At around 4 p.m. on March 12, Agganis Arena lay mostly empty. Only the cleaning crews remained moving from row to row, picking up read-through programs and uneaten food.
In the center of the building, the ice rink was covered with flooring designed to protect it and keep the ice from melting. On top of the flooring was a basketball court covered in confetti, one of the few signs that just a couple of hours earlier, the America East men’s basketball championship was decided right there.
By 4 p.m., I was already far north of the arena on I-95, heading home to Maine to start a long-awaited spring break. But just an hour before, with a couple hundred members of Terrier Nation right beside me, I ran out onto that court, basked in the air of confetti and celebrated Boston University’s first trip to March Madness in nine years.
Looking back on the moment six months later, would I do it again? Would I drive six hours for a game that barely lasted two-and-a-half? Would I spend the first half practically in silence as the Stony Brook Seawolves tore apart the Terriers?
Yes.
Welcome to Boston University, Class of 2015. I don’t know you. You don’t know me. For all we know we have almost nothing in common. At a minimum, we probably don’t have many things.
But we do have one thing in common: We all go to BU. And that makes us members of Terrier Nation.
You’ve probably gotten a lot of advice in the past few days, weeks and months. Most of it you’ve probably tossed aside, rightfully. I remember the summer after my senior year of high school and the early days of college. A lot of people I had never met before told me how great college was. I listened politely and then immediately forgot whatever it was they said. In retrospect, probably a bad idea, but it seemed worthwhile at the time.
Anyway, I’m going to give you a little piece of advice now. Consider it a matriculation gift from me to you. You can take it or you can leave it. No hard feelings; I understand completely. I promise you, though – take my advice and you’ll enjoy college a little bit more.
Go to a BU sporting event.
Doesn’t matter what team, who we’re playing or even what’s on the line. It could be a preseason scrimmage or it could be an AE championship. It could be a men’s hockey playoff game or it could be a women’s tennis regular season match. Whatever event you pick, it’s entirely your choice.
But just go to one.
Why should you go to a game, match or meet?
Well, 11 weeks ago, while most of you were busy graduating from high school, BU was officially awarded it’s record 11th Stuart P. Haskell, Jr. Commissioners Cup by the AE. The sixth-straight victory for BU was one more than the previous record holder, the University of Delaware (now a part of the Colonial Athletic Association).
BU was awarded the cup, designed to recognize the best athletic program in the AE, after snagging four AE Championships, three regular-season crowns and six runner-up finishes.
Or, to put the past two paragraphs much more simply, we’re pretty damn good at sports.
We are lacking, though, in one area: fan support. For the past few years, the Terrier faithful has been, frankly, anything but. There are a handful of diehards who hit up every event, men and women who deserve credit for their dedication.
But then there are the rest of us. At one point last winter, the Binghamton University men’s basketball team, one of the worst in AE after being rocked by a series of recruiting, academic and criminal scandals, was out-drawing the Boston men’s basketball team fivefold. The eventual AE champion was being dominated in attendance by a team on its last strings.
That’s just one major example of lagging attendance at athletic events. No one is getting the backers they’re worthy of. That’s a shame.
So, Class of 2015, I challenge you to help your new school put its money where its proverbial mouth is. Our teams are plainly good enough to deserve some support and going to a collegiate athletic contest can be one of the most fun things you’ll do in your time here. Why not give it a shot? You can take my word for it.
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