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Despite the dreary weather, Boston College football fans were still enthusiastic as they gathered to see the unveiling of the newest addition to BC's athletic landscape, a 6-foot tall statue depicting Doug Flutie, BC '85, throwing his famous "Hail Mary" pass against Miami in 1984.
Cameras flashed as fans took photos and students crowded the balcony above Alumni Stadium's Gate D, where the statue now stands. Flutie was present as the guest of honor, as well as University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J.; former football coach Jack Bicknell; Flutie's former high school coach, Tom Lamb; and Gerard Phelan, BC '85, who caught the famous pass.
The ceremony began as the Screaming Eagles Marching Band welcomed head coach Jeff Jagodzinski and the 2008 Eagles football team with "For Boston." Reid Oslin from the Public Affairs Office briefly highlighted Flutie's football fame and described his many accomplishments beyond football. Graduating with honors from BC, Flutie was named a National Football Foundation College Hall of Fame scholar and was BC's nominee that year for a Rhodes Scholarship.
Students in the crowd, such as Kimberly Fletcher, A&S '11, said that hearing of Flutie's scholastic achievements helped them to see him in a new light and as more than an athlete.
"Talking about his grades and other achievements makes him a more dynamic character," Fletcher said.
Flutie, with his wife, Laurie, has also fought battles off the football field. They established the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, named for the Fluties' autistic son, Dougie, and have raised over 10 million dollars to help fight autism. "You and Laurie have followed the Jesuit mission to a T, which is men and women for others," Oslin said. When asked whether going to a Jesuit school affected his social work today, Flutie said, "It may have had an influence. I think I was always kind of geared that way, but I was very receptive to that. Father Shea and Father Mahoney were very close to me."
Flutie gave a short speech talking about the nostalgia he felt while he was around his old teammates and reliving his college days before the statue was unveiled. As Dan Davis and Gino Cappelletti's audio of the famous play sounded, the cover was untied and Flutie pulled down the sheet to unveil the statue finally. The six-foot-tall bronze monument, designed by renowned sculptor Harry Weber, depicts Flutie rocking back before he releases his famous pass. "You hear about the legend since your freshman year, so it's exciting to have this happening now and being here for it," said Brendan Stamm, CSOM '09.
Members of the Boston College community frequently attribute BC's rising national prominence, both in terms of athletics and academics, to Flutie's fame. "This statue is a fitting tribute to the man who made Boston College football a household name," said Gene DeFilippo, director of athletics, in a press release regarding the ceremony.
"Doug Flutie is the modern era of BC. He put the team on the map. He put BC on the map," said Clif Kensington, CSOM '12. Some members of the media have even coined the term "Flutie effect" to describe the phenomenon of an athlete or sports team's successes contributing to the renown of the school.
Despite the accolades he now receives, at the time Flutie said he was just a student-athlete playing the game of football. "We [the team] were too young and na've to understand the scope of what was going on around us; we were just playing football," Flutie said. He remembers the non-athletic parts of his BC life fondly, he said, including shaving cream fights in the Mods and sitting around in McElroy until he and his friends were kicked out at closing.
While in some respects student life at BC has changed little, Flutie said the athletic program has developed dramatically through the years. He said that BC's football field used to resemble a high school field, with a track surrounding it, and a subpar weight room. "We [Boston College] didn't have a lot of money. We started winning, we started making money … We were always trying to be a big-time program," Flutie said.
In Flutie's time, Boston College played two big games a year against Syracuse and Penn State, but now he said he believes that the team can compete against each and every school on the schedule. Flutie said the athletic program can now be seen as a big business, with the athletes as the employees. "With the larger endowment now, we can afford to keep the kids here in the summer for school, which saves them time in the fall. It's a full-time job now, working year-round," Flutie said.
Flutie still frequents campus, attending football games and playing pick-up basketball at the Plex. "Playing against you young guys keeps me in shape. Otherwise, I'm just playing with the old guys from the club and they're walking all over the court or fouling like crazy," Flutie said. Flutie said he loves being around campus and when asked what having a statue of himself on campus means to him, he first responded jokingly, and said, "Don't you have to be dead to have a statue of you put up?" He said that he was honored to be a part of the history of Boston College. "I'm a little bit in awe. I've really been anticipating today and it's a pretty special feeling."
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