Carrier Dome should open early for sports rallies
Syracuse University sports fans have little choice – to be die-hard in the winter, you have to freeze. Winter weather in upstate New York keeps most student season-ticket holders – with the exception of a brave few – from camping outside the Dome before big games. These few seem to stop at nothing to uphold a tradition of layered clothes, sleeping bags and sub-zero temperatures.
This year SU is bringing the campers with season tickets in from the cold before Saturday’s game against Notre Dame. SU decided to let the students into the Dome starting today, after the Department of Public Safety became concerned about low temperatures. And why not? The Dome should open every year to not only the season-ticket holders willing to risk frostbite and hypothermia, but to the entire student body.
Duke students have Krzyzewskiville, a muddy patch of ground at the gates of their stadium, covered by tents and scattered cans before rivalry games. SU students have hard, cold concrete. It’s time for more at SU. The Dome stands ready to beat the weather and host a new college basketball tradition.
The university should use this opportunity to capitalize on school spirit and rally its sports fans. The dome is a perfect forum for an event to rival Krzyzewskiville. Duke has mud. SU has relative luxury in the Dome through all weather conditions. All that’s missing is a variety of free food, entertainment and Wi-Fi. But those are simple logistics, not even a challenge for a school this size. Then everyone can camp in the safety of the Dome, free from the brutal winter chill.
