Syracuse Football: Given some students’ stupidity, tailgating ban is needed
By Neil Adler
University officials are eliminating season tickets and banning tailgating ahead of the Syracuse football 2020 campaign.
Assuming that Syracuse football plays a 2020 term, and fans are allowed to cheer on the Orange inside the Carrier Dome – two elements which are both uncertain amid the novel coronavirus pandemic – ‘Cuse fanatics will not have the ability to tailgate.
That, my friends, is a spot-on decision by Syracuse University administrators, particularly after news broke that dozens of immature, selfish SU students gathered on the school’s quad on Wednesday night, while apparently not social distancing or wearing masks, according to media reports.
I don’t want to sit on my soapbox for too long here, but these are such disappointing and ignorant actions taken by some ‘Cuse students, who could in turn ultimately jeopardize the capacity for Syracuse University to hold on-campus learning in the upcoming semester.
According to a statement from J. Michael Haynie, the university’s vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, a full investigation of the incident is underway.
Haynie said in part, “I want you to understand right now and very clearly that we have one shot to make this happen. The world is watching, and they expect you to fail. Prove them wrong. Be better. Be adults.”
Syracuse football will nix season tickets and ban tailgating as it pertains to the 2020 campaign.
Okay, putting that aside for now, the university’s athletics department said in a press release that it will move to an “individual game ticket model” for the Syracuse football 2020 stanza this fall – if a season does occur and fans are allowed to attend.
As we’ve previously reported, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo currently is restricting fan attendance at college and professional sporting events throughout the state, however, such restrictions could possibly get lifted in the future.
"“If fans are permitted to attend games – in some capacity – Syracuse Athletics will make individual game tickets available via an online presale two weeks before each game,” the statement on cuse.com reads. “Fans will be required to sit in their socially-distanced seat locations and wear a face covering.”"
The athletics department release added that the online presale is based on a priority system, with the top priority given to 2020 season-ticket holders.
As far as the ban on tailgating, this is a no-brainer. I went to Syracuse University and understand how much fun it can prove to tailgate on a Saturday afternoon before and after a football contest.
But due to the pandemic, and a severe lack of judgment by some in the university community, there is absolutely no logical reason why tailgating should transpire come this fall.