“Underground” Hockey

In the United States, the sport of ice hockey seems to be disappearing as fast as the ice melts in July. However, you wouldn’t know it if you were attending a college ice hockey game. At Boston University, student season tickets always sell out, and the demand for single game tickets was in such high demand they instituted “standing room only” tickets. At the University of Minnesota, they had to create a lottery for single game tickets because students were skipping class and getting sick waiting in line outside the ticket office. Sometimes camping out in sub-freezing temperatures. Even the University of Nebraska-Omaha, a new comer to the world of college hockey, sells out every game. During the game, the student sections are filled with drunk students and everyone is standing except for in-between the periods. Even if a student is from Alabama, and doesn’t know why there are so many lines on the ice, or what a “zamboni” is, they are cheering for their team, most of the time losing their voices. The heated rivalry between Boston University and Boston College creates a Michigan-Ohio State type feel at the games. The BU students scream “F*** ‘Em Up, F*** ‘Em Up, BC sucks!” which is followed by “Safety School! Safety School!” out of the mouths of BC students. In the world of college sports, ice hockey is the best-kept secret.