Now that the baseball season is coming to a close and official practice has begun, I (and I’m sure you are too), am really, really excited about the season.  For the past four months, we’ve been waiting for the most anticipated College Basketball season in Siena’s division I history.  Throughout that time, we’ve cited this site, that site, this site, that site on where Siena sits in their rankings.  Persistently, we’ve seen the Saints around #40. I don’t ever remember a time where a MAAC team was ranked higher preseason.

Look, if you’re a Siena fan sitting here two days before the official start of practice, be excited, be proud, be full of anticipation.
But be reasonable, too.
- Pete Iorizzo

Pete is totally right, be reasonable. I mean, do we really think Siena is one of the Top 25 teams in the country? Even if Fran McCaffery says so? I put that up to you, the reader. This past Sunday, I put up a poll on our site asking our readers to rank Siena. As of Tuesday night, the majority of the people who voted in the poll think we are a top 30 team. Really?

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If there is one thing I know from experience, it’s that setting high expectations almost always leads to a let down. Think about your senior prom, or the 2000 New Years. How about the 2008 New York Mets? Everyone expected the Mets and their 138 million dollar payroll to dominate the NL East, but they were really just a .500 club that had a good winning streak before the All Star break. Low expectations is what made the Giants 2007 Superbowl run so great! They were 0-2, trailing Washington 17-3 at halftime of the Monday Night Game in Week 3. Did anyone even think the word Superbowl? How about Siena last year, we were just thrilled to be in the dance.  If we beat Vandy, that would be a bonus– and it turned out to be the biggest upset for a #13 seed in 23 years, and our lower expectations made it sweeter.  I can assure you that if UNC does not win the National Title this year, every Tar Heel will consider this season a failure.

So to all the people saying Siena should be ranked #25, to the people who consider our season a failure if we don’t reach the Sweet 16– slow down and relax. There is no down side to lowering your expectations a bit.