FLUM: Rekindling a love affair

Another year. Another call. Another column. The Daily Free Press just can’t seem to let me go. After all, it was only two years ago that I wrote weekly columns for the FreeP.
You know what they say: The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Out here in sunny San Francisco, I’m currently in the midst of maneuvering my way through Excel spreadsheets and solving the world’s problems one formula at a time. It’s about as exciting as the prospect of watching Clay Aiken fight Lindsay Lohan in the next Celebrity Deathmatch.
But fret not my fellow Terrierites, I’m ready to move on from my miserable state of mind and talk about the exciting prospect of the brand spanking-new hockey season.
Hockey season represents the one four-month period of sports relevancy at BU. The six men on that ice give you something to talk about, something to brag about and even something to get excited about. The team skates right up to you in October and beckons you to follow.
They get you through the worst months of the year and, when you’re feeling like you just might stay in on a Friday night, they convince you to go out. They make the fall and the winter seem halfway manageable for a short period of time.
And it happens whether the scarlet and white are good or bad. It gives you a sense of purpose. And, well, that’s what college is supposed to do.
Then, out of nowhere, BU goes ahead and does something like this. The start to this year really couldn’t have been better. To defeat North Dakota and Michigan State in succession is unbelievable.
It’s like beating the Yankees and the Red So . . . err . . . the Rays in the first two games of the year. It’s like sleeping with your significant other and then sleeping with their sibling on consecutive nights.
Starting the year off on the right note is more than ideal ‘-‘-‘ it’s beautiful. It’s beautiful because it brings hope and it brings the potential for something great to happen.
You have to understand that being from California, I never really liked (and by liked, I mean cared) about college hockey until I got to BU. So I really lost my college hockey virginity when I was 18.
And because, obviously, the first NCAA hockey game I ever went to was a BU game, I immediately grew attached. I fell in love.
That love, unfortunately, has only given me moments of commitment. In a weird, unfair, unjust kind of way, the Terriers played their best hockey the semester I went to Australia to study abroad.
I just felt they were better without me, for better or for worse. But I still continue ‘-‘-‘ to this day ‘-‘-‘ to have an undying love for the team and its success.
Truthfully, I just want this to be the year the men’s hockey team takes that big step. To show me how much my fanhood means to them and prove to you how rewarding it can be to love and follow the Terriers.
Please don’t get me wrong ‘-‘-‘ there’s give and take here, and I understand that. But I just want to go with them on that trip that consummates our relationship.
With a start like this, you just can’t help but think about the Frozen Four. Although the Terriers have cruised to a few NCAA Tournaments since I’ve followed them, I’ve never seen BU in the Frozen Four.
But this could be the year. I’ve seen us beat Boston College on many occasions and I’ve seen us win the Beanpot three times. The moments have been there.
However, defeating two opponents of this magnitude ‘-‘- in a row to start the season, nonetheless ‘-‘- is something I haven’t seen.
So all I can advise you ‘-‘- and I’m saying a lot of this to the seniors ‘-‘- is just jump onboard with this team. They’re already catapulted to the No. 5 spot in the country.
And trust me, once you get out of BU, you’ll remember this relationship fondly. I don’t remember the losses, but I do remember the big wins. They were amazing. Let’s just hope there are more of these victories on the way.
So before I jump headfirst back into real life and continue my ongoing attempts to get Carpal Tunnel, I’ll just advise you to take advantage of this hockey team.
It might be the best one BU’s had since their last championship in 1995. I believe the current freshmen were about five years old at that point.
Go BU. And go watch some damn hockey.