Syracuse defensive end Jameel McClain doesn’t know what a sold-out Carrier Dome looks like.

It’s been nearly seven years since anybody saw the Dome filled to its 49,250 capacity for football. The last full house was a Nov. 18, 2000 contest against Miami (Fla.)-one which the Orange, who finished 6-5 that year, lost, 26-0. As the SU football program dipped further and further into mediocrity, fan apathy grew and the crowds shrank.

‘I love these fans, no matter how many show up,’ McClain said. ‘But hopefully the fans could come, the students could come, and we could sell it out.’

Until last year, compiling wins had never been a problem for SU’s other two revenue-producing sports, men’s basketball and lacrosse. But last year was a dismal one for the Big Three. Football managed a marginally improved 4-8 record, the usually reliable lacrosse squad limped to a 5-8 mark and basketball had its bubble burst on Selection Sunday-relegated to a spot in the National Invitational Tournament (NIT).

It was the first time in 25 years basketball missed the NCAA Tournament, football missed a bowl game and lacrosse failed to reach the NCAA tournament in the same season.

There are obvious reasons for hope in the winter and spring. The basketball and lacrosse programs have the resources, experience and personnel to succeed.

For now, football head coach Greg Robinson and the rest of the football team are still constructing the basic foundations for success.

‘I think number one, the players understand the expectation level that we have set for them as a coaching staff for them,’ Robinson said when asked how the program had changed since his arrival two-and-a-half years ago. ‘I think they understand us as people. There’s a relationship between coaches and players. I think there’s a trust factor that’s been built. And that’s where it starts. That’s big.’

Players are one thing. The fans can be a bit more difficult to appease. That’s been the case during the past several falls at the Dome, as attendance has continually fallen.

In 1998, the Syracuse football had six home games, three of which were sellouts. Overall, that team, which finished a good but not spectacular 8-4, averaged 47,898 fans per game.

Last year, the Orange averaged 37,263 fans per game.

Yet the fans seem to be keeping the faith in basketball and lacrosse. Basketball welcomed 26,752 fans to its quarterfinal NIT contest against San Diego State, the largest crowd ever to attend an NIT game. Meanwhile, SU lacrosse led the nation in average attendance for home games.

The apathy towards football isn’t hard to find in pockets on campus.

‘I gave up on football after my freshman year,’ junior industrial design major Rahul Mahtani admitted. ‘I’m a big football fan…it’s just frustrating to see us struggle.’

When asked if there was any sense of excitement on campus for the football season, Mahtani quipped, ‘Not this year.’

Though Mahtani won’t be in attendance Friday night against Washington, hope springs eternal for some orange-clad faithful. A Friday night, national television fixture combined with another year’s infusion of freshman enthusiasm should ensure a decent atmosphere.

Jonathan Schlosser and Ryan Pina are both freshmen in the College of Arts and Sciences, who, despite donning a heavy array of SU garb, admit to knowing little about the program except for one thing: ‘They’re not very good,’ Schlosser said.

When asked what their expectations were for the season, both agreed the best possible scenario would be a six-win season and a bowl game.

A bowl appearance would be a first, too, for McClain and company. SU hasn’t made a bowl game since a 51-14 defeat in 2004 at the hands of Georgia Tech in the Champs Sports Bowl. SU last won a bowl game in 2001.

‘We definitely have to win these fans back over,’ McClain said. ‘Everybody knows it. We lost the games and put ourselves in this position. We have to win to get them back, there’s nothing more that you can say.’

Recruiting is perhaps the biggest reason why there seems to be little concern about a recession for the basketball and lacrosse programs. Basketball head coach Jim Boeheim has brought in a six-player recruiting class that has been unanimously hailed as one of the nation’s best.

Those recruits are the reason why Mahtani thinks Boeheim’s squad ‘is going to be championship quality this year.’

Meanwhile, lacrosse head coach John Desko is welcoming 15 new faces to infuse talent into his program, including Central New York player of the year, goalie John Galloway.

In fairness to Robinson, his squad has shown improvement since the 1-10 team from 2005 that was left on Robinson’s doorstep when he arrived. The 2007 season might be the first opportunity to partially judge Robinson’s talent-evaluation ability.

Robinson is betting the increased talent of his side will begin to manifest itself and instill that old sense of excitement and confidence into the football program. But as Robinson so often emphasizes, ‘the proof is in the pudding.’

‘I think the talent level has improved. I really do,’ Robinson said. ‘I think the players here, compared to the first game against West Virginia, it’s different…I’ve seen a transition. When you can stack class on class on class, that’s when you really get good, and you get good for a while.’

Published on August 26, 2007 at 12:00 pm