LICHTENBERG: Hockey's got too big a slice

Have you ever been to a BU softball game? Has anyone?

According to the athletics website, exactly 350 people have seen the softball team play at BU Softball Field this season - an average of 52 fortunate guests.

Is there a V.I.P. list I have to sneak my way onto to get into these games?

Some students might feel that way. As good as the softball team is this year, I think the marketing department might disagree with the idea of the softball team turning fans away at the door.

After doing some research, the attendance numbers seem to overshadow the team's actual success, a theme that never seems to get old around campus.

And it doesn't stop at the fences of the softball field.

Nine sports take attendance at BU home games, yet the men's hockey team packs Agganis Arena for every home game, comprising over 71 percent of BU's total sports attendance. For the mathematically challenged, this means the other eight sports combine for just 29 percent of our attendance -- though they also attract far fewer non-students. In the 82 documented home games outside of men's hockey during the 2007-08 academic year, these eight teams managed to bring in fewer spectators than half that of the hockey team.

Your typical BU sports fan is an interesting one. He or she owns a hockey jersey, and once contemplated buying the other jersey at the BU bookstore that was rumored to be the hockey team's alternate sleeveless jersey. Unfortunately, he or she couldn't figure out why a No. 22 jersey was being sold since Jason Lawrence switched his number to 21 this season.

That description was a bit of an exaggeration. Even the most apathetic hockey fan knows BU would never waste its money making Jason Lawrence jerseys.

The enthusiasm for hockey at BU is more than anyone can ask for, and the numbers speak for themselves. Hockey fans show such dedication to their team that it seems unlikely their spirit wouldn't overflow into other sports.

The University of Maine, a hockey school similar in athletic excellence to BU, surprisingly averaged 2,077 fans at each women's basketball home game despite the Black Bears' 7-23 record last season. The Terriers managed 20 wins this year, yet saw over 1,700 fewer fans than Maine. To the many people who criticize BU for only having strong women's sports, perhaps they could learn a lesson in spirit from the fans in Orono.

Many fans at BU are quick to dismiss their own absence at sporting events as the team's fault for not competing at a high level. While the hockey team certainly competes against the best in the nation, they are never the only Terrier team vying for a national championship.

When some of the more successful teams on campus - such as lacrosse and field hockey - beat a ranked opponent on their home field, the celebration usually stays on the field. No, I am not referring to my senior-year goal of storming the floor of a sporting event, but rather how there are no students there to enjoy the success of the smaller sports.

Of course, the question remains: Do fans withhold their attendance at games due to a lack of team success and competition, or does the unappealing environment stemming from lackluster fan support set a team up for failure? This kind of chicken and the egg argument may never be answered.

Unfortunately, BU has dug its own grave. The focus on hockey leaves little enthusiasm left for any other sport on campus. I hate to see BU drop varsity programs, but when my nutrition lecture has better attendance than a team's home game, it is hard to justify that team's existence.

Contrary to popular belief, the few fans who have ever ventured to other sporting events at BU did indeed live to tell about it. It would be nice to have a few more of these near-death experiences.

Ross Lichtenberg, a sophomore in Sargent College, is a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. He can be reached at rossl@bu.edu.