I know I am going to sound like a bit of a curmudgeon here, but something has been bothering me, and quite frankly, I am kind of sick of it.

All of this melancholy, wistfulness, and knashing of teeth lately about Syracuse leaving the Big East conference after the year is starting to drive me batty.

The Cuse played the final game in their long rivalry with the Georgetown Hoyas over the weekend, and listening to the TV broadcast of the game, you would swear that the SU basketball program was going away forever, put on mothballs, never to be seen again.

"It's the end of an era".  "Never will we see such spirited competition again".  "This rivalry will go down as one of the best ever in college sports...it's such a shame".  And on and on.  Quotes like these were seemingly all that could come from the announcers mouths.  PUH-LEEZE!  If I heard the announcers say one more thing like that, I swear I was going to vomit.

I'm not disputing that the Hoyas and Orange wasn't a great rivalry, or that they brought tons of thrills or memories to fans everywhere.  They did, and there were dozens of great games to remember.  You could say the same about Syracuse and Pitt, or Syracuse and UConn or Syracuse and Villanova, Marquette or Louisville.

Thing is though, it's not the end of the college basketball world!  Yes, those rivalries will come to an end, but with SU moving to the ACC next year, NEW rivalries will immediately start, and I guarantee you, some of those new rivalries will make the old Big East rivalries look paltry by comparison.

Personally, I can't wait for the SU-North Carolina rivalry to get underway.  Same for the Orange and the Duke Blue Devils.  Even SU-NC State, Maryland, Virginia and Clemson sound like they will be a lot of fun.

Geographically, things will not be that different.  Georgetown, Villanova and Rutgers are not that far away from Duke, Carolina, Virginia or Maryland.  Miami, Florida State and Georgia Tech aren't far from USF.  Boston College isn't far from Providence.  It will take about as long to get to Wake Forest or Clemson as it would to get to South Bend, Cincinnati or Depaul. 

I also think there are even MORE universities with rich college basketball history and tradition in the ACC than in the Big East. 

In the sports world, things change.  There is no need to focus on the past, when the future promises such excitement.  The Big East was a very good conference,  no doubt.  I just think the ACC offers even more potential for greatness, especially with the Cuse in it. 

I think it's time we all just bid a fond farewell to the Big East, but at the same time, welcome with open arms the excitement that joining the ACC brings.  Stop crying those crocodile tears and being all sad.  The future is so bright for Syracuse, it's downright orange.