The Syracuse football program has been blessed with a ton of talent at the quarterback position over the years. But perhaps none have created the fanfare that Eric Dungey has with Orange Nation.
It’s been a crazy roller coaster ride over the years with Dungey at quarterback for the Orange. You could say other quarterbacks are faster, stronger, and bigger than Dungey, but none are more passionate.
That passion has been infectious to the rest of the team. Dungey has proven that he’ll do whatever it takes to win. From his dangerous hurdling to running through tackles as opposed to going out of bounds, Dungey is a modern-day daredevil.
With Dungey’s Orange career officially over, he’ll be remembered not just for the video game stats he put up, but instead the impact and relationships he cultivated during his time with the Orange. To learn more about Dungey on and off the field there was only one person who could step up to the plate. So who better to tell Dungey’s story than his own mother Cindy Dungey! Or her preferred nickname by us, Mama Dungey.
Q: Mama Dungey, when did it become apparent that your son Eric wanted to play football?
"A: I’d say it all started when he was a toddler. Not specifically with footballs. In the earliest years it was basketballs. He’d climb out of his high chair, and in his diaper, he’d go oustide and shoot at the lowered (real) hoop we had in our driveway in Medina, Minnesota. And he’d make baskets. His first organized sports team was t-ball. And then soccer. He’d throw the football around with his dad and brother, Matt when he was 5 years old. His first experience in organized football was when he was in 3rd grade, when we moved back to Lake Oswego, Oregon. Eric played QB and safety from 3rd grade through HS. He started as a freshman on the varsity team in HS when our starting Senior QB was injured. And he remained the starting QB for the remainder of his HS career."
Q: So jumping around why Syracuse? I mean New York is on the other side of the states were you worried about him being so far away from home?
"A: Eric was being recruited by the Ivy Leagues and The Academies…so the East Coast was not out of the question. Just because it was far from Oregon. The degree mattered to Eric. Harvard and Yale and the Naval Academy were compelling opportunities. But when Syracuse reached out to him, it was the combination of the excellent education and the chance to play football at the highest level that really turned him. I grew up in NY – so Eric has family in NY and NJ, and though it was across the country- he wouldn’t necessarily be isolated. Both his sister, Emily, and brother, Matthew, attended schools far from home (Emily-in Colorado and Matt – in Virginia)."
Q: When Eric was young what did he want to be when he grew up? What were his goals?
"A: Hahaha. That reminds me of the journal he kept in 1st grade, where he broached the subject quite regularly. He was extremely interested in becoming a professional athlete. But the sport changed, sometimes daily."
Q: So as a future parent and football fanatic I’m constantly engulfed in the football rhetoric of the dangers of the game and the potential effects it could have on my children, were you ever concerned with your son being involved in football?
"A: Not in the sense of him getting hurt, no. We worried about him jumping the barrels into the Willamette River or doing back flips off the bridges over Lake Oswego. But we didn’t “worry” about him getting hurt playing sports. I played sports, his dad played sports, his brother and sister played sports. I believe it must be a certain mindset. As an athlete you cannot compete if you have a fear of getting hurt."
Q: Continuing on that thread how has your son dealt with the pressure and scrutiny of being the face of a program? The good and the bad since being at Syracuse.
"A: His dad warned him in HS to never believe your own press- “you’re never as good as they say, and never as bad as they say.” Eric wants to win. He is very, very…can I stress the word “very” ? focused on helping his team win. He also hates to lose. So, for Eric I think it’s less about his concern about external pressure and scrutiny- and more about harnessing his own internal pressures/scrutiny to the team’s benefit."
Q: As a sports mom what has been the proudest moment for you in Dungey’s Syracuse career thus far? Also what about prior to his time with the Orange favorite moment?
"A: I’m a mom. And a sports mom. So, of course, I’m crazy proud of all the achievements, records, sport center moments he has had to date. But the thing that makes me the proudest are the times when his teammates show their respect/affection for him. The times when they show him that they have his back. Those are moments that he earned because of the human being he is and not the athlete he is. I mean those are the traits that will serve him well throughout his life. Those are the moments that would make any mom proud."
Q: How many games have you been too of his during his career from peewee to now? Are there any rituals you do or that your family does before the game starts?
"A: I never missed a game from pee wee through HS. I’ve been to a majority, but not all of his college games. I could never sit in the stands for the entire game in HS- I’d migrate and stand by myself if I could. I liked to watch and a lot of my girlfriends were pretty chatty during the games. Plus I had a lot of nervous energy….No real rituals though…."
Q: Is there any significance to the No. 2 jersey number? He’s always worn it from the pictures.
"A: It was my number and he loved Derek Jeter. I think the latter bore more importance. 🙂"
Q: Final question, do you have any message or thoughts to Orange Nation, the fans that have supported your son throughout his career thus far and what they’ve meant to you and your family?
"A: Just this past weekend I met some of the football alumni from 1957! They were so incredible- as are so many of the fans and football alumni I have had the pleasure of meeting over the past few years. The young kids who wait for the players after the game to get autographs- and their parents who brave the elements waiting for that to be done! It makes being part of Orange Nation so incredibly special. I’ve also had the good fortune to develop friendships with some pretty amazing players and their families. Supporting the boys is one of the best things a fan can do. Good begets good, Go Orange! FYI he’ll probably kill me for doing this interview lol."