Students lack interest in B.U. Sports

By Jenny Taft

BOSTON- Many students seem to be unaware of what Boston University sports teams are up to. Ava Mauriello, a freshman living on B.U.’s west campus, said, “I have only been to one sporting event, and it was the first men’s soccer game.” Despite the hockey sweatshirt she was wearing, Mauriello was unaware that the Terriers had recently defeated the 5th ranked Midwest powerhouse North Dakota.

The men’s ice hockey team had an impressive start to the 2008-2009 season by winning the Ice Breaker Invitational last Saturday at Agganis Arena. On Friday, the Terriers dominated against North Dakota University, winning 5-1, and they beat Michigan State, 2-1, for the championship on Saturday. Unfortunately, few students were aware of their accomplishment because the stands were quite empty.

The B.U. Athletic Department did a great job advertising for the first men’s soccer game, by promoting the game to all incoming freshman at orientation. But after the first game, attendance at the home games drastically dropped.

Sammy Dolan, also a freshman at B.U., came to campus knowing that he would not be going to many sporting events. “B.U. just isn’t a great school for sports, and it’s especially hard without football.”

Brittney Vierra, who came to B.U. to play lacrosse, expected that students would be more interested in sports. “It sucks, we don’t have football, and it’s hard because B.U. just doesn’t advertise the games at all. People don’t get interested in anything other than hockey because no one knows about any other sports.”

Over the last four years that senior economics major Adam Klein has been at B.U., he has attended a good amount of hockey games, and considers himself a loyal terrier fan. “I go to the games once and a while, I’ll go if my friends are going.” Klein, like Mauriello, was unaware that the Terriers recently won the Ice Breaker Invitational.

“There’s just no school spirit here,” agreed Julie Goldberg, a freshman in Sargent College. “And it didn’t take me long to find out.”