Every basketball game day starts the off same way for Syracuse University alumna Jo-Ann Laifer: She gets up in the morning, puts on her orange socks and checks in with her “sock sistas” on Facebook before leaving for work.

While Laifer logs on in New York City, SU mom Julie Morse-Mills comments from Saugus, Mass., and Beth Lee checks in from Calabasas, California. More than 140 SU moms from all over the country belong to the sock sistas’ Facebook group, and the thread that binds them together is simple: in order to join, you must have a child at SU, you must love men’s basketball and you must invest in an orange pair of socks to wear on game day.

The sisterhood’s Facebook group was originally created for mothers of SU students to connect with each other and get advice. But since its inception a few years ago, the collection of moms has blossomed beyond a parental forum.

Though they’ve never met in person, the group members post on the page multiple times per day. The conversation is a smattering of SU basketball talk, announcements about life events and posts seeking advice.

The group’s pet name, “The Sock Sistas,” was inspired by a common superstition held between Laifer and another SU mom, Lauren Eisen. While communicating through the group, the two discovered that they both religiously wore orange socks on basketball game days. Prior to the team’s recent losses, the two believed their socks were a weighty factor in SU’s near-perfect record this season.

The two shared the sentiment on the page, and the trend instantly caught on with the group’s 100-plus members.

“It’s just become an offshoot that is a big part of our lives,” said Eisen, the mother of a junior who posts in the group daily. “In this digital age, friendships come in all kinds of forms. What never existed before is now possible.”

But the sisterhood goes far beyond just game day tradition and banter. Morse-Mills says the group has raised money for causes, sent cards of support to ailing family members and created food baskets and gift cards for members who are facing tough times. Just this past week, the group raised over $300 for Julian Ross, a young SU basketball fan who has cancer.

“That makes you really tear up because that says a lot about the group and the tightness that people feel,” Eisen said. “We couldn’t be eager enough to support each other and send money.”

The “sistas” have each others’ backs. The women share news about themselves and their families, pep talk each other and lend advice in times of need.

Morse-Mills recalled a time when she couldn’t get in contact with her son when he was sick with the flu. She turned to the group for support, and within a matter of hours, another member’s daughter had successfully checked on the ill student, and restored his mother’s peace of mind.

“The thing that is cool is that we’ve supported each other through a lot of things,” said Morse-Mills, whose son is an SU senior. “We’ve developed a really good internet friendship.”

For Eisen, the friendship takes on an even deeper meaning. Her sister, her only sibling, passed away two years ago. “Although no one could ever replace the loss which is still so intense,” Eisen said in an email, “I do feel a certain connectivity and closeness just by being able to refer to the group as sistas.”

The “sistas” all believe that their experience is unique to Syracuse University. Several of the moms have tried to start parent groups at other universities their children go to without much success. Morse-Mills said friends whose children go to other schools have even asked to be added to the SU group after hearing about the camaraderie.

“There’s just something unique about Syracuse that you don’t see anywhere else,” Morse-Mills said. “We definitely feel a definite connection knowing we have so many friends out there. I know at the drop of a hat I could call up someone and they’d be there.”

Laifer, who is an alumna as well as an SU mom, said the group has added a new dimension to her Syracuse experience.

“My experience has always been good, but this group has made me a sister,” Laifer said. “People reach out of me, I reach out to them. We laugh together.”

 lsoroka@syr.edu, @lara_soro

Published on February 24, 2014 at 1:14 am

Contact Lara: lsorokan@syr.edu