Boston College: Who’s Been Nice?

Yesterday, we helped heat some homes by handing out lumps of coal to those who were naughty in 2011. Today, we find those who in the BC sports realm who were nice. Those who are deserving will earn presents; to explain the scale, turn your attention to this:

Without further ado:

Boston College-related

• Luke Kuechly. This goes without explaining, but I’m going to explain it anyway. Kuechly was everyman for Boston College football this year, carrying the defense on his back and setting team and conference records in the process. He had an amazing 2011 season and his trophy haul attests to that.

I don’t have a particular measure of optimism with regards to him staying, though I do acknowledge it is a possibility, and certainly one BC fans would like to see. Whatever the case may be, had I done this award all three years he has played here, he’d be getting a mention each time. He has been a tremendous face for the program and will do well at the next level, whenever he decides to go there.

• The Heights. Our student newspaper deserves quite a bit of credit for how they have handled themselves this season. They, a group of college students, have been the only print sources of dissent and critical thinking with regards to Boston College sports, particularly football. Where the “professional” media failed this year is where The Heights rose to the task, not accepting excuses at face value and questioning decision-makers on their own campus.

They were the voices of many students and alumni this year, as they are every year, offering a truthful, reasonable alternative to the off-campus local media.

• The rest of the BC blogosphere. It was a rough football season, no doubt. For myself, I know that I was under plenty of fire (and still am, by the way), but so too were many of the other BC blogs. BC Interruption, BC Draft, Eagle in Atlanta, Around the Res, and Heights and Lows stuck together and were unafraid to call it like they saw it.

I have to take this opportunity to give them credit for their straight-forwardness and what they’ve contributed to the discussion this year.

• Chris Kreider and Brian Dumoulin. Thanks for coming back this year, guys!

• The women’s hockey team. Congratulations are in order, as earlier this year, they made their second Frozen Four in program history. Even though the year didn’t end the way we wanted it to, it was still noteworthy and a job well done.

• Steve Donahue and Donahue’s Disciples. The coach and this student-run group are working hard to try to change the culture around Boston College basketball. When I was a student there, I could remember the games where there would be 30 students in the student section. Now, even though we haven’t seen the numbers tick upwards quite yet, they’re working hard to building enthusiasm for the program.

It’s a nice goal for certain. Whenever you watch other college basketball games from other schools, you see their arenas full and their student sections packed. I always wonder when that will be us. These men and women are trying to make it happen. Support them.