Here is a mystery for you to solve. Please email me with your thoughts.

I went to watch Syracuse play basketball against Rutgers a few weeks ago. There were five men playing for each team, of course. And ten men coaching. That is correct. Each time the five players came off for a time out, ten men surrounded them. Ten in ties and suits and bearing clipboards.

At one end I counted about 20 SU cheerleaders. They rah-rahed most of the game without paying much attention to what the players were up to.

At the other end were about 25 members of the dance team. They performed Rockette-style at mid-court from time to time. Most of them were not watching the game either.

At the cheerleading end the band played on. Dozens of brass players, including six tubas.

Facing the fans were huge ads. Moving billboards that showed us different messages every 30 seconds. These were at floor level.

Above us, a huge television carried lots of commercials. And speakers the size of cars boomed out the ads.

During breaks in the game we had promos on the court. For various products. People rushed out to plonk logos on the court. They brought on teens to try to sink half-court shots. And kids to romp around in inane games.

A crew lugged a big reclining chair to the foul line to promote a furniture store. A contestant lay back in the chair to try to sink a free throw.