March 11, 2006
the legend of gerry mac
And now for his next trick, McNamazing will put an entire city on his back and carry them to another improbable victory...
Guess what, everybody - the rule book has officially been changed. The bar has been set so high, I don't know even think that big boy Roy Hibbert could reach it with the stepladder in my mom's kitchen (and that dude is big, as my Ace would say). Gerry Mac has brought the house down again, and this time he did it all after being down 15 in the final 20. Wow.
Could there be a better story in sports this year? At this point, I think it would take a Jason McElwain-led event on international television to upstage what our boy from Scranton has done these past three days. Somehow, as if by magic, #3 has pulled this team together to form a completely different entity. Just think - it was less than a week prior to Thursday's win over Cincinnati that this same ballclub got beaten over the head with five sledgehammers on DePaul's homecourt, and they hardly even batted an eyelash. Now all of a sudden these Syracuse Orange are mowing down top-ranked teams with an uncanny sense for drama and nearly unparalleled game-ending highs.
This story has all the makings of a true Syracuse Legend, with Gerry leading the charge. Of course he has an invaluable amount of help from his teammates - Nichols, Watkins, Devo, and Stormin' Gorman all put in some serious work tonight - but all in all, this is G-Mac's tale to tell. This tenacious Syracuse senior has already given us plenty of reasons to miss him in the years to come, but he still doesn't feel his legacy has been completed just yet. The kid wants so much to win this tournament, and he's showing us all that if you want something bad enough, it can be possible for you to create the means to do it.
McNamara was in a zone tonight where he simply couldn't be touched (especially during that last threeball at 0:48 when Georgetown was actively avoiding him for some reason... I guess they didn't see the 10,000 highlight replays of the UConn game). Coming off screens, cutting through the lane, catching and shooting - Gerry was on fire, and refusing to be pushed out of New York without a fight. Then, to cap it off, instead of taking the winning shot himself - as all four G'Town players converging around him thought it was Gerry's plan to do so - he finishes the game with one of the prettiest bounce passes in transition you'll ever see and a ball-hawking strip, stealing victory out from the Hoyas' hands.
This is three nights in a row that #3 has reset the standard of Syracuse University basketball heroes. I know in my mind that no one could ever top the skill of Bing, the exploits of Pearl, or the athleticism of Coleman and Owens, but tonight my heart is beginning to disagree. Gerry may not have all the traits of a Hall of Famer or even an NBA bench warmer, but he's still managed to firmly plant himself at the peak of my Orangelist. My sporting soul pulls for the Cuse to be in a close match down to the wire, just so Gerry Mac can make us all explode with the kind of energy we've shared these past few days. There's nothing like the feeling this kid can create within Cuse fans, just by willing himself to win the big one and playing as hard as he can because he knows this could be his last chance to do it all.
In the past few days alone, I've had more contact with all of my friends and family across the country than I've had in months. Everytime I pick up the phone someone else is sharing their personal story of these G-Mac Moments, whether they had to watch on a neighbor's TV, listen to a buzzerbeater on the computer, or catch updates through their phone's text messaging service. Something magical is happening to Syracuse fans everywhere this weekend, and it seems to me that it's primarily the work of a kid they used to call overrated. Absolutely everyone is enjoying these moments together, from co-workers who hardly ever follow the team to strangers in the street who have shared the same passion for years, but never knew it until now.
The heart and determination exhibited by this basketball player and his group of hustle-first teammates has been powerful and contagious - we all want to buy into what's happening, if only so we can experience a small part of it. Yes, it's just the Big East Tournament - a series of games our team has won before without flinching - but now it's become something much bigger than that. To me, this team's effort in these three games has shown Syracuse fans the essence of sport, and we've found that we simply can't get enough. Gerry's got us all hooked, and we're starting to believe they're destined to be champions.
After the West Virginia game, Boeheim noted to the press that he felt Gerry McNamara may have the biggest heart of any player he's ever coached, ranking him right next to Sherman Douglas (and Rod Tidwell). Considering how often Jimmy B. likes to stress his lengthy experience at this University, it's very considerable praise to be put upon one of his players. If I were to venture a guess tonight, though, I'd bet this four-year starter - one of the Top-5 Orangemen in nearly every tangible statistical category - has since moved a spot higher inside his coach's mind. After watching him give us everything he's got - just to win a few games in the Big East - I'm ready to keep him there forever.
Bring on the Panthers. Let's see what happens next.
