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Freezing in the autumn wind and engulfed in a sea of maroon and gold, I watched the final horn blow on yet another loss for the BC football team, this time to Notre Dame.
Following was the singing of the Alma Mater and I looked around and felt as if I was a goldfish in a sea of silver seats.
It's as if SuperFans were more concerned about grabbing some chicken fingers and mozzarella sticks from Lower before anyone else. I stayed, participated in the song, and then reflected back on my first game at BC.
It was the first game of the 2011 season and it was my first ever football game. Surrounded by friends and wearing my class of 2015 SuperFan shirt with pride, I felt goosebumps as the Eagles took to the field. Even though we lost to Northwestern, it was an entertaining game and the crowd was live--from kickoff to the final second.
Since then, going to Alumni to watch our team has been not what I expected--to say the least.
Attendance has dropped, morale is low, and we, as a student body, have seemed to have lost faith in our football team.
Understandably so, in sports, it is difficult to back up your team when your team doesn’t live up to your expectations. One thing we have seemed to have forgotten, though, is our own power.
I remember receiving emails from former head coach Frank Spaziani asking the student body to come out and show our support for the team. I also remember going to the games and not seeing much of a turnout despite the pleading of our head coach at the time.
Spaziani didn’t email us to fill attendance, but because a crowd’s presence helps any team.
Put yourself in the shoes of one of our own football players and imagine running out into the field and seeing a half-filled arena. Sure, you’re going to play the game you love, but the fact that your own school--your own classmates-- are not behind you affects the game.
Look at the video below. It was 2006. Matt Ryan was reaching his peak, but in this game, he broke his foot. But as you can see in this video, the crowd was large, raucous, and invested in the team. Was it because they were good? That’s probably the reason why, but given the attitude we have today, the minute Ryan broke his foot, exits would fill up faster than you can talk about it.
You are very mistaken if you believe a return to the glory days relies solely on the team and a newly formed coaching staff.
It starts with us, the student body.
We are the people who have the power. We cheer when things go well and we boo when things go bad. Our reactions determine the decisions made and our spirit carries our team.
It is time for us, as a student body, to return back to what made us a force to reckon with. We are a body of intelligent minds with passionate emotions. We bring electricity when united.
Now, with a coaching transition and a new age dawning upon us, it is our time to bring it.
We can’t sit back and wait for the atmosphere to come back because it was us that created that atmosphere. We have a much easier opportunity to frequent games with the introduction of the Gold Pass, an all-access pass to all BC athletic games.
With this innovation, students only need to pay a reasonable $175 to have access to all BC varsity athletic events. Using their Eagle ID as a means for entry, the ticketing process is a lot more streamlined--and efficient.
Screenshot taken by Teddy Kolva / Gavel Media. The Boston College athletics department has made a considerable push to increase fan attendance for home football games.
If we go to games and bring our ‘A’ game as fans, the players will do the same.
And we’re BC students, we love As.
Get your SuperFan shirt. Get the new Gold Pass, or season tickets if you’d like. Grab all your friends. Head to Alumni. Scream and shout and let’s bring back the atmosphere we once had.
It starts with us, after all.
Feature Photo Courtesy of Katie Farrell / Boston College '13
Follow @BCGavelSports on Twitter for all the latest updates on BC athletics.
School, major and year:A&S, Communications and Sociology, Class of 2015
Hometown Bronx, New York
Favorite Beyonce lyric: "Surfbort. Surfbort. Surfbort."
