Good point Karen!
 
Now, Although I've only been attending college games in Boston for three
years now, I can certainly verify that the FlletCenter seemed dead
compared to the Garden.  Granted, I was in Row 14 of the balcony (there
are only 15 rows), but with the exception of when a goal was scored, the
place really seemed quiet.  One reason is probably that, though the
attendance was announced as a sellout of 17,000+ many fans of Harvard
and/or Northeastern probably left after the first game.  As I lloked
around during BU-BC, I noticed many sections with empty seats scattered
about.
 
        The most likely reason I would imagine is the acoustics of the
place.  Sitting across the ice from the BU band, I would have thought
that they would have sounded louder.  But BU fans in the balcony
constantly seemed to have a difficult time clapping in time with the
band.  Either people have lousy timing, or nobody else could hear the
band either.
 
        Anyway, the point is that I hope that the Beanpot is not losing
its appeal to fans of college hockey.  The contests that took place in
the Garden always seemed to be very loud, even when the place was not
full.  People really enjoyed the uniqueness of college hockey in the
Garden.  Hopefully the move to the FleetCenter will not take away from
the character of the Beanpot tournament.  I certainly hope that the
reason the FleetCenter was quiet was simply an acoustical problem.
 
Tom Fortier
BU '97
 
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