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Chicago has 2 major league baseball teams. Cubs and White Sox (seems forgotten here) with Wrigley Field as a Top tourist attraction and tours too. Major league Soccer.... Chicago has the - Chicago Fire. It is also getting a new soccer stadium for a NEW United Soccer League and stadium near downtown, with a yet unnamed team for 2020.
The lack of coverage dedicated to BC's win over #1 Duke the other day has been pitiful. Ted Sarandis was the former BC basketball radio announcer and a former call-in host at WEEI. While a bit eccentric at times, I think some of his mentions of conspiracies by the city's elite media types to form agendas that intentionally put college sports on the back burner in this town, have a lot of merit. College football and basketball only slightly rose above the bottom rung when BC shocked #1 UNC with Stackhouse and Wallace years back, and during the Doug Flutie days at BC. Even UMass basketball during the Calipari days was treated lukewarmly.
The lack of coverage dedicated to BC's win over #1 Duke the other day has been pitiful. Ted Sarandis was the former BC basketball radio announcer and a former call-in host at WEEI. While a bit eccentric at times, I think some of his mentions of conspiracies by the city's elite media types to form agendas that intentionally put college sports on the back burner in this town, have a lot of merit. College football and basketball only slightly rose above the bottom rung when BC shocked #1 UNC with Stackhouse and Wallace years back, and during the Doug Flutie days at BC. Even UMass basketball during the Calipari days was treated lukewarmly.
I think you have to look at how those colleges interact with Boston and Massachusetts at large.
BC is a very insular institution and today about 75% of students are from out of state so nobody is really invested in the school, and they purposely lock out the community compared to other schools. Even Harvard does things like host the MLL team, local swim meets etc. while BC has nothing to do with anyone outside their alumni bubble. This few outside the BC ecosystem care.
UMass is smaller than UConn despite being in a state 2x larger. So being a "Flagship State U" isn't quite the same as in other states. On top of that UMA is more a Springfield thing than a Boston thing. However when UMass Amherst is competitive they do make more waves than a BC team.
I think you have to look at how those colleges interact with Boston and Massachusetts at large.
BC is a very insular institution and today about 75% of students are from out of state so nobody is really invested in the school, and they purposely lock out the community compared to other schools. Even Harvard does things like host the MLL team, local swim meets etc. while BC has nothing to do with anyone outside their alumni bubble. This few outside the BC ecosystem care.
UMass is smaller than UConn despite being in a state 2x larger. So being a "Flagship State U" isn't quite the same as in other states. On top of that UMA is more a Springfield thing than a Boston thing. However when UMass Amherst is competitive they do make more waves than a BC team.
It's not a conspiracy.
UConn is not bigger than Umass.
People in Boston care about college hockey. That's it. When it's convenient, or a team like BC is ranked in football, people pay attention, but that't about all you can say.
I do think that the climate plays well for pro teams, which is partially why it's such a dedicated city.
I get that even state institutions in the northeast don't create the fervor they do in other regions when it comes to hysteria over college athletic teams. But something always has been odd about Boston, whether we're talking about BC, or UMass, a state school. If Boston College is ranked #1 in football late in the year (like they almost were about 10 years ago when Mat Ryan was the QB), is it too much to ask on a 24 hours sports radio network to dedicate a little airtime and not meander on and on about unsubstantiated baseball trade rumors in the off-season, or for the one millionth time, bringing up Tom Brady's questionable supplement business?
I mean c'mon something new folks- and current- and on the field? Ted Sarandis in fact called out his very own employer, WEEI, regarding his "conspiracy" (perhaps why he is a former employee now). He could be over the top at times, but in this case, it is more believable all the time. No reason that hours after BC beat Duke, it was relegated to the end of a local sportscast, behind non-current sports information i.e 24 hour old Celtic highlights, and who the Bruins are going to play in a few hours). Its not asking much to feature a BC win for one sportscast, when its against #1 Duke a few miles away. Also, when Duke is referred to as not #1 Duke, but rather "top-seeded" Duke, it makes you wonder how competent some in the local sports media are.
I get that even state institutions in the northeast don't create the fervor they do in other regions when it comes to hysteria over college athletic teams. But something always has been odd about Boston, whether we're talking about BC, or UMass, a state school. If Boston College is ranked #1 in football late in the year (like they almost were about 10 years ago when Mat Ryan was the QB), is it too much to ask on a 24 hours sports radio network to dedicate a little airtime and not meander on and on about unsubstantiated baseball trade rumors in the off-season, or for the one millionth time, bringing up Tom Brady's questionable supplement business?
I mean c'mon something new folks- and current- and on the field? Ted Sarandis in fact called out his very own employer, WEEI, regarding his "conspiracy" (perhaps why he is a former employee now). He could be over the top at times, but in this case, it is more believable all the time. No reason that hours after BC beat Duke, it was relegated to the end of a local sportscast, behind non-current sports information i.e 24 hour old Celtic highlights, and who the Bruins are going to play in a few hours). Its not asking much to feature a BC win for one sportscast, when its against #1 Duke a few miles away. Also, when Duke is referred to as not #1 Duke, but rather "top-seeded" Duke, it makes you wonder how competent some in the local sports media are.
Sports media in Boston is in bed with the professional organizations. That's been largely criticized over and over again in town. The popularity of college sports is likely deemed a nuisance at the top, and there could definitely be a situation where, say, the Krafts elbow 98.5 to stay focused on pro sports. Who knows.
I do see a lot of the same issues out here in Chicago. Northwestern is an afterthought. The only time you hear anything about local college sports is when someone pledges allegiance to Notre Dame. You wouldn't even know UofI had a football team.
Sports media in Boston is in bed with the professional organizations. That's been largely criticized over and over again in town. The popularity of college sports is likely deemed a nuisance at the top, and there could definitely be a situation where, say, the Krafts elbow 98.5 to stay focused on pro sports. Who knows.
I do see a lot of the same issues out here in Chicago. Northwestern is an afterthought. The only time you hear anything about local college sports is when someone pledges allegiance to Notre Dame. You wouldn't even know UofI had a football team.
The fair amount of time in Chicago that I spent, I didn't get the Notre Dame football infatuation by some. It definitely existed. I've heard some speak of the same thing in Boston because of the large population of Irish descent, but honestly to this day, I've never noticed any interest for Notre Dame football, nor any other college football program within the New England region.
The fair amount of time in Chicago that I spent, I didn't get the Notre Dame football infatuation by some. It definitely existed. I've heard some speak of the same thing in Boston because of the large population of Irish descent, but honestly to this day, I've never noticed any interest for Notre Dame football, nor any other college football program within the New England region.
Isn't it funny that in Boston, Irish folks are so prideful of their family heritage that they will like a team simply because of the moniker?
In Texas, a good amount of folks don't even know the origins of their last name. It's not even a thought.
Anyways, ND does dominate the landscape in the Boston area. But even still, there's not a huge following. If it wasn't for the massive gambling rings in Boston's underworld, I'm not sure anyone would even watch college football.
If there is one sport that Boston lags other cities in its Football. Football is a 3 day affair in most of the country. Friday is for HS, Saturday is College, and Sunday is Pro, in Boston it's Sunday afternoon and that's it. Football is not all consuming like in the rest of the country.
according to us-news-world-report, mass is one of the fittest states. people are fairly active in running 5-k's, 10-k's, rec league, cyo, y-leagues, bay state games, ... growing up, maybe 1/3rd of the adults i knew were involved in some amature sports league.
i think pennsylvania and illinois are somewhat high on the list for obesity. are rec leagues popular there ?
Of course, rec leagues are popular.
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