A couple of points relative to the previous post.

First, BU could clearly have done all the things they did to support womens' athletics and improve facilities while maintaining a football team of some sort. As I noted previously, you can take all the reasons I gave, probably come up with some of your own, and find a trustee or administrator who would offer it if asked to explain things.

Second, I think the thing that still gets me irked about this whole thing is the circular logic relative to the lack of fan support. You can probably guess how hard the administration worked to improve the team's viability, and how many of them showed up to games. Throw in some of the marketing geniuses who couldn't promote grass skirts to hula dancers, and you begin to see how it works. It's easy to can a team when you've helped create the situation you've used to justify the canning.

I would be remiss to not note the one group that's apparently out there fighting for the return of football to BU. BTUFF, Boston Terriers United for Football, formed not long after the announcement to fight for the team. If you spend some time poking around their website, you can get an idea of how much sucess they've had (consider that the PDF newsletter was originally written in 1999 - was PDF even around then?).

BTUFF's main accomplishment, to me at least, was the hiring of a plane to fly over commencement every year with a banner related to bringing football back. Having not been to commencement recently, I don't know if they still do that.

You see an old and tattered BTUFF sweatshirt at hockey games now and again, but that's about it. It's safe to say that the group hasn't captured the hearts and minds of BU Nation. Whether it's a genuine lack of interest in the team or the socialist newspaper approach of the newsletter is hard to say. Publishing the high salaries of the oppressors isn't going to get the proles to wave the red flags and man the barricades, especially for football.

I hope they'll renew their initiative with the new president, but in a less strident way. It's a good time to talk about the positive benefits of a football team, not screech about the pay levels of the past. Especially if/when Goldin cleans house.