Syracuse fans rush the court. Somewhere, Lil' Gerry McNamara hangs his head in shame.

In its previous five seasons, the Syracuse Orange men's basketball team has compiled an overall 127-43 record. They've won one National Championship and two Big East titles in that span and made the NCAA Tournament four out of the five seasons. Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim has sent several players to the NBA including Carmelo Anthony, Hakim Warrick, Demetris Nichols and Darryl Watkins and the current Syracuse lineup features NBA-caliber talent at numerous positions. This season, the Orange, despite losing two top players in Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins, are a solid, if inconsistent, middle-of-the-road Big East team and in the hunt for a NCAA bid.

Just to recap, I'm talking about Syracuse University, NCAA Champion just five seasons ago and Big East Champion just two seasons ago, alma mater of Carmelo Anthony, Pearl Washington, Billy Owens, Dave Bing, Derrick Coleman and the immortal Craig Forth, which plays its home games before 30,000 fans at the Carrier Dome. The Orange. Zone defense, subzero temperatures, Faegan's and Jim Brown- that Syracuse University.

So, can someone explain to me why in the name of God and Rony Seikaly the fans at the Carrier Dome rushed the court after the Orange beat Big East rival Georgetown? I was there. I watched in disbelief as the entire student section and one shitfaced 30-year old sitting one row in front of me stormed the court after Syracuse, the pluckiest underdog in the history of plucky underdogs, a team burdened with McDonalds All Americans and NBA prospects and forced to subsist on the paltry millions Nike throws its way to wear the Swoosh on its plucky underdog jerseys, beat Georgetown. At home. On a Saturday. At noon. A conference opponent the Orange has beaten at home many, many, many, many times before.

Just what sort of hippy-dippy, "we're all winners," tee ball-based education are the kids at Syracuse getting these days that rushing the court after an in-conference home win seems like a good idea?

You're Syracuse for God's sake. Show a little pride. Show a bit of dignity. Act like you've been there before. And don't ever rush the fucking court after you beat a conference rival at home. Yes, it was a big win. Beat a Top 10 team and improved the NCAA resume. But that's where it ends, friend. You clap, you cheer, you drink $5 beers, clap and cheer some more, high five your buddy, cop a feel, put on your North Face jacket, get hypothermia and go home and drink some more. You don't rush the court.

Especially against one of your all-time rivals. That's what made the scene all the more embarrassing. By rushing the court after the win, you basically told the handful of Hoya fans in attendance- and the thousands more watching at home- that your basketball team is a joke and you get a boner whenever you watch Roy Hibbert lumber his gawky ass up and down the court.

Think the Georgetown fans are going to rush the court if they win in DC next season? Hell no. The Hoyas could be 0-25 and the Orange could be ranked #1 in the country and those Hoya Saxa kids aren't budging from their seats if GTown wins. Not now. Not when you Syracuse students broadcast your massive inferiority complex on ESPN for the world to see.

Since Syracuse has obviously failed its students by not imparting to them the rights and wrongs of rushing the court and because I love America, let me impart to our nation's college students the laws which govern rushing the court.

1. If your parents are currently shelling out big time tuition at one of the following institutions, Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA, UConn, Florida, Texas, Georgetown, Syracuse, Michigan State, Louisville, Memphis, Wisconsin, Indiana and Arizona, you are not allowed to rush the court for anything short of a Notre Dame-UCLA type game. These teams are the gold standard of college basketball excellence. It is just embarrassing when a team that continually competes for the national championship, its roster stocked with the very best five star talent, is mobbed by its fans for beating a team at home. At these schools, campus security shouldn't be tazing students who attempt to rush the court- they should be firing live ammunition. Maybe in an age of lunatic on-campus nutjob murderers my shoot-to-kill edict isn't politically correct but being right isn't always about being pretty. Or being alive for graduation. And if some late game gunning down of would-be court rushers ends this scourge once and for all then the bloodshed will be well worth it.
2. Only rush the court against a conference opponent if they are ranked #1 in the country and your team hasn’t beaten the opponent in 10 straight games. I was at a Providence- Boston College game at the Dunk a few years back. BC may or may not have been ranked coming into the game. If they were, they certainly weren’t anywhere Top 10 territory. After a convincing victory the Providence fans rushed the court. Why? You might as well write "Safety School" on your forehead in Sharpie. Man up.
3. Only fans from Division I schools can rush the floor. Players at Division I school are campus phantoms. Segregated by talent and lifestyle, players seldom mix with the rest of the college community who are not smoking hot, drunk and passed out in their bed. For years, I was under the illusion that players like Bobby Hurley entertained harems of hotties. The truth is that the Division I players work their asses off. They practice and travel year round. Think you have trouble waking up on a Saturday after a night of drinking? Well, picture yourself waking up at 9 AM to head to the gym for a noon tip-off and the prospect of guarding some 7 foot monster.  So, when Division I fans rush the court, it really may be the only time they interact with the players they support (though if touching one of your sweaty classmates is your #1 reason for rushing the court, it's about time you had that talk with your parents).

But if you are at a non-Division I school, the kids on the team are the same people you see stumbling back to the dorm after a keg and puking in the bathroom. It’s just plain embarrassing to rush the court and jump all over the kid you sit next to in Economics.

1. Always rush the floor at away games. Big deal- you rush the floor at home. Make sure to write about it in your diary, Nancy. Real men rush the floor at away games. And at real away games- not at a conference tournament. If home fans are allowed to rush the floor with impunity, then why can't away fans do it? Seems like a double standard to me and in my America, which is full of hope and dreams and change and togetherness, double standards are verboten. So, Syracuse fans, here's your one shot at redemption: if the Orange win at Georgetown next season, you need to rush the floor. You need to battle your way to the baseline, barrel over those DC cops and John Thompson and make a statement. You may have given up the rights to your testicles when you rushed the court at the Carrier Dome but you can win them back by rushing the court in DC. WWGD, Orange. WWGD?

Pete Powers