Just me and 34,616 of my friends. More than a few t-shirts had that plastered on the back and that succinctly sums up the atmosphere at the Carrier Dome last Saturday night. I was lucky enough to be one of those in attendance, albeit about halfway up in the nosebleeds. Unlike some poor schmucks I didn’t have to shell out upwards of $175 bucks for my seats hours before game time. A measly $34 and some foresight back in December landed me smack dab in the middle of a crowd bigger than some small cities.

That’s right, the raucous, record-setting crowd in Syracuse, NY was bigger than Elmira, Rome and Poughkeepsie, NY. Now, I have to make a little confession. As a lifelong Syracuse Orange fan I’ve only been to a few games at the Loud House. The last time I went to a game I was a freshman in college. I know, it’s embarrassing and I owe Otto the Orange some penance. Saturday night’s contest again eighth-ranked Villanova was quite a start on my road to redemption.

For those of you who’ve never been to a Syracuse basketball game, it’s a truly unique experience and to fully enjoy it, any journey of exploration has to start on Marshall Street. Marshall St. is a cobblestone row of bars, pizza shops that sell beer and pizza (talk about the perfect mix), as well as over-priced fan gear located right next to the campus.

It’s a good idea to start there because then you can walk up through the campus, which is truly beautiful. The original buildings are stunning examples of architecture and you get the chance to stop by the statue of Ernie Davis near the N gate and lay a hand on him as so many fans do. Along the way you run in to a wonderfully varied mix of people, every single one draped in orange and navy blue.

The Dome itself is another story. Imagine a beehive made of concrete and filled with little orange bees crawling everywhere. Much like a hive, everything is filled with a constant thrum of noise, from vendors to college students who’ve had a few pitchers to many to families who’ve painted each other’s faces orange and blue.

As nice the courtside seats are the cheap seats are the better bet. Yes, you’ll miss the sweat dripping off of Andy Rautins as he drains yet another one from beyond the arc. Yes, you won’t be able to rub shoulders with Syracuse legends of old or listen to coach Boeheim tell the zebras that they need to open their eyes.

Instead, you’ll be treated to thousands of other fans literally squished together so that it’s standing room only, whipping orange towels, dripping beer and screaming their hearts out for the hometown heroes. You’ll rub shoulders with your friends and if you didn’t go with friends well you’ll make some in a hurry. It’s hard not to when everyone’s heart is jumping as they watch Wes Johnson blow past a defender or Arinze Onuaku attempt what he calls a free throw.

As for the game itself, well if you doubted that Syracuse should be a number one seed in the tournament before this, get your head checked. Questioning whether they’re really the top team in college basketball is understandable. But if they’re not, then they’re as close as you can get.

The Orange put on a showcase of a balanced offensive attack: six players in double digits, 95 points, shooting over 43% from the field and 22 offensive rebounds. That last number is the one that stands out in my mind. After the game, a lot of commentators were pointing to Rautins as the key to the Syracuse victory and perhaps rightly so. He didn’t have a monster of a game in terms of points; he managed a respectable 12 for the game but added eight assists.

To me the biggest number for Syracuse was the eight offensive rebounds by Arinze Onuaku in just 21 minutes. That’s more offensive rebounds than the entire Villanova starting line-up grabbed in a little over half of a game.

Now, admittedly the Wildcats are a guard-based offensive. They don’t’ have a Greg Monroe or Luke Harangody to rumble in the paint with the other team’s big man. If you’re the eighth best team in the country however you shouldn’t be allowing someone to light up the offensive boards like that. Not if you want to go anywhere come March.

That night was truly a once in a lifetime experience. I probably had more beer spilled on me than I’ll ever drink. I was deaf from the roar of the crowd, hoarse from my own exhortations and numb from the vibrating concrete. That’s how loud it was, when that crowd got worked up, every inch of that building shook. In other words, I couldn’t be happier to wake up today and see that my team is finally atop the rankings and the rest of the country is seeing what ‘Cuse fans have been saying for weeks; the Orange are better than anyone else out there.