Maroon and gold, Eagles flying high, the delight experienced when you discover that the person sitting next to you on the plane is a Boston College alum. The "eagles on the war path" cheer, the anticipation felt before the Homecoming dance. Tailgating before games, the talks on campus. The inside jokes, the knowing glances when the words "Marathon Monday" are uttered. The support in times of need, and the sharing of joy when something is to be celebrated. This is what BC is all about.
School spirit is a tangible part of Boston College. Superfan shirts color the stadium gold on game days, and throughout the week, students can be found across campus clad in BC wear purchased at the BC Bookstore. Yes, students are proud to be BC Eagles, and this pride and spirit are not things that manifest themselves exclusively through cheering on our teams to that coveted win - it is much deeper than that.
The idea of spirit is physically embodied on game days throughout the year by the band, dance teams, and cheerleading team. Members of these organizations not only dedicate much of their time to practices during the week, but have also truly given themselves to BC by celebrating and embracing the school.
"I feel different when I put my uniform on," says Molly McGrath, cheerleader and A&S '11. "[Cheering] makes me want to be nicer. I want to get to know more people … [as a BC cheerleader] I feel like it is my duty to be a better person. We do more than just cheer - we work hard to support our school as well as the community through service projects. I am proud to be a part of BC. In some ways, we are the faces of BC spirit."
Johnny Bellamente, A&S '11, is also a cheerleader. "I did Street Team sophomore year, and I'd always do crazy things like paint myself in the crowd and try to bring up the noise level at the games," he says. "I started to cheer because I figured the best way for me to do that was on the field and the court. People associate us [cheerleaders] with spirit - even when I'm not at the game I represent BC and spirit at BC."
Sarah Wiewal, A&S '10, a member of the new pom squad, agrees. "When we are on the field, it is more than cheering for your team," she says. "It's being there for the athletes and for your fellow students. Everyone on the field is a student, just like us. I think our 'We are BC' chant is more than yelling … it's a statement of our individual and collective accomplishments, and [it shows pride] in our identity. We really are BC."
The band is, without a doubt, an indispensable part of the game day experience, and also an incredibly obvious showing of school spirit. "We try to take an ordinary Saturday and make it into a BC Saturday," says Spencer Cross, A&S '11. "Spirit is not just about supporting the team, but the school, faculty, and the alumni."
The band's motto is "be the spirit," which is a saying that Bridget Germain, A&S '11, describes as representing BC to a diverse group of people. "Not only BC people attend the game. It's people who have graduated, who are from out of state, who are visiting, or who are fans because they live here. I think we do a good job of representing BC to them, and I know when I graduate I will appreciate the spirit when I return [to BC]," she says.
Students show their pride in more ways than joining one of the teams that make up the athletic spirit program. There are two Street Teams that work hard to promote events on campus, both athletic and non-athletic. Justin Graham, A&S '11, is the director of the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (UGBC) Street Team. Graham, who is also a member of the cheerleading team, initially joined Street Team because he thought that the UGBC's expansive resources could do great things for BC students. He describes the goal of Street Team as trying to make events on campus as well attended as possible by as wide a range of students as possible.
"The support that we generate for all these events is absolutely spirit - BC has 9,000 kids, and not everyone plays football. There is a tremendous amount of spirit found on campus, and not just on the football field," he says. "You've checked out if you just go to athletic events and nothing else. Spirit is going to the events put on by the various culture clubs on campus and maybe not just because you are interested, but because a BC kid is putting a lot of effort into something he or she cares about, and going and supporting them is important," continues Graham."Most of the time, too, those events turn out to be awesome! Kids go and are always surprised by how great they are."
Justin Robinson, A&S '11, is the founder of the Athletic Street Team, which he describes as a grassroots marketing group made up of 23 students who applied to be a part of the organization. The group was born out of a desire to see better basketball and hockey attendance, as well as to get Superfans to show up to games on time and to increase spirit at events such as the pep rallies held before big athletic events. "I was disappointed [with the amount of spirit] and decided that people needed to get involved, especially with the basketball team. I was on the student athletics board, which was really passionate about fixing this, and what we came up with was the Superfan Street Team," Robinson says.
"Kids come to BC because of the well-rounded nature. That's why I came here. There are talented, intelligent, and interesting people here, and that is where the spirit comes in," Robinson says. "We all want to show support. A lot of us played sports in high school, but we [BC students] do more than that. We are in comedy clubs, and we are in culture clubs. School spirit is definitely supporting our athletic teams, but the spirit of the school is in our students."
Eagle Ops is another organizations whose purpose is to foster spirit and pride. Eagle Ops is a student group that is run out of the Sports Marketing Department and is made up of about 15-20 students who are in charge of game day operations.
"I work in two other departments in athletics, and I want to work in sports management," says Char Zoller, A&S '10.
"[I started to work with Eagle Ops because] I wanted to get involved with students as well as work with other students who were passionate about sports and use that passion to get other people excited about BC athletics," she says.
"I think that for me, when you see the student body excited, it's not just about going to the games, but being excited about being a BC student having pride in our university and our community. It's a way to be connected to everyone."
"BC students are really good sports and I think that has a lot to do with pride in your university," says Kenesha Broom, a member of the dance team and A&S '10. "My mother just came up this past weekend, and she said that the best part of the game was the end when everyone sang the alma mater. That's also a pretty chilling moment for me, being a senior. All that camaraderie, it's amazing," she says.
"Here, school spirit manifests itself beyond game day," says dancer Caitlin Mahler, A&S '11. "It goes into helping your suitemates, people in your class, and lends itself to a sense of community. Even if you don't know somebody, you feel as though you can talk to them and or help them out," she says. "Spirit goes beyond being excited about game day.It's about other people and those connections."
Alex Weishaupt, A&S '10, is in the middle of her senior year and has been cheering for BC since her freshman year.
She says that her time at BC has been indescribable and that she will always be proud of her school and fellow students, as well as the role she played in helping to facilitate excitement and spirit.
"I think the BC spirit will be with us forever," Weishaupt says.
And on game days with the crowd cheering, on the snowy night the Christmas tree in O'Neill plaza will be lit, and when we see the wink of class rings from across the room and know we found someone who knows how special a place BC is, we will know that she is right.
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