Boston University vs Northeastern 3/4 and 5

[Redd10]

Re: Boston University vs Northeastern 3/4 and 5

I figured that. My point is that bu has a tradition of winning (unlike NU) and they shouldnt have the same issues as a school like NU. I think that there's a deeper rooted issue at bu for students not going to games.

certainly valid. this has been discussed at great length in other threads and conversations, but we haven't figured it out yet. a good test will be this weekend - rival in town, senior night, potentially the last home game for the year (depending on how this weekend goes). if we can't draw a good sized crowd, i'll be disappointed

[mpereira]

Re: Boston University vs Northeastern 3/4 and 5

certainly valid. this has been discussed at great length in other threads and conversations, but we haven't figured it out yet. a good test will be this weekend - rival in town, senior night, potentially the last home game for the year (depending on how this weekend goes). if we can't draw a good sized crowd, i'll be disappointed

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

[felizmiguel]

Re: Boston University vs Northeastern 3/4 and 5

Probably was easy for them considering the BU student fanboys have the same maturity and intellectual level.

Probably just excited to see a hockey game in Boston proper rather than having to schlep all the way out to the burbs...

[Chickens@NU]

Re: Boston University vs Northeastern 3/4 and 5

Probably just excited to see a hockey game in Boston proper rather than having to schlep all the way out to the burbs...

if you don't respond to the trolls, they will go away.

[jcarter7669]

Re: Boston University vs Northeastern 3/4 and 5

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.

OMFG....just **** fanboy. BU has as much chance of going to the NCAA's in basketball as they do in Hockey after NU gets done kicking your *** this weekend. Moreover, even if they do by some miracle they do sneak in as a 16 seed they will get their behinds handed to them and sent back home. Much again like the BU hockey team. That's not a lot to get excited about. BTW, the BC games are always nearly packed because of all the BU frauds that sneak in and pretend they go to BC (some weird getting rejected thing I guess), consequently that's also why the attendence is so much lower when BC and BU are both playing at home.

[Redd10]

Re: Boston University vs Northeastern 3/4 and 5

if you don't respond to the trolls, they will go away.

i'm taking your advice here. what do people think the outcome of this weekend's games will be? i have to think that a split is most likely with how well NU has been playing

[northeastern]

Re: Boston University vs Northeastern 3/4 and 5

Between an iPad & youTube ..
who needs coll hockey?.. (that's just in jest), but if i had a dollar for every time i see a kid..sigh nevermind, there is truth to that, just hopefully not a lost battle.

To all the might mites out there... enjoy the hockey games this wknd (!!at both venues!!).

[chickod]

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!

[northeastern]

Re: Boston University vs Northeastern 3/4 and 5

World's greatest sport.. lousy marketing, L-T strategy, etc. (anyone listening up there)..

'Hockey is for everyone'.. ya hear that Penn State.. let's shake things up a bit!

[RENCEB]

Re: Boston University vs Northeastern 3/4 and 5

Interesting situation for the Huskies. They can't change their place in the standings (locked into 6th), so how do they approach these games? I'd love to see them sweep so MC jumps into 3rd (provided they don't hack up a furball aginst the Friars). They've been a very tough team to play against in recent weeks, but I think 'Mack matchs up better with them than with ME.

[Scarlet]

Re: Boston University vs Northeastern 3/4 and 5

You guys haven't instituted any additional security measures at Matthews, have you? The last two Friday night games BU had had there I've gone straight from work and I had my bag with me (you know, shoes, book, lunch bag - stuff in addition to my purse) and I've gotten it in no problem. I'm hoping that I don't have one this time.

[slurpees]

Re: Boston University vs Northeastern 3/4 and 5

certainly valid. this has been discussed at great length in other threads and conversations, but we haven't figured it out yet. a good test will be this weekend - rival in town, senior night, potentially the last home game for the year (depending on how this weekend goes). if we can't draw a good sized crowd, i'll be disappointed

Unless there's been a drastic change in student attitude over the last year and a half, Northeastern is not a big draw for most BU students to a hockey game. Obviously BC is the big one, but games against UNH, Maine, and big time OOC opponents always drew more interest than Northeastern, even in 09 when they were good. They always got a bit of attention because they were close by, but in my experience, most students were not circling those games on their schedule as ones they couldn't wait for.

