So now I’m cheering for the blue and… orange?

After spending the weekend in New York at the Big East Tournament last month, I went home to… After spending the weekend in New York at the Big East Tournament last month, I went home to find a graduate school acceptance letter in my mail. The school was Syracuse, and that letter would change my entire view of this year’s NCAA Tournament.

I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to go to school there, mainly because I was still in shock that I got in, considering that it has one of the best broadcast journalism programs in the country. But I suddenly became a fan of a team I’ve always hated.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am still a Pitt fan, will always be a Pitt fan and was obviously rooting for Pitt in the tournament. But I was suddenly saying “Go Orange” as well.

My tournament bracket featured Pitt over Syracuse in the final game (a bracket, may I add, that won me The Pitt News office pool). Had I not received that letter, I would have had Syracuse losing a lot earlier on.

Once Pitt was eliminated from the tournament, I focused my energy on Syracuse, and proceeded to annoy all of my friends. I mentioned how I would come back for the Homecoming football game next year – and be rooting for Syracuse. Basically, I was being an obnoxious brat.

Judging by the way I was talking, you would think I already went to school there. It was a good way to divert my attention from the Panthers’ loss, although it didn’t make it any easier.

Then when Syracuse won the National Championship Monday night, I was giddy. I watched the highlights for a long time before finally sitting down to work on a paper, and even then I couldn’t concentrate on it.

I’ve been spending the past two days trying to figure out exactly which National Championship T-shirt I want to buy, and all of this has made me feel like somewhat of a traitor, even though I’m not.

And that’s because I’m not even sure if I’m going to Syracuse next year.

But strangely, I feel connected to this team. I felt pride when it won and cheered about its accomplishment. But what makes this even stranger is that the team that lost to Syracuse, the University of Kansas, is another school that I have been admitted to and am considering attending. I felt nothing for the Jayhawks.

Instead, I was happy to see Jim Boeheim finally win his national title. He has been the Orangemen head coach for 27 years now, and as we at Pitt have found out recently, it’s hard to find loyalty. Not that Roy Williams wasn’t in a similar situation, but I didn’t want him to win as badly.

I did, however, feel sorry for his postgame interview with CBS’ Bonnie Bernstein. The man was close to tears, obviously upset over what had transpired, and Bernstein asked him about the possibility of leaving for the head coaching job at North Carolina, which has been a rumor in recent days.

Williams responded by saying that as a journalist, he knew she had to ask that question but as a person, it wasn’t a very sensitive thing to do.

And then, she tried to ask him again.

Williams responded with the same answer and added, “I don’t give a shit about that” before turning and walking away.

I can understand her desire – or her boss’s desire – to ask that question to Williams, but there is an appropriate time and place to do it and immediately after losing the championship game is not it. Had I been in Bernstein’s position, I would not have asked that question and instead would have focused on the game.

In a similar manner, Syracuse’s Carmelo Anthony was asked whether he will return next season or enter the National Basketball Association draft. While he would not answer, it is very likely that he will indeed leave after just one season at Syracuse.

He has nothing left to prove. He won the National Championship, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four and has shown the entire nation just how good he is.

I’m with the students at Syracuse who have been wearing T-shirts that say, “Real men stay two years.” Of course, the slogan itself is ironic because real men stay four years, not two, but just one more year from Anthony would make a difference. I would like to see him stay, although I know he won’t.

But who knows? Maybe my newfound interest in Syracuse athletics will all be for nothing. After all, Anthony’s not the only one who has to decide if he wants to be an Orangeman next year.

Karen Bielak is the sports editor of The Pitt News – for the next 11 days anyway. Don’t bother sending her hate mail in response to this column – she won’t answer it.