Syracuse Football: 44 reasons why I’m excited for the 2023 Orange season

When it comes to Syracuse football and other Orange sports, I like lists sometimes. I especially like lists that aren’t in any kind of order. Sometimes there isn’t an order so much as just a “shopping list” that’s fun to talk about.

And as my Twitter feed seems excited as we grow closer to the season starting, I wanted to share some things I’m excited about this season.

And along the way, I’ll share a few tweets as well about what others are excited about themselves. I actually like sharing the input of others so as to share various viewpoints and ideas.

So here are 44 (of course it’s 44 since it’s Syracuse football related and 100 seemed like too much) reasons we’re excited for the start of the season. Reminder, this is not in order of importance but numbered only so I can keep track of how many things I’ve listed. Go Orange!

Here are 44 reasons why I am pumped for the Syracuse football 2023 season.

44: Matt Park and Adam Terry because I like the home team calls so I listen to the radio more than watch it on TV

43: The Dome exterior light colors

42: Having a head coach like Dino Babers who doesn’t appear to be insulting and degrading players on the field but actually coaches them up

41: Speaking of coaches, how will the new coaches do especially with new offensive and defensive coordinators

40: The general excitement of fans especially when they win because the community is happier and less “Syracuse sucks” interactions

39: Seeing who will take over for Sean Tucker with the best post-game tweets

38: Being distracted for 3 hours without dealing with the negativity so many seem to thrive on spreading

37: A cold Mountain Dew and a hot pizza while I listen to the game if I’m not at work

36: Babers’ weekly radio show and press conferences

35: The excited fans tailgating and having a great time

34: A Trebor Pena return for a touchdown

33: The end of the humidity and the start of crisp, beautiful weather again

32: Beating Clemson at home

31: A healthier Garrett Shrader

30: Waitresses and bartenders hopefully making more money in tips with people going there to watch the games and other local businesses benefiting

29: Fun draft discussions for Oronde Gadsden II, Shrader, Caleb Okechukwu and Marlowe Wax Jr.…maybe others, too

28: That “3rd Down” announcement which means get loud y’all

27: Those videos of Dome personnel converting it from field to court or vice versa overnight

26: Who will be WR2? Will it be several guys or will someone step up and be a solid second (or maybe even third) option?

25: LeQuint Allen is back

24: Hofmann’s are so good

23: Discussing which bowl game is the best fit for the Orange

22: The SyraCruz tailgate

21: Will we finally see former Michigan QB and now Syracuse football TE Dan Villari used on a reverse to throw a pass to Shrader?

20: Varsity Pizza after a win

19: Finding out what player we don’t know well now will be the one we are excited about the most next season

18: Beating Pitt at Yankee Stadium

17: The pregame alma mater on the quad and the post-game alma mater in the JMA Wireless Dome

16: Orange uniforms

15: Syracuse football vs. Army on September 23rd. I didn’t go to West Point but I did serve 4 years in the Army in the 90’s as a field artillery surveyor so this one is a fun matchup for me. #BeatNavy

14: Seeing friends and familiar faces on game day or making new ones

13: Who’s gonna have cool merch at Manny’s this season? Tees and jerseys are fun but curious to see if anyone tries something unique

12: Beating Boston College on a Friday night

11: October apple picking since there are no home games that whole month and the Spy’s should be ripe by then and they make the best pies…the honey crisp is my favorite to eat outright though an occasional red and delicious is good too. Plus hayrides and haunted houses too.

10: Fans who get into it and dress up for the games. By dress up, I mean put on their best Orange outfits and have fun with it

9: Clang, clang, clang goes the Cuse trolley and mark my words…I will ride one someday

8: The return of the Mob

https://twitter.com/lynniepd/status/1683619251091808257?s=46&t=RAWkSYdkWcHr4uyB4BrHdg

7: Winning at Virginia Tech on a Thursday night

6: A Syracuse football Carvel ice cream cake

5: Veo scooters being ridden by fans and players (those things are so fun and affordable to ride around on)

4: Jack Stonehouse or Max Von Marburg?

3: Beating Georgia Tech because Orange is better than yellow

2: The ability to escape life’s stress for three hours and not take the games too seriously reminding myself that I became a fan because I love Syracuse win or lose and it’s just about escaping reality for a bit to relax and enjoy something in life

1: September 2nd at 4 pm the season starts against Colgate at the JMA Wireless Dome