We are not accusing you or Dave Hendrickson (sp?) of whining, we are very
upset with and offended by Steve Twombly for inexperienced posts which were
very obviously perceived as attacks by not only BU fans, but hockey fans
across the list (from Alaska to Maine).
 
  Accusing BU road fans of being fickle was insulting, as it came across as
a blatant attack on all BU fans in the way he referred to "BU fans running
out in the last minute removing their replica jerseys."  In the BU section,
none of us ever leave early (The rest of us would not stand for it).
 
  Many non-BU people were turned off by the immaturity of his questioning about
how one loss on the road by a reasonable score would drop BU in the polls.
He lost a lot of respect at this point because anyone who has been following
the polls (and not just looking at his/her own team) knows that, this late in
the season, one loss is not going to kill a team, especially when there is a
reasonable gap between #2 and #2.  BU did not jump up when Michigan lost to
MSU a few weeks ago, and correctly so.  BU is not as good as Michigan IMHO and
it would take a lot more than one loss to convince me otherwise.  The point is
that Steve Twombly has made it appear that he follows the list for no reason
other than his own team.  It will take a while for Steve's reputation to
recover on the list.
 
  Another point that people have made over and over again for many years is
that various polls really don't mean anything.  All that matters is what the
committee decides at the end of the year.
 
  Steve has behaved in a manner that I would term, "neuveau-winning" (from the
classic term, neuveau riche, meaning newly rich).  He is not used to being
good and wants to let the whole world know.  Trust me, the people on this
list know.  If anything, there are too many polls and rating systems in my
opinion.  We all know very well how Lowell has done in the league, outside the
league, and against what level of opponents.
 
  Personally, I feel Lowell is a very good team that should not have too much
trouble making the tourney this year (3 games over .500 was not going to do it
last year), but many of us worry about how they'll fair once there.  It APPEARS
(and I mean just in appearances) that Lowell is trying sooo hard to make the
tourney that they might not be hungry enough once they actually get there.  We
have faith they'll (you'll) do well in the HE tourney, but we are doubtful
about the NCAA's.  I do hope that I am proven wrong, as I am a very pro-HE
person, but, unfortunately, I doubt it.
 
  Lowell really was my second favorite Hockey East team (after BU of course)
and fourth favorite team overall (after RPI and Vermont).  Right now, after
feeling like I have been personally insulted by Steve, it will take a while
before I can root for Lowell again (like I did at the Garden last year).
 
  On the positive side, I have only good things to say about the Lowell fans I
have encountered.  Both at BU and at Lowell, the Lowell fans have always
conducted themselves with a high degree of class (well, as high as one can
expect at a college hockey game), better than any others I have encountered.
For now, I will assume Steve just made a mistake in his approach to this list.
I do like the imput to the list of people from Lowell (more schools the better)
and hope that you continue to post.
 
  To wrap it up, although BU played very badly for the first two periods last
Wednesday night, you should be given a lot of credit for you performance.  I
was very impressed as you made sure that BU was not able to climb out of the
whole they had dug for themselves.  You made the right saves at the right time,
especially in the third period.  Congrats and good luck to you personally.
 
See you in the Garden
 
Tony  BU'92'93
Former Ogre