Syracuse has played 724 games since Neil Gold became a season-ticket holder in 1996. He’s missed fewer than five of them.

The people of central New York all live with one thing in common: a rabid obsession with Syracuse. Specifically, the men’s basketball team. More than 18 million people have passed through the Carrier Dome turnstiles since 1980, perhaps none more loyal than Gold. Even in SU’s mediocre years, this season included, he arrives to the Dome two hours before tip, sits courtside on the same seat across from the visitor bench and roots for the Orange. He travels with the team for every away game, too.

This season marks his 50th as an official SU fan, a title he’s held since he first stepped foot on the SU campus as a freshman mathematics major in 1967. Gold, a 67-year-old retired businessman from Brooklyn, New York, has rooted for the Orange since current head coach Jim Boeheim served as a graduate assistant. He’s witnessed SU reach six Final Fours and nine National Invitational Tournaments, win five conference tournaments and claim one national title. In 21 seasons as a season-ticket holder, he has been to four NITs, three Final Fours and the 2003 national championship game.

During Gold’s half-century of fandom, Syracuse has failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament only 12 times (excluding 1993 and 2015, when SU was banned from postseason eligibility). This season, SU may not receive a ticket to the Big Dance for what would be only the fifth time since Gold became a season-ticket holder in 1996. Still, Syracuse basketball remains a part of Gold’s identity.

“It’s just painful sometimes,” Gold said. “It’s very hard to enjoy myself unless it’s a 20-point blowout. But I love it. I’m passionate. Going to all of the games creates a bond. Last year, we didn’t know we’d get into the Tournament and look what happened. I think we could do that again.”

At 17, Gold begged his friends to join him for freshman and varsity basketball games in Manley Field House. In the years since, Syracuse basketball has undergone changes big and small, with the jump to the Carrier Dome, a pair of NCAA investigations, a No. 1 overall draft pick, back-to-back NIT appearances, a move to a new conference and two Final Fours in the last four years.

Gold’s most vivid memories are the championships. He attended Syracuse’s six-overtime game at Madison Square Garden in 2009. He flew to Houston for last year’s improbable Final Four run. He has sat in every Atlantic Coast Conference and Big East arena. He’s traveled to Hawaii, the Bahamas and Los Angeles for games. By many accounts, SU hoops is his lifeblood.

“If Syracuse loses,” Gold said, “it usually takes me a few days to get over it.”

Jacob Greenfeld | Asst. Photo Editor

For about 15 years, Gold logged hundreds of nights at the Sheraton Hotel on University Avenue and hundreds of flights from Syracuse-Hancock International Airport to see SU play. He’d leave his Long Island home at around 3:30 p.m., hop on a 4:30 flight out of John F. Kennedy International Airport to Syracuse and walk into the Carrier Dome during warmups. He’d watch the game, then crash at the Sheraton, whose concierge books his nights shortly after the annual release of the basketball schedule. The next day, Gold rises at 4 a.m. to fly back to New York for work at 8. Other times, he replaces the flight with a road trip up Interstate 81.

“It was very draining to do all of that,” Gold said. “It really took away from some of the enjoyment of the games.”

The total travel over 21 seasons, he estimated, exceeds 500,000 miles. He recalled being the only passenger on some planes due to either ice storms or wee-hour flight times. For years, he rode the team charter to away games because he is an SU donor. And, in 2011, Gold moved into a 4,200-square-foot home in Manlius. His basement doubles as half man cave, half Syracuse haven. A Carrier Dome sign sits on the stairwell. Memorabilia like photos, jerseys, sneakers and tickets hang on the walls. His leather couches are orange, vodka orange and blue, the layout spread throughout a few rooms.

After Syracuse won the 2003 national title, SU Athletics asked Gold for his ring size. He didn’t know, so he hopped in the car and drove to a local jewelry store to find out. In the next few years, he wore the ring to games. Now, it sits in a case.

Across the room hangs Boeheim’s famous ripped-off jacket, from an ejection after a controversial charge call at Duke in February 2014. Gold, a member of the SU Board of Trustees, won the coat with a $14,000 bid at a Syracuse basketball program charity event. Near that lies the national title ring, 2003 national championship game ball, Carmelo Anthony autographed jersey and Hakim Warrick signed poster of his championship-winning block. There’s also a Gerry McNamara “Overrated?” T-Shirt, referring to a 2006 poll of Big East assistant coaches voting him the league’s most overrated player.

Jacob Greenfeld | Asst. Photo Editor

A Sports Illustrated cover featuring Anthony also hangs near glass from Arinze Onuaku’s smashed backboard, and the bathroom’s bath rug mimics a court, its towels blue and its light a basketball-hoop fixture. One of Gold’s favorite pieces is a 2007 thank you letter from Boeheim, which included a reference to the Gold family’s horseradish business.

“You don’t try to give me points on how to coach the team,” Boeheim wrote to him. “You and I have an understanding. I don’t give you tips on how to improve your mustard or horseradish relishes and you don’t give me tips on when to play zone or switch to man-to-man.”

Boeheim has yet to see the shrine, but the pair chat at team events and before games. Once the clock turns on, Gold points at referees, extends his arms in jubilation and throws them aside in frustration, gesticulations revealing the fan within. He has cheered on Syracuse for 50 years, and he will give another reminder of that when he sits courtside in the Carrier Dome on Saturday for his 720th game.

Published on March 2, 2017 at 10:55 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21