Since my last post on this blog, there's been a lot of news surrounding BC athletics. Doug Flutie was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame, BC won the battle for Vermont men's basketball transfer Joe Trapani -- picking Chestnut Hill over Michigan and Providence and a Boston College-Southern Cal football series went into the works.
Flutie in the Hall
Flutie's selection into the College HOF was a slam dunk. While his exploits have been recalled on numerous occasions -- both at BC and in the pros -- to this day it's still hard not to be awed by the majesty of an athlete with the reputation of being a hands-down Winner. It is difficult not to place any Heisman-wining player in the College HOF (not to mention a consensus All-American his senior year and winning the UPI and The Sporting News Player of the Year awards in 1984) , but what has been forgotten in the subsequent years since he left Boston College for Canada, the USFL and the NFL was that when he graduated from The Heights he left college football as the NCAA Division I-A all-time leading passer with 10,579 yards. Thought he's been surpassed in the years since, the indelible mark Flutie left on college football and the game in general will never be forgotten -- aside from his starring role in one of North America's greatest sporting moments, defeating the University of Houston to win the Cotton Bowl and being on the cover of Sports Illustrated on two occasions while at BC, Flutie transcended sports for making college athletics fun both in Boston and the country at large. He played the game with a combination of free-spirited ease and athletic grace; always cheering for his team and leading it with energy and intelligence.
But, even more than all that, he helped to place Boston College football on the map -- not solely through his success on the field but through his connection to the University's community. Today he remains an active and integral part of the school's community. It's hard not to be excited for BC sports when Doug Flutie is in the crowd of a men's basketball or hockey game, wearing a gold t-shirt like all the students and raucously cheering on our Eagles or playing the drums with the school's band. I can't help but think of Flutie's joyous reaction after Sean Marshall nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Florida State back in January at Conte. But, that's just who Flutie is -- both when he was a football player at Alumni Statdium or today, still, as an integral part of Boston College.
For his enthusiasm and team play alone, Flutie deserves entrance into the College Hall of Fame. His success as a quarterback didn't hurt either.
Catamount calls Chestnut Hill home now
Last year, Joe Trapani started 16 of the 26 games in which he played for Vermont and finished second on the team in scoring with 11.4 points and 4.4 boards per game on a team that went 25-8 and got invited to the NIT. While my initial instinct is to not get too excited for a 6'8" player who averaged under 5 rebounds a game in America East and only shot 40 percent overall, he was just a freshman, got injured and missed seven games and was lauded by Foxsports.com's Jeff Goodman as "one of the most sought-after transfers in the country" and there is something to be said for a student-athlete who selected BC over Providence and Michigan.
It's almost impossible to figure where and how Trapani will fit into the team as he has to sit out a full year and will not be eligible to play again until the 2008-09 season. Given how far away his first game as an Eagle is, it's difficult to even project who his teammates will be especially with three strong recruits entering as freshman in 2007-08 and the possibility of Rice leaving school after his junior year for the NBA. Nevertheless, it's good to know BC successfully swayed Trapani to select BC over schools with some great basketball traditions.
BC-USC series
If in any one season BC football plays Miami, Florida State, Southern Cal and Virginia Tech, and the team wins 10 or 11 regular season games, it would almost be impossible not to select Boston College for a BCS bowl. It looks as though that schedule will be a reality in 2011 should the contract with SC be signed. While BC has suffered from the stigma of having very few travelling fans and big-time bowls continue to overlook Boston College, the combination of integrating their schedule with arguably the nation's best program and gaining more national recognition from ACC exposure it might make selection committees more apt to be attracted to the team from The Heights.
