Saturdays in the South

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published its annual College Preview this weekend. They did their normal bang up job, with in-depth coverage of the ACC and SEC. The paper also included a collection of features on the sights, sounds, passion, and history of the sport. I was fortunate enough to be included in one of the pieces on fans. The write-up follows:

BC just a blog away

You're 28 and separated from your team by a whole culture. The cure?

You blog.

Several times a week, year round, Bill Maloney writes his thoughts on Boston College football on his Web site "Eagle in Atlanta."

"Capturing the highs and lows of being a BC fan living 1,000 miles from Chestnut Hill," is its motto.

"My passion was stoked by being far away, and being in Atlanta where college football is king," said Maloney, who fell for the team at age 8 when he saw Doug Flutie's famous pass. "It's a way to take the passion in the South and mix it with the northeastern sense of doom we have with our team."

His musings at http://atleagle.blogspot.com draw fans curious about the Eagles as they debut in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Maloney introduces them to TOB (bland head coach Tom O'Brien), Kiwi (star defensive player Mathias Kiwanuka) and Spaz (defensive coordinator Frank Spaziani).

He critiques the team's "robotic stiffs." He praises those who exemplify the school motto, "Ever to Excel."

"It's an outlet, just like calling a sports talk station or sending in a Vent," said Maloney, who worked on the team's radio broadcasts before he graduated in 1998. "No one will publish 2,000 words on BC's kicking game, but I can."

You can read the rest of the article here. I'd like to thank the writer, Michelle Hiskey, for including me.

BC's real newsmakers showed up throughout the coverage.

Here's an article on ACC playmakers that leads with Kiwi.

Tony Barnhart listed TOB as one of the better coaches in the ACC. Barnhart also included BC in his preseason Top 25.

ACC fans can look forward to trips to Boston. And this list proclaims that Gene D. is the best ACC AD to work for.