As an avid BC hockey fan, I look forward to the traditions of the game: “For Boston,” the sieve chant, the Jerry York banner, the fiddle song. Wait, the fiddle song? If you’re a freshman reading this, I’m sorry because you have no idea what I’m talking about. But everyone else, I hope you’re as angry as I am.
Before the third period of every BC hockey game, Conte Forum would shake with the sounds of “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” Jersey-clad students would stand on chairs and play their imaginary fiddles with gusto; members of the Pep Band would use their instruments as props. And everyone’s favorite BC hockey fan, Fiddle Kid, would make his classic jumbotron appearance.
Fiddle Kid, aka Daniel, is a crucial part of BC hockey games. He literally brings a fiddle to the games to perform “Devil” each game. He’s consistently on the jumbotron and the Superfans love him. So we’re sad that his mini-fame has been taken away.
Fiddling is such an integral part of BC culture that my roommate and I fiddle whenever we hear “Devil,” regardless of where we are. (See: us fiddling at the Jason Aldean concert at Fenway Park). It was a fan-favorite moment at every hockey game, something that everyone in the stadium looked forward to and everyone could get into.
Everyone wants to know where the fiddle song went. Our pleas to BC Hockey and BC Athletics have gone unanswered. Even the woman who runs the BC Alumni social media pages, Steph St. Martin, couldn’t get an answer.
So, BC Athletics, I ask you: Why take away the fiddle song? It wasn’t hurting anyone; in fact, it made the games much more enjoyable. Superfans and fiddlers alike miss our beloved tradition. Please, BC Athletics, for my senior year, bring back the fiddle song.