the who, what, where, and why part 3

Well here is another installment of the who, what, where, and why we are bloggers. I recently spoke to Matt over at Orange 44 about his passion for the art of the blog and this is what he had to say.

Why did you decide to start a blog about Syracuse sports?
Matt-The decision to start a dedicated Syracuse blog is twofold.
First, I, like many, contributed to the Syracusefan.com message board. Along with a few others, we were in on the ground floor of migrating a message community away from Syracuse.com to what is now -- through various permutations -- the Scout.com Orange community. Over time, however, I grew dissatisfied with the scope of message boards and the platform it gave to many who were more interested in discussing ancillary topics than forthright issues of pertinence.

Therefore, I started what is now Orange::44.

Not surprisingly, the first point directly impacts the second point. At the time that Orange::44 went into publication (March 12, 2005), there were no other blogs dedicated to Syracuse's triumvirate of sports -- football, basketball, and lacrosse. It was the first of its particular scope, and I thought it would be an interesting opportunity to see how a Syracuse-centric blog could a) survive, and b) talk about Orange issues that no other internet-based source was discussing (namely, alternatively statistical analysis).

What were your first memories of a Syracuse sporting event?
Matt- I grew up in Connecticut and only had a tangential cognizance of Syracuse sports. As a fan of the Big East, I obviously understood the role of Orange athletics, but the University never dominated my interest until I enrolled in the Fall of 1998.
As a consequence, my first -- and most important -- memory of Syracuse was the first football game I attended as a freshman. That happened to be the still controversial Syracuse-Tennessee throwdown in the Carrier Dome in 1998. It was an instant attraction that has both ruined my existence and given me a sporting distraction not named "Boston Red Sox."

What was your most heart breaking Syracuse moment?
Matt-The Date - May 15, 2005.
The Setting - Garber Field, University of Massachusetts
The Event - Syracuse v. Massachusetts, NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament First Round
It was the end of "The Streak" and arguably topped off the most disappointing Syracuse athletic season ever -- the football team went 1-10; Vermont bounced the basketball team from the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament; and the lacrosse team (expected to buoy the hopes of all) ruined the greatest tradition in collegiate athletics.


What was your happiest Syracuse moment?
Matt-April 7, 2003.
Syracuse holds of Kansas to win the National Championship.

Daryl Gross came into Syracuse with grand visions of national championships, was he blowing smoke up our ass or is he smoking something really expensive?
Matt-Honestly, I think it is still too early to tell. Unlike many, I have not yet made a concrete decision as to what I think Nancy Cantor should do with Greg Robinson and Dr. Gross. I am an ardent pragmatist by nature and rarely allow recent events to dictate whether an end goal is actually available for success.

Who would win Notre Dame or Syracuse in the "I suck as a coach bowl"?
Matt- Syracuse, and this has nothing to do with being an Orange partisan. Over at FanHouse we have frequent discussions as to whether Notre Dame is the worst team in major college football this year and the answer almost always comes forward as a definitive "yes." Syracuse is ten kinds of terrible this season, but the offense -- for all of its flaws -- is light years ahead of Charlie Weis' group this season.

Other than your own, what blog do you get out of bed and think I can't wait to see what they wrote next?
matt- Deadspin. No contest.

Thanks Matt for your time and keep up the great work. Go Orange
I totally agree deadspin is amazing

up next The Axeman, wait to see what he had to say. stay tuned....