This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

I just wanted to thank everyone for participating in our week (plus)-long series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011. I hope you all enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them. The series of posts wouldn't have been nearly as successful if not for your comments and thoughts on the upcoming football season.

One thing is for sure: the college football season can't get here soon enough.

EA Sports NCAA Football 2011 is available in stores today. So if you're like me and can't wait for football season to here, go on out and get yourself a copy to satisfy your college football fix between now and September 4.

In closing, here is a message from EA Sports. 

When you go to a particular school or grow up around college football, you are more than just a fan. It’s who you are. We thought we could leverage this pride in your roots and show that "where you come from" is more than just a statement about geography. By positioning NCAA Football 11 as a game that understands this pride and is authentic to these traditions, the takeaway should be that anything that is in college football is in NCAA Football 11.

And this doesn’t just include game play (though that’s a huge part of it). It’s rivals and mascots; it’s legends and stories. It’s those things that are at the very fabric of the game itself. Of course the game is great this year as well. With authentic entrances, mascots and specific offenses for each team, the term "where I come from" takes on a much larger meaning. While playing NCAA Football 11 is ultimately a great sports sim, it should also give you a sense of the pride and emotion one has for being a fan of a team they will never not be a part of.

Go Eagles!

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

Last week, we did our fair share of introspection into our Boston College fandom. We kicked off the week of posts with a discussion about how you became an Eagles fan. We then discussed our favorite all-time Boston College team, our favorite Boston College football players, and the moments that define being a Superfan. We even tried to find the silver lining of the BC tailgating scene.

Well, enough looking back. It's time to look forward. Today's post topic is a discussion about your expectations for the 2010 Eagles football season.

I won't go ahead and make a game-by-game prediction of the season just yet (The offseason is a marathon, not a sprint ... we'll save that for early next month). Instead, I want to discuss my expectations for the season and this Eagles' team. Feel free to leave your own expectations in the comments section below.

As we've discussed here at BC Interruption, it appears that the Eagles will be afforded plenty of advantages in 2010. We've noted that three of the Eagles' 12 opponents will be breaking in new head coaches next season, and half the schedule is comprised of programs with coaches with 2 or less years of experience at their current stops. All but three of the Eagles regular season games will be played on turf, a surface BC has had a lot of success playing on the past few years.

BC has just 3 bowl teams from last season on their 2010 schedule. In comparison, the other two Atlantic Division contenders - Clemson and Florida State - each play 7 bowl teams. Even the placement of the bye week on this year's schedule seems to break BC's way, giving the Eagles an extra week to prepare for what is likely to be a Top 10 Hokies team.

If that wasn't enough, check out the slate of Coastal Division opponents in 2010 - Virginia Tech, at Duke, Virginia. BC misses three Coastal teams that will likely be ranked in the preseason Top 25 (Georgia Tech, Miami and North Carolina). Clemson draws those exact three teams, while Florida State has road games against Virginia and Miami and a home title against North Carolina. 

All signs are pointing to very special season this year for Boston College. The question is can the Eagles take advantage? BC might not be the most talented team in the Atlantic Division, but they will be afforded plenty of opportunities and should contend for another Atlantic Division title in 2010.

At least, that's my expectation. The planets seem to be aligned in 2010 for the Eagles to contend for an Atlantic Division title and a berth in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte. Anything less than a 8-9 win season would be a disappointment for me, and less than a 9-10 win season probably isn't enough to win the Atlantic Division over Florida State or Clemson.

For what it's worth, Matt Ryan, in filling in for SI's Peter King, seems to agree with me:

"I think my alma mater - the Eagles of Boston College - are going to surprise a lot of people this season in college football. I think the defense should be really good this year and the inspirational return of linebacker Mark Herzlich from Ewing's sarcoma, a rare bone cancer, will help tremendously."

This season will be very important to Spaz and the Eagles, as the window for winning an ACC Championship seems to be rapidly closing. It seems like every year the window is closing - Florida State and Miami can't be "meh" forever, right? - but any season in which you avoid playing 3 preseason Top 25 teams from the other side of the conference (instead, drawing Duke and a rebuilding Virginia program), and regain your emotional leader on defense, you have to take advantage. 

