OT: Boston College Games

My wife and I are coming down on a bus tour to see the Patriots/Redskins game. This is our 3rd year in a row going on the tour and normally a Bruins game is done the day before or after the Pats game. This year things don't sync up to see a Bruins game. The owner sent an email today saying for $40 a person, you can attend the Boston College vs. NC State game the night before the Pats game.

So...my question is, has anybody ever attended any BC games, if so, does it capture the college football atmosphere? I don't expect it to be like it looks like based on watching games on TV like Alabama, etc. I've never gone to a college game and I am debating whether to go to the game...

Thanks!

102 Pat said:

My wife and I are coming down on a bus tour to see the Patriots/Redskins game. This is our 3rd year in a row going on the tour and normally a Bruins game is done the day before or after the Pats game. This year things don't sync up to see a Bruins game. The owner sent an email today saying for $40 a person, you can attend the Boston College vs. NC State game the night before the Pats game.

So...my question is, has anybody ever attended any BC games, if so, does it capture the college football atmosphere? I don't expect it to be like it looks like based on watching games on TV like Alabama, etc. I've never gone to a college game and I am debating whether to go to the game...

Thanks!

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I wouldn't sit out in the rain for it if it comes to that.

I've gone to maybe a game a year, the game itself is fun n good collegiate atmosphere. The problem is the relations with the town of Newton. Unless you r a big $$$ alumni u have to park about 10 miles away to take a shuttle bus in. As such there is Zero tailgating. There is subway line however that is close by as a good alternative
BC football is not that good. Just my opinion.

It looks like they're playing NC State that week. It should be an interesting game.

I'm a BC alum. The games are fun and the team should be somewhat competitive and fun to watch next year, but college football in the northeast just isn't the same as it is in other parts of the country so don't go expecting an experience like LSU or Michigan. New York and New England are pro sports country. Still, the atmosphere is different than a pro game.

If you're doing a tour, maybe they'll drop you off at the campus and you can walk around and see the campus (it's very nice) and tailgate. Otherwise, as someone noted, you'll have to deal with a shuttle bus if you're driving. Frankly, for those who want to go, you'd be better off parking at Riverside station and taking the D line to Reservoir (this is also a good idea if you're coming from downtown) and walking the mile or so up to the campus. It's probably cheaper to park for the day at Riverside anyways. And the B line takes too long because it runs along the street, even though it drops you off at the BC stop across the street from St. Thomas Gate.

BC's offense is sort of like a high school team. Run, run, run and run some more. While that worked out in some ways last year (Murphy was an excellent scrambler), hopefully our QB this year is a decent passer but I do like a guy with quickness and speed which was kind of cool to watch w/Murphy last season.

Kdo5 said:

BC's offense is sort of like a high school team. Run, run, run and run some more. While that worked out in some ways last year (Murphy was an excellent scrambler), hopefully our QB this year is a decent passer but I do like a guy with quickness and speed which was kind of cool to watch w/Murphy last season.

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The big issue, I think, is less the quarterback (I'm optimistic about Wade) and more the fact that the offensive line returns zero starters. But it's BC, always known as OL U (and QB U up until Matt Ryan left, sadly, though Murphy has been having a good camp with the Steelers as a WR convert). I think they'll end up being bowl eligible this year and may upset one of the top dogs like FSU, Clemson, and Notre Dame. Heck, they almost managed to knock off both Clemson and FSU last season.

It is a nice stadium and good atmosphere but unfortunately it is not like Alabama. But it is still division 1, NCAA football. BC looks to have a good team this year to.

Lots of questions on OL this year, but keep an eye on #77 Jon Baker, played a lot last year as true freshman, coaches like the attitude he brings and could be starting at G this year. Local kid from Millis High School...full disclosure, he played Pop Warner and High School football with my son

The northeast isn't as big on college football as the southeast or even in Big 10 territory so don't expect a raucous atmosphere but it should still be fun. Instead of frat boys with croakies and shorts 10" above their kneecaps doing keg stands, you'll probably get to have a relaxing IPA by discussing the theory of relativity with an Asian honor roll student.

primetime said:

The big issue, I think, is less the quarterback (I'm optimistic about Wade) and more the fact that the offensive line returns zero starters. But it's BC, always known as OL U (and QB U up until Matt Ryan left, sadly, though Murphy has been having a good camp with the Steelers as a WR convert). I think they'll end up being bowl eligible this year and may upset one of the top dogs like FSU, Clemson, and Notre Dame. Heck, they almost managed to knock off both Clemson and FSU last season.

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I still have no idea what your defensive gameplan was in the 4th quarter of the FSU game. Just absolutely piss poor.

Thanks for the feedback everybody!

KontradictioN said:

I still have no idea what your defensive gameplan was in the 4th quarter of the FSU game. Just absolutely piss poor.

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I barely remember. I was sitting there the entire quarter, covering my eyes and saying, "They're going to lose. Oh god, they're going to lose."

primetime said:

I barely remember. I was sitting there the entire quarter, covering my eyes and saying, "They're going to lose. Oh god, they're going to lose."

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They stopped blitzing and looked like they were sitting back in Cover 3 to protect the lead. Winston got going from there. That was a theme with a lot of FSU's opponents last season. Florida was the only team in the regular season to keep bringing it through all four quarters. The result was the worst game of Winston's career. The Gators only lost that game because they couldn't muster any offense whatsoever.

PatsGuy said:

I've gone to maybe a game a year, the game itself is fun n good collegiate atmosphere. The problem is the relations with the town of Newton. Unless you r a big $$$ alumni u have to park about 10 miles away to take a shuttle bus in. As such there is Zero tailgating. There is subway line however that is close by as a good alternative
BC football is not that good. Just my opinion.

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I've never been to a BC game, mostly because my impression from reading about them, seeing them on TV, etc. is it's really just a shell of a genuine collegiate atmosphere. There doesn't seem to be much sense of "community identity" with BC being so integrated to urban Boston, and the stadium being so tightly tucked into an adjoining suburb. Severely limited tailgating and most people arriving by public transit certainly doesn't help.

Tunescribe said:

I've never been to a BC game, mostly because my impression from reading about them, seeing them on TV, etc. is it's really just a shell of a genuine collegiate atmosphere. There doesn't seem to be much sense of "community identity" with BC being so integrated to urban Boston, and the stadium being so tightly tucked into an adjoining suburb. Severely limited tailgating and most people arriving by public transit certainly doesn't help.

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I'm not sure I totally agree, but you're correct in that it's not a "genuine collegiate atmosphere" if by that you mean, like, Alabama or Ohio State (but I also wouldn't want to dress up for a game like people literally do in places like Ole Miss or something).

But it's still power conference football and fun to watch, and it's a good time if you go with some friends and there's plenty of places to tailgate. Thanks to public transit, you also have the option to go out to a bar down in Brighton or something and get loaded there before the game.

I think the fact that the community is less interested in college sports is just a symptom of the northeast and most of the mid-Atlantic in general where pro sports are king, except for the big basketball schools during the tournament. It's the same at Syracuse, Rutgers, Maryland, Pitt...

No love here for Tufts football?