Seeing that Sunday is Mother’s Day, it’s only fair that this writer’s Mom receives a huge shout-out for embracing his Syracuse basketball shenanigans.
There are thousands upon thousands of people out there who are obsessed with Syracuse basketball. Proudly – or annoyingly, depending on your perspective – I am one of those folks.
But along with this enthusiasm and passion for the Orange comes the occasional absurdity. Like pretty much every single time that the ‘Cuse loses a game, or misses out on a recruit.
My infatuation with Syracuse hoops will never wane, but I have controlled myself a bit more in recent years whenever the team doesn’t fare well. Chalk it up to getting older, and attempting to keep things in perspective.
Yet through my ongoing saga with my beloved Orange, my dear Mother has always stood by me – literally and metaphorically. Well, much of the time, anyways.
There are the handful of instances, when I’ve watched a ‘Cuse contest with her and my Dad, and I’ve gone ballistic over an unhappy outcome. And my Mom has told me to take a chill pill.
But her zest for Syracuse, and her support for my adoration of the Orange, are both undeniably strong. If I’m watching a Syracuse affair at my apartment in Virginia, almost uniformly, I’ll receive a text from her that illustrates the end result.
“Go ‘Cuse!”
Or, “Too bad about ‘Cuse.”
You know the drill.
But my Mom’s, and Dad’s, support for me as it pertains to Syracuse runs deeper. Heck, they sent my twin brother Dan and I to the Newhouse school. They would make the 5.5-hour drive from Maryland to Central New York quite frequently, because we are a close-knit family.
They enabled Dan and I to study abroad in London. And, yes, they traveled there to see us for a week or so during that semester overseas. I had hoped that the four of us could party like rock stars in Amsterdam, but I got brutally rebuffed.
Even after the Adler twins graduated in 2000, the four of us trekked to the Orange campus in 2002 and 2005, when the ‘Cuse hosted regional semi-finals and finals of the NCAA Tournament. My Mom’s alma mater, Maryland, would go through that region in 2002 and ultimately cut down the nets. North Carolina did the same, three years later.
In 2003, our parents came over to the apartment that Dan and I shared to watch the NCAA title tilt. If memory serves correct, Syracuse played in that encounter versus Kansas. Our parents left at intermission, probably because my Mom knew that my heart would palpitate the entire second half. Things worked out okay.
Ten years later, the Orange faced Big East Conference rival Marquette in the Elite Eight in Washington, D.C. I scored tickets for the four of us to attend. Naturally, I proved an excited, nervous wreck the entire 40 minutes.
I recall on more than one occurrence my Mom politely asking me to calm down. And this wasn’t just if something went bad for the ‘Cuse. I jumped and screamed virtually every single time that Syracuse put the ball in the basket.
As the final minutes entered into the equation, and it proved clear that the Orange would emerge victorious and advance to the Final Four, I couldn’t contain myself. Smiles galore. And my Mom felt so happy for me, which is sweet, but also kind of strange in retrospect, because it’s not like I suited up for Jim Boeheim’s squad.
All kidding aside, she just knows how much the ‘Cuse hoops program means to me. It’s basically family first, then friends, then the creative agency which I own with Dan and, last but not least, Syracuse basketball.
Some of my fondest experiences in recent years center around watching the Orange with my Mom, my Dad and my son Kethan, who crazily will turn 4 this July. Kethan is starting to pronounce Syracuse correctly, and that tickles me with delight.
On March 7, the Orange fell to Miami. We had the game on, while Kethan, his grandparents – they go by Nana and Poppa – and I played with the little guy’s toys. Namely, his racetrack and his super ultimate garage. Those young boys and their cars, I’m telling you!
The ‘Cuse might have lost to the Hurricanes, but I honestly didn’t care. I was with my parents and my son. It was perfect.
Unfortunately, more than two months have passed since I last got to hug Kethan, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. He lives primarily with his Mom about 650 miles away, and I’m not sure when I’ll see him next. Then again, as long as he is healthy and safe, that’s what matters the most.
In recent weeks, I’ve hunkered down for much of the time with my parents in Maryland. They know that it’s difficult for me to be away from Kethan for so long, and they don’t want me to be alone.
So I do my work from their home and write articles for Inside The Loud House. We have meals together, and we hug lots. I tell them about the latest Syracuse recruiting news, and they listen, even if it’s hardly something super interesting to them.
Just the other day, I told my Mom to get with the times, and I signed her up for Twitter. Her bio, of course, includes “Go ‘Cuse!”
Now, her inbox will get flooded with all my rants and raves about the Orange, and I’m sure that she will get sick of this, sooner rather than later.
But she won’t say that to me, because she knows the ‘Cuse is so dear to my heart. Her support will never waver. And the Otto stuffed animal that has graced the back window of her car for two decades will always stay precisely there. That’s what the proud Mom of an Orange fanatic does.
Happy Mother’s Day and thank you, Mom. You’re unequivocally the best.