Well, I tried to give up sports writing for Lent — but I’ve heard everyone shouting my name at hockey games whenever that Brett kid makes a good save, so here I am.

Since I only have 800 words to summarize my insightful thoughts on the state of BU sports, we’ll skip over the lame part where I beg you to support the less popular Terrier teams and go straight to what really matters: hockey and basketball.

There are two types of sports fans at BU. If you’re in the first group, you wear boots with fur to hockey games, you join that stupid Facebook group about making St. Patrick’s Day a real holiday and you treat the Beanpot like it’s the most hallowed sporting event in the world.

Those of us in the second group see the Beanpot for what it really is — a silly overblown tournament. I know about its storied history in Boston and how it could have a minor impact on the NCAA rankings, but in the end, the Beanpot is just two sets of non-conference games.

Others have pointed this out, but there are always hockey buffs out there who argue that the bragging rights from a Beanpot victory are more important than anything else.

I’m sorry, but I find it hard to believe Boston College players start crying underneath their helmets when a bunch of drunk BU fans ask, “WHERE’S YOUR BEANPOT?” I’m guessing they probably have smirks on their faces considering they kicked our butts in the Hockey East Tournament last year.

But none of that matters, because for the first time since 2004, the Terriers did not win the Beanpot.

And guess what — losing the Beanpot was exactly what our hockey team needed.

Shocking, I know.

It’s not a coincidence the Terriers won seven straight games after losing to BC in the first round of the Beanpot. Falling to their chief rival in a tournament the Terriers have owned for decades gave the team the incentive it lacked during the first half of the season.

I’m not going to lie — I gave up on this team in the middle of January, when it was sitting in the basement of Hockey East and getting shown up by Northeastern and their damn fifth-year seniors.

But something changed on that fateful day in February, because we’ve seen nothing but inspired hockey since.

Still not convinced? Then just look at last year.

The Terriers went 4-5-1 after winning the Beanpot in 2007, including blowout losses to BC in the Hockey East Tournament and Michigan State in the NCAAs.

Last year, the Beanpot was the peak of BU’s season, and as a result, the fighting spirit we are seeing now wasn’t there down the stretch.

But the hockey team wasn’t the only group to turn up the heat in February. Corey Lowe and the basketball crew turned around a once-dismal season, only to get stuck facing Albany and Brian “I Need a Haircut” Lillis in the first round of the America East Tournament. They somehow managed to pull off a victory in overtime, but the magic wasn’t there the next day against Hartford – and now their season is over.

I’d like to say the BU basketball program had an optimistic year and deserves to have more fans come to its games, but I can’t. I’m tired of hearing the same complaint that BU students have a duty to support all of our teams. OK, maybe a championship-caliber squad like the lacrosse team deserves more fan support (and maybe more people would come if they didn’t wake up all of West Campus at 6 a.m.).

But in my eyes, there are only two ways the men’s basketball team can expect to draw bigger crowds:

First — the phrase “If you build it, they will come” doesn’t apply just to corn fields in baseball. If you build a winning team the fans will follow.

The Celtics were awful last year, so people stopped going to games. Then Danny Ainge got his act together and put together a competitive team — minus Brian Scalabrine — and now, every game is sold out.

Or second — give me more entertainment. I’m tired of seeing Rhett shoot foul shots against some CGS kid who thinks he’s at recess. When Will Ferrell needed to get fans to come see his Flint Tropics play, he volunteered to wrestle a bear. I’m not sure I want to see Coach Wolff do that, but the athletic department was on the right track with the Winterfest game against Vermont back in January. At halftime, I enjoyed watching men jump on trampolines, do crazy dunks and proceed to rip their shirts off afterwards. This is what we need more of.

Who knows, maybe one day the BU basketball team will actually play all of its home games at Agganis Arena. Sadly, that means Australian Pink Floyd and Avril Lavigne will have to find a new venue.

Bennett Gavrish, a sophomore in the College of Communication, is a former columnist for The Daily Free Press. He can be reached at [email protected].