Well, considering the fact that WE are part of the "new" Big East, at least from a purist's standpoint, then I am rather happy with it. If you want to argue that the league took a step backward in terms of quality, then that can be better argued on the basketball side of things, and not just because of the talent level of Syracuse, WVU, and Pitt (well, usually on that last one), but because of the what Syracuse in particular brought to the Big East tournament. As a native New Yorker, who lives here now, I really think that Syracuse made a mistake leaving the Big East because so much of its traditional fanbase and alumni base is tied to NYC and to the BE tournament. Being at MSG for the BE tourney, when we played right after Syracuse, and then when we played against them, seeing the arena bathed in orange was almost surreal. There is not that much orange in the stands there even for a Knicks game. Good luck generating that kind of atmosphere in Atlanta, for the ACC tourney. Syracuse will regret leaving, but the Big East should have made it harder to leave and should have done more from the get-go to get to at least 10 football schools, so we could have divisions and a league championship.
From a football standpoint, I think that we actually gain in quality and basketball recovered well with Temple and Memphis, although we lose the atmosphere that Syracuse brought. So, yes, I AM happy with how the Big East shaped up after all the controversy. Let's just hope it has a chance to grow into its own.
From a football standpoint, I think that we actually gain in quality and basketball recovered well with Temple and Memphis, although we lose the atmosphere that Syracuse brought. So, yes, I AM happy with how the Big East shaped up after all the controversy. Let's just hope it has a chance to grow into its own.
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