Next year's schedule isn't as forgiving. An improving Miami is back on the schedule, and BC faces a tough road sched of Miami, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Notre Dame. Herzlich will have graduated and the Eagles will lose a significant portion of their All-Conference offensive line. If there's any season to make a run at another Atlantic Division title and an ACC Championship, this is the year.

What are your expectations for the season? What in your eyes will make for a successful season? Be heard!

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

It's nearly an impossible task to come up with a suitable list of moments that define our Boston College fandom. But that's probably because BC football is home to the greatest moment in college football history. Any other highlights or moments in BC football history pale in comparison to that one play. 

That said, here's my attempt at a chronological list of the most memorable moments, both good and bad, in Boston College football history. Other than the first two which occurred before I started rooting for the Eagles, note that this list heavily favors more recent events, which just so happens to be my BC football history frame of reference. Also note that there could probably be a separate list of most memorable moments just for the BC-Notre Dame Holy War.

Leave your own list or thoughts in the comments section below.

Hail Flutie (Video)
Date: November 23, 1984
Place: Orange Bowl, Miami, Fl.
Score: #12 Miami 45, #10 Boston College 41
Situation: BC with the ball on the Miami 48 yard line
4th Quarter, 0:06 remaining

The Call: Because this radio call is far superior to Musburger's, who couldn't identify Phelan in the back of the endzone at the time.

Dan Davis: Here's your ballgame, folks, as Flutie takes the snap ... He drops straight back ... has some time ... Now he scrambles away from one hit ... looks ... uncorks a deep one for the end zone ... Phelan is down there ...
Gino Cappelletti: OH HE GOT IT!
Dan: Did he get it?
Gino: HE GOT IT!
Dan: TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN BOSTON COLLEGE! HE DID IT ... HE DID IT! FLUTIE DID IT! He hit Phelan in the end zone ... TOUCHDOWN!
Gino: I don't believe it!
Dan: Oh, my goodness!

Final Score: Boston College 47, Miami 45

Continue reading this post »

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

It's so hard to look back and pick out just a few of my all-time favorite Boston College players. There are of course the legends like Doug Flutie, Mike Ruth and Charlie O'Rourke who I never got to see play, and the more recent generation of BC stars like Matt Ryan, Jamie Silva and Mark Herzlich. For this post, though, I'm going to focus on my favorite BC football players from my four years on the Heights (2000-2004). In some cases, they may not have been the star of the team that year. They might not have even made it at the next level. But these two players helped shape my BC football experience while I was in school.

As always, I invite you to share your own list of favorite all-time Boston College football players in the comments section below.

Derrick Knight, Running Back

You could easily argue that William Green was the better BC running back during my four years on the Heights. But Derrick Knight didn't get suspended for the biggest game of his life with a chance to knock off one of, if not the, greatest college football team of all time - the 2001 Miami Hurricanes.

After Green left school early to go play for the Cleveland Browns, we all wondered whether Derrick Knight could step up and fill Green's shoes as the Eagles' feature running back. Not only did Knight fill Green's shoes, but he exceeded all expectations. In his junior year, Knight rushed for 1,432 yards and 12 touchdowns. He would go on to best his own single-season rushing record in his senior year, rushing for 1,721 yards and adding 11 more touchdowns to his resume. The BC offense wasn't very flashy, but Knight was a big reason why the Eagles compiled a record of 17-9 in my junior and senior years. 

Knight finished his career as the all-time leading Eagles rusher with 3,725 yards, topping Mike Cloud's mark of 3,597. While all indications are that Knight's record will eventually fall to Montel Harris, I will always appreciate the job Knight did carrying the Eagles offense after Green left the program after the 2001 season.

Continue reading this post »

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

This has easily got to be the toughest post of this week long series to write. As we all know, Boston College isn't exactly renowned for its tailgating scene. Having gotten a taste of what college football tailgating can be like at stops like State College, Blacksburg, Clemson, Auburn and - yes, I'll man up and admit it - Notre Dame, the BC tailgating experience can seem ... average at best.

Heck, I've even had great "tailgating" experiences at two Emerald Bowls, the 2007 ACC Championship Game at the Jacksonville Landing, the 2008 ACC Championship Game in the Raymond James Stadium parking lot and even the Champs Sports Bowl, despite Jeff's grill being stolen. May it R.I.P.

