Re: Boston University vs Northeastern 3/4 and 5
Yeah for sure no excuses this weeke and. The student section still has that core of diehards as you'll see at Northeastern on Friday and how we filled up an entire section at BC easily earlier in the year. The problem is that the kids on campus don't think to go a hockey game as first priority anymore. It must just be how college students think now because it isn't like they are showing up for basketball games either and the team is a threat to get to the NCAA's as well. Hopefully there is a way to change this for both teams
Of course, this is an age-old issue here. There are so many distractions/choices in the city. If you go to a campus "in the country" (Maine, UVM, UNH, even UMass) the options are limited, so the game becomes a big "event" that everyone goes to. In any situation, a certain percentage will go just for something to do. The number of die-hards is always going to be a small core. It's just that in the Northeast, that core is smaller, because this is a more "academic" region, as opposed to, say, the South, where EVERYONE goes to the college football game. It's really just a cultural thing. BU is a very diverse school and many of the students don't come from this area. If you didn't grow up with a "tradition," then you have to adopt it. That can be difficult when there are so many choices, and I imagine hockey would not necessarily be on the top of the list of things to do in Boston if you happen to be a "non-native."
The other factor is, of course, as always, winning. Everyone loves being on top. When the team is riding high, everyone wants to participate in the excitement. While many of us go because we may love the game and/or it is "ingrained" in us, that's not the case with everyone. While we may go whether we win a NC or finish last, that's not the case with most "casual" fans. They aren't going to really sit down and analyze that this is a young team with "potential" that is improving, or any of that. They're not going to be that analytical because they're just not that passionate about it. That's what those of us who partake of this forum do - but we're in the minority.
Why do you think, for example, that BC never goes to any "big" bowl games (everyone is always making fun of the fact that they are always in the Meinike Car Care Bowl or something like that)? It's because they don't travel well. Where Ohio State or Wisconsin bring 50,000 fans to the Rose Bowl, BC brings 2000 to their game. And I'm not picking on them. BU couldn't even get enough fans to KEEP a football program. It's the Northeast - if you want to be in a madhouse where the fan base is fanatical, move to another part of the country! The other component is that this is a pro sports town...the colleges are competing with the pros for the entertainment dollar. Also, right now is a particularly good time for the Boston pro sports teams, so it's even tougher for the schools to compete.
As a former football coach said, "It is what it is." Let's put it this way. I'm pretty sure that a biology degree from BU is more valuable that one from UNLV. Well, I'm guessing that someone who wants to go to a big time sports university is not going to pick BU either! So you have to put it in perspective and realize that it's not going to change. I went to BU in the 70s and it was no different then. I went to the National Championship at the old Boston Garden in 1974 and there were more fans from Michigan Tech and Minnesota than there were from BU. And we're three miles away! Yes, it's embarrassing, but what can you do? I mean, you've seen it every year. We play at the Centrum and thousands of fans from Maine drive six hours and easily outnumber us. Even at the Frozen Four in 2009 (and that was a relatively GOOD turnout by BU fans), Miami had WAY more people than we did. Also, remember that BU is a PRIVATE university. The state schools have the support of the general public, who feel that the school is "their" university. And there are more people that live in that state that tend to remain there. At BU, our students disperse all over the world, so we don't have the local "core" that the public schools have.
So, I wouldn't really say that there are "kids on campus don't think to go a hockey game as first priority anymore" as much as I would say, there are kids on campus who don't think of going to ANY game ANYTIME, period! That's not an indictment - that's just the "way it is." We don't have to be happy about it, but we're not going to change it, either. Frankly, even when we were winning, a large percentage of OUR fans were just sitting on their hands anyway. It's a cultural thing - in an academic environment people just don't scream and yell and get excited like they do in other parts of the country. If you've been to other areas you know this is true. But we made these choices, so we have to live with it!
