Sunday, February 03, 2013

Guest Blog: @eagle98alum shares his thoughts on the second town hall

Regular reader and BC twitterer @eagle98alum attended Brad Bates second Town Hall this weekend. Somewhat skeptical going in, he felt much better about BC's direction after the meeting. Here are his thoughts:

"Bates greeted everyone at the door. There were about 15 tables setup with a BC athletic dept representative at each one. Our table had Ciaran Cullen, the Assistant Director of the Flynn Fund. The meeting started off with Bates introducing Coach Addazio. Daz told us about his staff and what they each bring to the university. He wants great men, fathers and husbands on his sideline. He loves Ryan Day. He mentioned that Day was getting offers recently as last week for other jobs but Ryan is committed here and loves BC. This team will be tough and aggressive on both sides if the ball. 

Several people were allowed to ask questions. Some of which were about his offensive scheme. Addazio said he's done every offense and that they all work. He emphasized he wants a balanced offense but really wants to run the ball. He believes in smash mouth football. Daz was asked that in recent years our lines have been undersized and if he's going to look into getting bigger guys. Daz said when he looks for linemen, he isn't concerned with height and weight. He mentioned, Mike Pouncey who is 6 feet. He wants a lineman who has speed and will smash guys down the field. He loves seeing an OL follow a RB down the field, smashing Lbs and DBs along the way. He talks to many former BC OL alumni about bringing smash mouth football back to BC. 

[He also mentioned] No more bend but dont break defenses. We will be aggressive and attack. 

Someone asked him how he plans to improve recruiting, currently BC is 13th out of 14 in some ACC recruiting magazine. Addazio said he doesn't care about stars. He wants to find players who will be great four year players. He looks for a player who has "it." ...mentioned Flutie, Ryan and Tebow. Kids who are winners. He said a lot of 4/5 star players don't pan out. [Then he] told a story about Jamie Silva and how he recruited him at Indiana. When Jamie committed to BC, he knew he had "it." 'A hard working kid.' 

Daz was also asked about our future schedules. He said he doesn't care who we play, just wants fans to be loyal and support his team. His team will play hard and make us proud. He leaves all scheduling to Bates. An 80 year old alumni mentioned that Tom Coughlin entered in a more difficult situation at BC than he [Daz] did: 'Coughlin's first year the team struggled but played hard. The next year BC went 8-3.' The man told Addazio to be Tom Coughlin. Everyone laughed and Addazio said he loved to be Tom. 

Coach ended with a poem about an oak tree that bent with the wind, losing its leaves but remained strong because of its roots. BC is that oak tree. 

I originally wasn't enthused with the hire. But after hearing Addazio speak I am sold! So much energy and he is committed to BC. I believe he will bring BC back to at least 8-4/9-3 seasons. 

After coach left, Bates opened the floor to us to talk about the Gameday experience. Most concerns were about tailgating. Increasing hours, better access to the stadium. Too many senseless rules, especially on Shea. There was some random complaints about the band and what music they play. There was a question about expanding the stadium to 55-60,000. Person said other schools must use that vs BC in recruiting. Bates said until there is a waiting list for tickets, Alumni Stadium will not be increased. Some older alumni complained about our prime seats going to opposing fans and that season ticket holders should be held accountable. One gentleman complained about BC always getting a game on Labor Day weekend. Bates asked us if we would be ok with a game on the Monday of Labor Day itself. When asked about scheduling, Bates said the future home schedules will have 7 home games. 

The biggest theme itself was tailgating and access. Besides one old woman from Virginia who believes increasing tailgate hours will decrease spirit and they'll be more 'drunks with their beer suitcases,' everyone wanted a better GameDay experience. 

 We then went into a 10 minute discussion at our own tables with the BC rep. We each spoke about our concerns, mainly tailgating. The BC rep mentioned the possibility of 5 hrs pregame and 2 hrs post. [We] discussed parking in Brighton campus, expanding Fan Fest to other locations. Basically they realize they need to fix game day. It will not happen over night. Takes time. 

I left feeling good that we were heard. I've been a season ticket holder since graduation and have run a tailgate at BC for last 5 years. Tailgating is only reason to be going to the games last few years since the team hasn't been good, and yet tailgating on Shea and other places is embarrassing. It was good to let the administration know how we felt. Hopefully improvements are down the road.

Go BC!

Thanks to @eagle98alum for sharing his thoughts.

10 comments:

Big Jack Krack said...

I wish I could have been there.

I have an idea about tailgating in relationship to any agreement or disagreement BC has with various neighborhood groups in Brookline, Newton and Brighton. It may help our AD as he reconfigures our game day experience to be more welcoming - we need to open our arms to our own fans. We can do this.

Perhaps this will be a play on words - but it's really more.

It has to do with the very definition of a tailgate - which involves "grilling" as well as the consumption of alcoholic beverages.


