09/29/2026
If We Want Syracuse Football to Be Big-Time, We Have to Act Like a Big-Time Football Town
By Dominick Ciciarelli
Syracuse football won 66–3 Saturday over New Hampshire.
Yes, you read that correctly: 66–3.
Some will look at the opponent and dismiss the result. They’ll call it an exhibition game disguised as a regular-season game or say Syracuse was supposed to win. Maybe so. But if you were inside the Dome, you saw something bigger than a scoreboard.
You saw energy. You saw excitement. You saw a team playing together. You saw a program that is continuing to build something special under Coach Fran Brown.
And you saw something else that we, as a community, need to talk about.
Empty seats.
I have been impressed with what Coach Brown has brought to Syracuse from the beginning. It isn't only about recruiting rankings, wins or losses. He is building a culture around family, relationships, accountability and community. He has embraced Syracuse and he has made it clear that this football program belongs to more than the players wearing the uniform.
It belongs to all of us.
But if we want Syracuse football to become the kind of program we all say we want, then Syracuse has to do its part too.
Big-time college football programs don't only have fans when a nationally ranked opponent comes to town. Their fans show up because their team is playing.
It doesn't matter whether the opponent is a powerhouse or a team most casual fans have never heard of. It doesn't matter whether the game is decided by three points or 50.
They show up.
And just as importantly, they stay.
Saturday against New Hampshire, Syracuse was putting on a show. The Dome was rocking. The players were having fun. The sideline was alive. The atmosphere was ecstatic.
Yet as the score climbed, seats started emptying.
I understand that some people have legitimate reasons to leave early. Families have obligations. People work. Life happens.
I'm not talking about them.
I'm talking about the mentality that says, "They're winning big, so there's nothing left to see."
There is plenty left to see.
Those players are still playing.
The backups who practiced all week are finally getting their opportunity. Young players are getting meaningful snaps. Coaches are still coaching. Families are watching their sons live out a dream. And every one of those players deserves to look into the stands and see that Syracuse is still behind them.
We cannot be a fair-weather sports community and simultaneously expect a championship-level program.
We can't demand better recruiting, bigger wins, national attention and packed houses for marquee games while treating the rest of the schedule like it doesn't matter.
Culture isn't built only inside the locker room.
It's built in the stands too.
Coach Brown and his staff are doing their part. The players are doing their part. They are putting in the hours, representing Syracuse and trying to build something this community can be proud of.
Now it is our turn.
Buy the ticket. Wear the Orange. Bring your kids. Bring your friends. Get loud. Support the businesses that support Syracuse athletics. Celebrate the players. And whenever you reasonably can, stay until that clock hits zero.
And this isn't only about football.
Basketball. Lacrosse. Soccer. Women's sports. Olympic sports. Every student-athlete who puts "Syracuse" across their chest is representing our university and our community.
We should represent them right back.
Syracuse University and its athletic programs bring tremendous energy and identity to Central New York. They give us something to rally around together regardless of where we live, what we do for a living or what our backgrounds may be.
That's what sports can do.
That's what family does.
Fran Brown talks about family.
Well, family doesn't only show up when the occasion is big enough.
Family shows up because you are there.
Saturday's 66–3 victory over New Hampshire was a great day for Syracuse football.
But if we truly believe this program is building something special, let's stop waiting until everyone else believes it before we fill the Dome.
Let's help build it.
From kickoff to the final whistle.
Go Orange. 🍊
(sent to syracuse.com for weeks and they never responded)
