Cheer for the Camera... Please?

Beanpot. Yes, regardless of the fact that we have just entered the men's basketball team's big game verses Vermont at Agganis Arena, it is hockey that is on our minds. It is January 25th and my suitemates and I have assumed our student section seats along the baseline well before the game begins. The fact that we are thinking of hockey at this time is not so much a reflection on our disinterest in basketball - in fact we have attended probably 4 or 5 other such basketball games at this point in the season..which is more than most. It is more a reflection of BU's obsession with the former sport and our die-hard commitment to it; not to mention the fact that our attendance at this particular basketball game is part of the process of achieving tickets to Boston's annual Beanpot hockey tournament at the TD Banknorth Garden.

This particular basketball game is one of the only times during the season that the team gets use of Agganis Arena as opposed to their usual home at the Case Gym. As we await the start of the game we are offered rally towels and pom-poms as others trickle into the stadium. I begin to realize that the stands remain quite sparse, with Vermont fans eventually contributing to at least half of the final turnout. I further consider the fact that these fans have traveled the hour long distance to support their team as opposed to the stroll down Com Ave that is required by the average BU student. What further concerns me is the consideration that most of the BU students, not excluding my friends and I, who have made the long journey down Com Ave, have done so in the interest of Beanpot, not simply basketball.

It is obvious that BU has associated Beanpot tickets with this game as a way of bribing students to attend, which alone is a bit unfortunate for our basketball team. However, the next observation I make strikes me the most. The game is scheduled for TV broadcast. I watch as the cameraman scans the stadium a bit discouragingly. Eventually, he pulls together a group of girls a few rows over from us, in an obvious ditch effort for footage, asking that they please cheer for the camera. The girls hesitantly gather their pom-poms and make a small, effortless "rah-rah" in response to the request.

What, I wonder, has fueled such a large disinterest in the sport? Basketball is actually one of my personal favorite sports to watch because it is fast-paced and a score can often turn around multiple times throughout a game. Could it be, then, that the team's record is not particularly stunning, with only five wins of the 18 games they had played at this point since November? Perhaps it is also a reflection of the fact that hockey at BU parallels football at most state schools in popularity and support, deterring students from recognition of other BU sports, especially ones without winning records.

In any case, this game turned out to be one of the most exciting sports games I have attended this year, the scoreboard at the end of the first half reading 24-25, Boston up by a point. Unfortunately the end of second half of the game turned things around for Vermont leaving them with a win of 70-57 over BU. A bit disappointed, we redirected our thoughts back to hockey and hurried off to collect our tickets for February's Beanpot.