A tailgate party is a social event held on and around the open tailgate of a vehicle. Tailgating often involves consuming alcoholic beverages and grilling food. Tailgate parties usually occur in the parking lots at stadiums and arenas, before and occasionally after games and concerts. People attending such a party are said to be tailgating. Many people participate even if their vehicles do not have tailgates.

Tailgating typically involves the consumption of alcoholic beverages or mixed drinks and the grilling of various meat products. Popular tailgate party foods include picnic staples such as hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, sausages, baked beans, and cold salads like coleslaw or potato salad. It is also common for fans to bring out stereo equipment to tailgate parties to dance, etc.

-----------------------------------------

In order to provide more social gathering areas around campus, We (The BC AD and powers that be) just need to eliminate the grilling - and maybe loud music in certain areas.

As an example - This would open up the Brighton Campus parking areas for "picnic" social gatherings - no grilling . (Any agreements about tailgating do not apply ) - and it's nobody's business. They can't see in there anyway. Bring a "picnic basket" and your favorite beverages and have your social gathering before and after the game - this isn't rocket science.

Likewise, there could be designated picnic gathering areas throughout campus - the key is no grilling - big TV's and amplified music, etc. Neighborhood groups will have no say whatsoever.

Get fans to campus an let them have their gatherings. "Welcome to BC, fans - we love you".

Traditional tailgating in traditional areas will still be encouraged and hours will be expanded.

One final note - get rid of Newton firemen giving out tickets and shutting down tailgates - get rid of them completely (who the hell do they think they are on a private campus?) and tone down BC 5-0.

Laxman said...

Leahy should be at theses rmeetings because until he proves me otherwise I believe it is Leahy and the BOT that has been the biggest problem

chicagofire1871 said...

What about any of this gameday improvement discussion "takes time"?

Allow people to grill/consume beer in the Needham lots. Negoiate the rate increase. Done. This doesn't take 7 months.

mod34b said...

BC (or Harvard or anyone else with a sports venue in Boston) must get an entertainment license from the City of Boston. Here is the City's page on This

(http://www.cityofboston.gov/consumeraffairs/entertainment/licenselaw.asp)

Big Jack Krack said...

Mod - do these rules have anything to do with the entertainment license? I doubt it.

Shea Field

Visit www.bceagles.com for up-to-date parking & tailgating information, including the opening of parking lots.

The main pedestrian entrance and exit of Shea Field has changed and will now be located outside of the Beacon Street Garage behind home plate of the baseball field.

Additionally, for those Shea Field guests entering from the Beacon St. side of Alumni Stadium, there will be a secondary entrance located at the stairwell adjacent to the Beacon St. Garage and Gate A.

Everyone must have a ticket to the game to access Shea Field!

Pedestrian traffic opens 30 minutes after the parking areas have opened.

Alcohol may not be carried onto Shea Field.

Glass containers are not allowed on Shea Field.

Shea Field closes at kick-off. BCPD will make affirmative efforts to end activities and clear Shea Field by the start of the game.

Tailgating Policy

Tailgating is only allowed in designated Flynn Fund parking lots.

Tailgating is prohibited in front of St. Thomas Moore Hall and Merkert.

Tailgating is NOT permitted while games are in progress. Boston College Police Department will make affirmative efforts to end tailgating 30 minutes prior to kick-off and to clear all guests from parking lots by kick-off.

Pre-game: All parking lots open 3 hours prior to kick-off.

Post-game: For games starting before 3:00 PM, post-game tailgating may last up to two hours.

For games starting between 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM, post-game tailgating may last up to one hour. For games beginning after 4:00 PM, post-game tailgating is NOT allowed.

mod34b said...

Jack - sure - City must approve whole plan.

Not really a bad thing. Boston (and Newton and BC too) must make sure 40,000 fans are safe and secure. We need all those good men and women in Police, Fire, EMT if, God forbid, there is ever a serious problem.

BC must fully cooperate or no game.

brog33 said...

Addazio and Bates both talk a big game. If they follow what they say, they will be great hires for BC. They both have me sold.

John said...

Hello Mod34b:

I don't think that expanding social gathering and tailgate opportunities on the campus during gamedays is incompatible with licensing and school cooperation in the matter.

We need to find language that makes our fans feel welcome - instead of the all too prominent words like "prohibited", "limited", "may not", "not permitted", "not allowed".

Certainly the administration can have restrictions, but the welcomoing message must come prominently first IMHO.

John said...

This John is BJK.

mod34b said...

Jack - I agree the police situation should be better. (I was merely saying that BC BC must obtain permits etc and it must do as the City says; its hands are somewhat tied.)

Nevertheless, BC should make an effort to improve the relationship between fans and cops. Perhaps, BC should do the reverse of community policing. With so-called community policing, the cops work on trying to create a good relationship with the community. That probably is not the approach the hard-ass BPD and Staties are taking toward BC kids.

So >>>> BC should train our kids and fans to make the cops feel really welcome. Embrace the cops to soften them up a bit - stick a proverbial daisy in the barrel of their Glocks!