I won’t lie, I knew from an early age that sports were not my life calling. My utter lack of balance and hand-eye coordination has prevented me from ever being successful at a contact sport.
I’ve never been a big fan of watching sports either, but I’m not entirely clueless when it comes to some sports. I know the basic rules of a tennis match and I can follow a baseball game without asking questions. Still, I was never been interested in sitting down to watch an entire game, match, or sporting event of any kind. To he honest, there are so many things I would have rather done, like analyze 19th century British poetry for a few hours.
When I first came to BU, I knew we had a great hockey team, but watching them play was not at the top of my to-do list. My roommate is a huge hockey fan and insisted that we to go to a game. It took her months to convince me, but one cold Friday night we went to a game. Surprisingly, it didn’t suck! We sat in the Dog Pound and I watched with confusion and amusement as the people around me yelled things I didn’t understand at the players.
Still, there was something about the atmosphere that I loved. Being surrounded by my peers, all together, united by a common interest, made me want to be a part of it.
Over a year has passed since I went to my first game, and I’ve grown to genuinely like hockey. This year two friends and I decided to go to the Beanpot, the main event for Boston collegiate hockey. We were pretty pumped and even made shirts with obscene messages insulting Boston College. I won’t lie, I planned on covering the shirt for most of the game, for fear of being attacked by a BC student.
We arrived Monday night at the TD Garden and got to our seats early. As more BU kids shuffled in, I could feel the anticipation building.
It was a great game, full of tense, exciting moments. During the second period, when BU scored their second goal, making the score 2-1, the entire BU section exploded with happiness. I found myself screaming and jumping with the rest of the crazed fans. As cheesy as it sound, in that moment, I felt as if I had become a true hockey fan.
The game was incredibly close, but sadly, as I’m sure you all know too well, BC won in overtime.
After that blow, I’m now familiar with the pain people feel when their team loses, but I don’t regret my transformation into a hockey fan. As disappointing as a loss feels, a win, even on a small scale feels so amazing.
While I shared the pain of the other BU fans riding the claustrophobic T back home, I also felt a sense of happiness. I can now say something I never could before: I’m a real sports fan.