That being said, even with all the game day restrictions and tussles with our Chestnut Hill neighbors, there's something about the Boston College tailgating experience that I hold near and dear to my heart. Despite all of BC's game day experience shortcomings, there's something distinctly unique about BC tailgating that I wouldn't have any other way. This post topic invites you to share your own BC tailgating rituals and traditions.

Continue reading this post »

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

Well, it looks like I jumped the gun a little bit. I've already waxed poetic about how Matt Ryan and the 2007 Boston College Eagles football team converted just another Superfan into a lifer/blogger. Clearly the 2007 team that won 11 games for the first time since 1940 is my favorite Eagles' team. But because that season was nearly complete by the time we started BC Interruption, let's recap the high points of the season and reasons why that year was the best of my short time as a Superfan.

If 2007 was going to be a special year, you wouldn't have guessed it less than 7 minutes into the season opener against Wake Forest. Matt Ryan was intercepted by Alphonso Smith who returned the ball 21 yards for a touchdown on the very first play from scrimmage. On Wake's next drive, Riley Skinner hooked up with Kenneth Moore to put the Deacs up 14-0. Matt Ryan would battle back and drive the Eagles down the field for a pair of touchdowns that knotted the game at 14. A pair of third quarter touchdown passes put the Eagles up for good, with BC holding on for a 38-28 victory. After his initial mistake, Matt Ryan had a career day in what would be the start of a Heisman-calibre season. His final stat line read 32-of-52, 408 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT.

The second win of the season was especially gratifying given that it was the Eagles first win over their former head coach. BC capitalized on seven Wolfpack turnovers, including 5 interceptions from quarterback Harrison Beck. BC actually trailed after the first quarter 10-7, but scored 10 unanswered points in the second quarter and never looked back. Two games and two wins against Atlantic Division competition and the Eagles started off the 2007 season on a high note.

Continue reading this post »

This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.

Everyone has a different story. While some people were Boston College fans before they came to the Heights, others became fans when they got to campus. Still others may have attended grad school at BC or were forced (read: born) into cheering for the maroon and gold. Today's post topic attempts to delve more deeply into why you became an Eagles fan. My own story is a bit of an unconventional one. 

Funny thing about being an oldest child. When it comes to filling out college applications and picking places to go to school, you really don't have the first clue what you are doing. 

I grew up in southern New Jersey and spent the first 18 years of my life there. Aside from the occasional mention of Penn State in the Philadelphia Inquirer, college football wasn't anywhere on my radar growing up. My father went to school at Ohio Northern University (Go Polar Bears!) and my mother went to school at Keene State in New Hampshire. Growing up, I was much more into following the New York pro sports teams (the Giants, Yankees and Rangers) than college sports teams. Aside from a passing interest in March Madness, college sports, and in particular, college football, just weren't on my radar.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that when it came time to choose a college, I really didn't factor whether the schools that I applied to had big time college athletics. In fact, of the six schools that I applied to, only one - Boston College - had a Division I college football program. Well, two if you count the State University of New Jersey, but at the time, it wasn't much of a program at all. So I guess you can say I only applied to one school with a football program ...

Continue reading this post »

It's the second week of July ... only 9 Saturdays until the return of Boston College football. Each year around this time of year is when I officially allow myself to start getting excited for the upcoming football season. We can start in on prognosticating over the season, embark on various preseason previews, and play the next version of EA Sports NCAA Football.

So we were especially excited when EA Sports asked to sponsor a week's worth of posts leading up to the release of NCAA Football 2011 next Tuesday, July 13th. They weren't interested in telling us what to say, only in sponsoring a series of posts celebrating the diehard fans of college football.

So what's on tap? We'll be posting once a day between now and the release of the game next Tuesday, starting in a hour or so with the first of the series: How I Came To Be An Eagles Diehard. From there, the series will unfold as follows:

Tuesday: All-Time Favorite Boston College Team

Wednesday: Boston College Tailgating Traditions (Or Lack Thereof)

Thursday: All-Time Favorite Boston College Players

Friday: Most Memorable Boston College Moments: Which Moments Define Our Fandom

Monday: Expectations for the 2010 Season: Why We're Excited

Tuesday: NCAA Football 2011 Debuts: It's Christmas in July!

We invite you to jump in the comment section of each post. We look forward to hearing all your own stories and traditions related to the maroon and gold.

Go Eagles!