team returns to cheering crowds

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, The Daily Orange will publish one article from each decade of its existence for the next two weeks.

For six years Syracuse University basketball fans hoped SU would make college basketball’s NCAA Final Four. Saturday night 5,000 fans flocked to Hancock Field and 1,500 gathered on Marshall Street celebrating their dream come true.

The team was returning from its 79-75 win over North Carolina at Brenda Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, N.J., which placed the Orangemen in the Final Four.

‘I’m speechless,’ SU team co-captain Howard Triche said after walking through the crowd and the confetti.

‘This is something Greg (Monroe) and I have been waiting for a couple of years,’ Triche said.



Triche and Monroe are senior co-captains.

Going to the Final Four is something the Syracuse community has been waiting for since 1975, when SU went to the Final Four in San Diego. This was SU’s most recent appearance in the Final Four.

‘I can’t describe how all this feels,’ coach Jim Boeheim said, looking out at the crowd. ‘It’s just a great feeling.’

‘We feel pretty good,’ SU center Rony Seikaly said, spraying champagne into the crowd.

‘This means an awful lot to all of us,’ Boeheim told the screaming fans. ‘Having so many people come out here, this means so much to all of us.’

SU fans went out of their way to accommodate the team.

One fan thought the players might be hungry after the long day and ordered them Domino’s pizzas. The Domino’s delivery man, however, was unable to get past airport security.

A young girl congratulated the team by giving each player orange and white flowers, while people sat on top of the gift shop and information booths to get a glimpse of the team.

Police escort

After the team’s speeches to the crowd, Syracuse police and airport security escorted the team through the crowd and out a back entrance.

Syracuse police said the crowd started forming at about 9 p.m.

A day after the game, SU Chancellor Melvin A. Eggers said he would not be surprised if SU won the NCAA.

‘Our chances for winning are as good as any,’ Eggers said. ‘We showed we can play with the best and win.’

Eggers said he enjoyed both weekend games and plans to attend the Final Four in New Orleans.

‘Both games were thrilling experiences,’ he said. ‘It was a pleasure to win when we weren’t expected to.’

The day after the games, students on Marshall Street were still excited.

‘The win almost gave me a heart attack,’ junior Sue Fisch said about Saturday night’s game.

‘Today I have a headache from screaming so much, but we beat UNC and we’ll do it again,’ she said. ‘We’ll go all the way.’

More than 50 SU fans watched the game in Sutter’s while there was a standing-room-only crowd at the Varsity.

With the game over, fans watching in the Varsity and other M-Street bars poured into the streets.

‘Party in the streets,’ the students chanted.

Street-wide celebration

‘I’ve never seen so much excitement since Syracuse beat Nebraska,’ Varsity owner Ted Dellas said.

In 1984 the SU football team scored a 17-9 win over undefeated, top-ranked University of Nebraska.

Car horns and cheers could still be heard across campus about an hour after the game was over.

Excited people flocked from across campus to Marshall Street.

SU seniors Dave Gerber and Ken Jacobson led the celebration in the streets, which was comparable to the day after final exams.

Gerber and Jacobson began high-fiving the people in the honking cars that drove down South Crouse Avenue.

A policeman stopped to speak to Gerber, Jacobson and several others.

‘I don’t care what you do as long as you be careful,’ the policeman said. ‘And as long as you don’t cause a riot in the street.’

Firecrackers went off in the street. People crushed beer cans, spraying beer into the crowd.

‘It’s Orgasm Week and the SU campus is having a big one,’ senior Brian Whaley said.

People stood on top of Baskin-Robbins spraying beer on the people below.

Sophomore Jeff Kennedy donned an orange Trojan hat throughout the celebration and led the chanting while riding on a friend’s shoulders.

‘We all hope this will put SU on the map,’ junior John Epstein said.

Bourbon Street

Students transformed Marshall Street into Bourbon Street by placing a sign over the original street sign.

Students across campus agreed both games Saturday were worth celebrating.

‘With us winning and Georgetown losing, this day was perfect,’ junior Jon Rosenthal said.

Earlier in the day, Providence College scored an 88-73 win over Georgetown.

Several students credit the Orangemen’s emotions for the victory. ‘The players played with their hearts. If they continue to play with their hearts, we will definitely win,’ senior Steve Moretta said.

Some SU students had a tug-of-war with a UNC sweatshirt and held a ceremonial burning.

By 8:45 p.m., police asked the students to leave Marshall Street.

Dented beer cans and broken bottles littered Marshall-Bourbon Street.

But the celebration was just beginning – SU is on its way to the Final Four.

Originally published March 23, 1987





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