[slurpees]

Re: Boston University vs Northeastern 3/4 and 5

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.

You were most likely hearing the cheers of the casual fans and Vermont fans, in addition to the Miami fans. At an event like the FF where lots of fans show up when their team isn't playing, they're far more likely to root for the underdog to take down the powerhouse, especially when it appears that there's a real possiblity that it will happen. But if you watch the videos taken of the final goal, especially those taken from the opposite end of the arena where BU's designated sections were, the place goes nuts. I can tell you the tickets went like hotcakes when they went on sale, and BU had to request many additional tickets because the demand, at least among students, was incredibly high. There were no problems whatsoever in terms of fan representation for BU in 09 down in DC.

[chickod]

Re: Boston University vs Northeastern 3/4 and 5

OMFG....just **** fanboy. BU has as much chance of going to the NCAA's in basketball as they do in Hockey after NU gets done kicking your *** this weekend. Moreover, even if they do by some miracle they do sneak in as a 16 seed they will get their behinds handed to them and sent back home. Much again like the BU hockey team. That's not a lot to get excited about. BTW, the BC games are always nearly packed because of all the BU frauds that sneak in and pretend they go to BC (some weird getting rejected thing I guess), consequently that's also why the attendence is so much lower when BC and BU are both playing at home.

Forgive me for chiming in on your personal squabble here, but aren't you assuming that UVM WINS its first two games? If somebody beats them, BU gets the home court for the America East Championship game against someone who is seeded lower than they are. That seems like a pretty good bet. The Cats didn't exactly look like world beaters Sunday AT HOME against a BU team without their leading scorer. And like UVM is going to WIN a game as a 16th seed instead? How many Syracuses do you think are out there?

Also, what NU "does to us this weekend" is pretty much irrelevant, to be honest. They are locked into 6th, and if we do anything less than sweep NU, we will most likely finish third, which means we will play them again next weekend. It's my personal opinion that the only way we get into the NCAAs is by WINNING the HE tournament anyway (everyone says "getting to the final" - but think about that - that means a win over UNH or probably even more likely, BC).

Of course, after reading your next sentence ("BTW, the BC games are always nearly packed because of all the BU frauds that sneak in and pretend they go to BC") , I should have just heeded the advice of the person who said to "ignore" people like you, then you'll go away. So that's what I'll do from now on...

[chickod]

Re: Boston University vs Northeastern 3/4 and 5

You were most likely hearing the cheers of the casual fans and Vermont fans, in addition to the Miami fans. At an event like the FF where lots of fans show up when their team isn't playing, they're far more likely to root for the underdog to take down the powerhouse, especially when it appears that there's a real possiblity that it will happen. But if you watch the videos taken of the final goal, especially those taken from the opposite end of the arena where BU's designated sections were, the place goes nuts. I can tell you the tickets went like hotcakes when they went on sale, and BU had to request many additional tickets because the demand, at least among students, was incredibly high. There were no problems whatsoever in terms of fan representation for BU in 09 down in DC.

I'm not really referring to fan "representation." I was there - I was sitting in the balcony on the blue line above the BU fans, most of whom were in the bowl down below (I wasn't high enough on the "points" list so I got my tickets from a Minnesota fan who couldn't go). My point is that, even when the crowd size is "equivalent," we're just not LOUD. We have a lot of older people who attend and they just don't have the enthusiasm. I'm not saying they're not loyal - that's not my point. People from the Northeast are different. Just travel around the country and you'll see what I mean. I'm trying not to use objectionable language here - I don't want to say "snobby" or "sophisticated" or whatever term you want to use, but I assume you understand what I am saying. I could say something like "people in the South are all yahoos who will mindlessly cheer anything their team does," but then someone will call me a bigot or something. Maybe I should say the fans are not as "rabid." I don't know how to phrase it so that it is clear, but I think you get the point. I'm not being critical - it's just the way it is. Yes, once the "upset" became plausible MORE fans started cheering against BU. I'm not talking about how LOUD the other fans were - I'm talking about how, in general, the BU fans tend to be passive (I know some of the students are enthusiastic - I'm talking about the others). In the semifinal game, most of the Bemidji State people left and the Miami people were so excited about making the finals that they couldn't have cared less about our game. So I wasn't "hearing the cheers" of the two other schools in THAT game - that's my point.