They’re back! The Patriots are back in the Super Bowl for the second time in three years. This time, they’re not the underdogs facing the “Greatest Show on Turf,” but rather the favorites riding a two-loss record and a 14-game winning streak into the Big Show.
Can you feel the excitement? The building anticipation? The sheer joy? It’s as if George W. Bush resigned his presidency. It’s almost surreal.
But is it really possible to replicate the excitement generated by this past weekend here at BU?
In the last five days, the various Terrier sports teams racked up nine wins in a possible 10 games – the only loss coming after the hockey team abandoned Sean Fields in the first two periods of Friday’s 8-4 loss to Maine. Nine wins? Where are we, Stanford? The wrestling team swept four conference matches in Virginia while the men’s and women’s swimming teams crushed Vermont in the bitter cold of Burlington.
The likes of Jason Grochowalski and Katie Terhune lit up Northeastern’s Matthews Arena, while Bryan Miller’s goal and Fields’ shutout injected hope into the final season at Walter Brown.
After a magical January weekend for BU sports, saying I’m excited about the scenario for this upcoming weekend is equivalent to saying, “It wasn’t too bad watching the Patriots win Super Bowl XXXVI.”
I can’t even control myself. I’m in a daze, like the Portland Trail Blazers after a night at Damon Stoudamire’s.
Joining my exuberance, the campus seems to have come to life in recent days. The winter hats have gone from the Von Dutch trucker variety to the Reebok, Patriot variety. So I posed a question to people around this campus: What would you give to be in Houston this Sunday, or would you rather be here?
The majority chose the latter. This, I can’t believe. I’m so excited that I’m shaking like I’m at the Arctic Circle with nothing on but tighty whiteys.
Yet, most people are amazingly calm about the game. A Student Village security guard named Brian said, “There really isn’t anything I would give up for that … maybe this job, but probably not. I’d rather be here.”
For every person around here who would give up his or her right arm, right leg and right testicle to be there cheering on the Patriots, there are at least five like the police officer stationed at the Buick Street construction site, who said, “Travel all that way, to watch a football game? I’d rather keep everything I got and stay right here.”
Even if you’re asked to work the streets making sure students like me don’t steal parking meters, I asked with a smile?
“Even then,” he answered sharply, his demeanor letting me know the short interview was over.
Even some students, like Rich Turilli, a College of Engineering junior, would love to go, but wouldn’t fork over their life savings to do so.
“I’d give up my car, because it’s a piece of crap,” he said, explaining that being here was just as good – if not better – than being there.
These people are just proving that most Boston sports fans aren’t as nuts as I had pictured. True, people are forking over thousands (one local travel agency is estimating an average of $3,200) for the plane ride, hotel room and tickets to Reliant Stadium.
But that doesn’t make us the craziest city going. A friend told me the other day that last year, Philadelphia went nuts when a radio station was posing a question similar to mine, with only one caveat – it was for the divisional playoff game against Atlanta.
Apparently, along with those who had their items destroyed – namely a car, a laptop, a family heirloom, etc. – there was a winner who was willing to give up his father’s ashes for tickets to the game. And this wasn’t even the Super Bowl. If it were, the guy probably would have offered up his entire deceased family.
Am I saying Philadelphia is a more crazy sports town than Boston? I surely don’t think so. Yet, I’ve been listening to talk radio for a week, and I haven’t heard anything that even came close.
While I don’t expect too many students here at Dolce ‘ Gabbana University to ever give up anything for the sake of a sports team, I do want to see people with some more enthusiasm.
For crying out loud, this team has a quarterback who, in his last game, was as unstoppable as a woman’s tears. It has coaches who, given two weeks to dissect every last detail of an opponent, will always come up with a genius plan of action. This is thrilling, historic stuff. Everyone should be willing to donate their left kidney for a chance to see them in Houston.
Me? Well, if you could somehow maneuver your way through this column, you should already realize what I’d give up.
My college education.