Despite Hard Work, "Screaming Eagles" Not Invited to Bowl Game

By Robert Rosen

The Boston College “Screaming Eagles” Marching Band was told on December 9, that they would not be going to the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco that will be played on December 26, against the University of Southern California.

The BC Athletic Department said that, while financial considerations were a part of this decision, the main reason was the proximity of the Emerald Bowl to Christmas.

Jack Dunn, a spokesman for Boston College, told the Boston Globe, “Given the timing of the bowl, over the Christmas weekend, the decision was made so as not to impose on band members to miss Christmas with their families,” Dunn said.

The explanation that the game is too close to Christmas doesn’t make sense based on BC’s past participation in Bowl Games, especially when you take in to account the fact that teams generally fly out to their Bowl Game’s destination five days or more prior to the game to participate in various functions and activities. BC played in the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando on December 28, 2007, meaning the team arrived in Orlando on the 23rd at the latest, which means the team spent Christmas together. In 2006, BC played in Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte on December 30th, meaning the football team probably left the Boston area on Christmas. And while there are many other examples from this decade, my personal favorite is the Jeep Aloha Bowl played in 2000…on Christmas! So to use the fact that the “Screaming Eagles” can’t travel to the Emerald Bowl because of its proximity to Christmas is a bunch of you know what.

The excuse about the financial considerations is completely bogus as well because, according to the Boston College Athletic Website, the Athletic Department received a record $21 million in donations in 2008. This amount is significantly higher than the $3.6 million the Athletic Department received just ten years earlier in 1998. BC will also receive $750,000 for their football team’s participation in the Emerald Bowl. BC gave 272 students athletic scholarships this year totally slightly less than $14 million and, while there are several non-revenue producing sports, the ACC school will receive earnings from the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament (provided they are selected to participate) as well as some hockey events, such as the Beanpot.

The BC Marching Band was founded in 1919 and currently has over 180 members. In most years not every member has traveled to Bowl Games, although the entire band did travel to Orlando in 2007. Supposedly at least 30-40 band members are sent to Bowl Games each year, including each of the last 10 Bowl appearances the Eagles have made. Typically the Dance Team also travels to Bowl Games with the Marching Band to perform with them, something Boston College’s own website doesn’t say otherwise. “All members typically attend one predetermined away football game and any of the post season games (e.g. ACC championship or a bowl game) with the full Marching Band,” it reads on the Dance Team’s page on the athletic website. I believe I just read something about the Marching Band and Dance Team going to ANY postseason game or Bowl Game.

College is supposed to be more than just studying and taking tests; it’s supposed to be about growing as a person and learning about life out in the world to better yourself in order to fully reach your potential by experiencing as much as you can in what is a small period of your lifetime. But I’d say that there are people in the Boston College administration who don’t care about giving the “Screaming Eagles” and the Dance Team the full college experience that they have certainly worked hard to earn. There’s a Pep Rally the morning of the Emerald Bowl and, although the Trojans don’t have to travel as far as the Eagles to get to San Francisco, their band will be out there in full force. Who’s going to represent Boston College?