The Boston Marathon has always been a time for Bostonians to gather together in admiration of the runners’ perseverance and strength. However, for local college students, the day is a celebration of a different kind.
Many college students use the day as an excuse to wake up early in the morning and drink until their stomachs revolt.
The two sides to Marathon Monday can be summed up in the two distinct types of social media output. The first is the wholesome cheering of the crowd encouraging runners to do their best. The other is drunk and sloppy college kids doing something outrageous.
College students have the opportunity go wild every weekend, but they usually confine their partying to the nighttime. But it’s not something about the runners that makes college students extra crazy. It’s spring, and students are eager to throw their schoolwork to the wind. Plus, an extra day without classes is an extra day to drink.
Some students don’t even see the runners. A major part of the day’s appeal is starting to drink in the wee hours of the morning. The marathon, like sporting events at other colleges, is an opportunity to gather and be merry.
At Boston University, a day dedicated entirely to sports and drinking occurs once a year, while at other schools, it happens every weekend there’s a football game. Sure, BU’s hockey team is great, but for the most part, students don’t use hockey games as an excuse to get wasted. Marathon Monday is an excuse for BU students to do what other schools do. And that means getting drunk and/or watch sports.
This only shows how celebratory sports are in college and American culture in general. BU doesn’t have a football team to tailgate around. But it does cancel an entire day of classes in the name of running.
The Boston Marathon causes the entire City of Boston to liven up in a way it usually doesn’t. Beyond college campuses, residents and tourists alike come out of their crowded housing situations and cheer on strangers to win a monster of a race. Cheering and music fills the air. It’s a joyous time, even without the buzz of alcohol.
Though finding any occasion to party is fine, it’s important to acknowledge that these parties have little to do with the marathon. College students are always on the lookout for an opportunity to party. They’re not partying because they think it’s incredible for so many people to run 26.2 miles. They’re partying because they have the day off.
As much as college students like to draw parallels between “marathoning” alcohol and running a marathon, there is no contest. Holding unprecedented amounts of alcohol down is quite a feat, but it’s nothing compared to the training and determination that comes with running one of the world’s most competitive marathons.
Being a college town, it’s almost assumed that Boston would have daytime parties every weekend, but no. Marathon Monday is the one opportunity for Boston to shine as a true center of college party life. It’s only revelry and fun when Marathon Monday strikes.
Before any students were old enough to even pronounce the word “alcohol,” the marathon was a day of sober excitement. But as kids grow up, so too do priorities and methods of celebration.
Everyone has their own special way of celebrating athletics. College students just do it the only way they know how.
Not to sound too much like administration, but there are as many choices to be made on Marathon Monday as any other day. It’s possible to have fun without drinking oneself into oblivion. But if that’s how people choose to celebrate it, then they should drink to their livers’ content — away from police and the actual marathon.
And it’s entirely possible for the two worlds to collide. Being drunk and enjoying the marathon are not mutually exclusive. Whichever way Bostonians choose to spend the day, the most important thing is having fun — and feeling fine on Tuesday morning.
