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lthough many people go to Syracuse University’s games for the teams, they don’t realize that a large portion of the energy comes from the band. The Sour Sitrus Society — SU’s pep band for basketball games — creates the atmosphere, bolstering the cheering and yelling from the crowd to support the team and liven spirits.

So when the men’s and women’s basketball teams pack up and head to the Atlantic Coast Conference and NCAA Tournaments, a few lucky members of Sitrus join them wherever the game takes them.

This year, the men’s team traveled to Brooklyn, New York, and I was one of the lucky 29.

On March 8 at 8 a.m., the band loaded our coach bus outside of the Carrier Dome. We packed all our luggage and instruments underneath and picked up the spirit squad, members of SU’s cheer and dance teams, from Manley Field House before heading off to the Big Apple.

When we arrived at our hotel in Brooklyn, we were immediately set free — our only requirement was that we be ready to leave for the game at 10:30 a.m. the following morning. After finishing some homework, my friends and I set out to find dinner and explore the city.

Our adventures took us underground to the Union Street subway station and 30 minutes away into Times Square. Coming out of the subway into Times Square at night was a surreal experience — the bright colors of the billboards reflected off of our eyes, wide with the excitement of being in the city and free from classes for a moment.

We entered Barclays Center the next morning with the same awe and fascination — screens lit up with orange and blue and big letters that screamed ACC Tournament. Reality hit us at that moment: we were about to energize a stadium full of fans as the Orange played against Florida State University. There was something special about being at Barclays Center; it had a different feeling than the Carrier Dome. It was flashier and came with an ambiance that only this kind of event could create.

Tightly packed together in our designated section behind the media tables, we kicked off our performance for the day with our arrangement of the Youngblood Brass Band’s “Brooklyn.” What else would you start with when in Brooklyn? In that moment, the 29 of us created music that bounced off the walls and filled the stadium with the energy and sound we are known for within the Syracuse community.

Considering how this season had been playing out for SU, we had a gut feeling that we would be heading back to Syracuse following the game. The stadium, however, was a sea of orange and blue rooting for SU. Sitrus joined the crowd, energetically cheering and playing with a passion that we hoped would rub off on the team and give them a win.

Between songs, we would also uphold the responsibilities of the student section by hyping up the crowd. Every free throw, our arms were up sporting the fours, and every time the cheerleaders shouted “Let’s go Orange!,” we were right behind them. And when FSU lined up for a free throw, we shouted the ABCs at the top of our lungs — our most successful tactic in getting it to miss its shots (following screaming and counting).

And it worked. The next morning, we were back in Barclays, this time playing against Duke University. After the previous day’s win, spirits on the bus to the stadium seemed a little higher with optimism of a second win, even with the news of Buddy Boeheim’s suspension.

I looked around at the stands, hoping to see a sea of orange combat the Duke blue that swept the stadium, but the blue overtook any Syracuse representation. At that moment, I knew that we would really have to put the “pep” in “pep band.”

That game against Duke is only comparable to one other game that I have played at: the double overtime game against Indiana University at the end of the fall 2021 semester. Throughout our music and in the moments in between, we could feel the elevated heart rates as we — alongside the rest of the fans — screamed at the teams as they fought to win. You know that it’s a good game when you come away from it with no voice.

The high tension of the game created a sense of unity felt among every member of the band. We played arguably better than that group ever had before, and our successful game play meant that we got to play “Talkin’ Out the Side of Your Neck” — one of the band’s favorite tunes. We cheered harder than I thought possible, and we supported our team until the very end.

It was a rough bus ride home after that game, but truthfully, I wasn’t upset with the outcome.
At 9 p.m., when our bus rolled back into the stadium control spot outside of the Carrier Dome where we began our journey almost three days prior, it was obvious that everyone was ready for a good night’s sleep and to begin spring break. We had played a fantastic performance — not to mention the Orange played a fantastic game — and we left that night with smiles on our faces, having shared our music outside of our Syracuse community and having made memories to last a lifetime along the way.

Banner photo by Meghan Hendricks | Photo Editor