A Boston College Student's Superfan Guide

As students begin to move back to Chestnut Hill, Superfans everywhere are undoubtedly excited for the upcoming football season. I am amongst the BC students eagerly counting down the hours until kickoff, however, that is not the only reason I am so anxious to get back to campus. BC football may get the most coverage and hype (other than hockey), but there is so much more in the Boston College sports world for students to experience. As I enter my sophomore year, allow me offer a student’s guide of sorts. You don’t want to be that kid walking around campus on Saturday afternoon wondering where everybody went, so check out these suggestions to make the most of BC sports.

Sit in the front row at a football game: I assume that most people reading this blog are planning on going to the home football games, so I don’t need to urge you to go to them. However, it is a whole different experience to sit directly on the sideline. You can hear the coaches chewing out the defensive backs after a blown coverage. You can hear the players pump each other up with profanity filled pep talks. It takes watching football to a new level. Since the section is general admission once you buy your student tickets, you have to show up real early to get these seats. That may mean cutting your tailgating/pregaming a little short that day, but trust me: it’s worth it. My friends and I didn’t decide to do this until the Notre Dame game last year and have been doing it ever since. Sitting among thousands of other drunken college students is plenty fun, but if you want to feel like screaming directly at an official, this is the way to go.

Go to a soccer game: This suggestion is specifically for freshmen students that live on the Newton Campus (as I did last year). I’m not a big soccer fan, but I made sure to get to as many home games as I could. It’s a great atmosphere and an awesome way to meet new people right at the beginning of the year. Furthermore, it’s incredibly convenient for freshmen because they play right on Newton Campus. Parties don’t start until later so support the soccer team before you go out on Friday nights. Even if you don’t like soccer that much, it will surprise you how fun these are. You may find that you actually really enjoy soccer. Even if you don’t, the hot girl on the second floor probably played soccer in high school or something, so there’s that.

Play some intramural sports: There is such a ridiculous variety of available sports that I am not listing them all here. Especially for freshmen, it is a great way to meet new people and stay active. I played on a bunch of different teams and had an awesome time doing it. I like to think of myself as fairly athletic, but that doesn’t matter one bit. It wasn’t so much about winning or being ultra-competitive, but more about just goofing off and such. It’s just another way to get involved with sports at BC.

Attend a road game:  This suggestion would mostly apply to hockey games due to the close proximity of many Hockey East schools. Last year, my buddies and I hopped on the T and braved the crowd at Northeastern.  The fans seem to get really angry when you openly celebrate BC goals. I tend to attribute this to their glaring envy and insecurity. So venture to another arena in Boston and check out the Eagles somewhere other than Conte Forum. You’ll be sure to make lots of new friends (or enemies) and remember to rub it in their faces when we kick their ass. 

Learn the words to the fight song: This is a fairly simple, straightforward suggestion. Learn the damn words to the song. It’s not that hard. You don’t want to be "that guy" mouthing random words and looking around to see if anyone notices what an enormous tool you happen to be. By the time you graduate you will have heard "For Boston" approximately 692,982,028,942 times, so just learn it.

Once again, this is by no means a comprehensive list of all the things you should do as a Boston College Superfan, but it’s a pretty good start. Follow these guidelines (and the other guides on this blog) and you’ll be on your way to becoming an awesome Superfan.

Did I miss anything? Leave your "must do’s" in the comments so that everyone can make the most out of the Boston College sports experience.