Chestnut Hill: Where Eagles soar in fall
"College GameDay" cranks into gear as Florida State sets its sights on Boston College
Rick Stewart /AllsportAlumni Stadium is small, yet it packs a roar on Saturdays as tailgaters pull out kielbasa and lobster.Boston College is one of a few dozen institutions that make Boston one of the country's best college towns. What some don't realize is how things athletic mix so fervently with things academic. Even the smartest are into hockey, lacrosse and racing on the Charles River.
BC's gorgeous campus in Chestnut Hill, the quiet leafy suburb west of the center, sees fewer visitors than some campuses, and some visiting ACC fans gently mock its wee stadium (44,500 capacity), but it packs a roar on fall Saturdays, when tailgaters pull out kielbasa and fresh lobster. It is also a place you can shop up last-minute and almost always manage to get a $37 seat.
"College GameDay" joins the scene in Chestnut Hill on Saturday as Florida State faces the Eagles at Alumni Stadium.
Why go
Everyone talks about Harvard, but Boston College -- actually not in Boston, nor a college -- as a day's itinerary out of central Boston makes for a fun outing, particularly when it centers around one of its teams (hockey and basketball are at least as big as football).
Chestnut Hill, between Brighton and Newton (of Fig Newton fame), is easily reached by the T, Boston's public transportation system. And its nice campus has just enough life to occupy the hours before and after kickoff. Though many just head to Brighton, a working-class area just east, for the bars.
Away from football, Boston can easily fill several days. A perfect one might include a look at Harvard's campus, a walk around the Freedom Trail and a pint of Guinness in one of the many Irish pubs. The timing's right now. Crisp October just happens to be the city's best month: the student scenes of the many universities are buzzing and tree-lined streets turn a shade of orange, gold and amber.
More for the road
Explore more of Boston with two new Lonely Planet guidebooks: a full city guide and a pocket-size Encounter guide. Or, if you're going to chase fall foliage around the region, New England Trips, with 53 itineraries, including downloadable chapters, might be a good resource.
Five must-sees in Boston
- • Walking the Freedom Trail, a 2.5-mile signed walk connecting 16 of Boston's greatest revolutionary-era sites, including the 50-acre Boston Common. Note that one of the trail's founders is a BC grad.
- • Biking the 8.6-mile Charles River Bike Loop, over stone bridges, past esplanades and grassy banks and sculler rallies.
- • Visiting Harvard University in Cambridge and eating or drinking at Harvard Square.
- • Toe-tapping at Club Passim, a half-century-old folk-music setting, where Joan Baez once introduced a shy Bob Dylan.
- • Drinking beer -- there's much more than Sam Adams to sample.
- • "My earliest memories were at BC football games. We'd go regardless of weather and winning percentages. Some people say it looks like a high school field, but there's good football played up here." -- Philip Sullivan, third-generation BC alum
- • "Football games bring all those ACC fans from there, but they'll come back for everything else. In their towns -- Raleigh, Clemson -- there's nothing really to do but football. Everything evaporates once all the ribs are eaten." -- Dave Nugent, nose guard for the Eagles (1983 to 1986; aka the Doug Flutie years)
Seeing the game
Tickets for Saturday's game -- a "gold out" (all BC fans are wearing gold, not to be confused with Florida State's helmets) -- at Boston College's Alumni Stadium are still available from the university from $37 each.
If you're coming from other parts of Boston, consider coming by the T (Boston's public transit system). It's $2 for a one-way ride on the B, C or D green lines. Otherwise, those without season parking passes will need to head to the Needham satellite lot, about four miles from campus. Click here for directions. Frequent shuttles connect the lot with the stadium.
Did you know?
Boston College's Alumni Stadium was once the home to the Boston Patriots, back when the New England Patriots were named for a city and played in the AFL.
What locals say
Game-day planner
Boston College is in Chestnut Hill, about five miles west of downtown Boston. If you drive, go early enough to catch a big breakfast at Johnny's Luncheonette, a classic diner in Newton Center, a mile west of campus. If you're coming by the T (and it's better to), you could take a cab out there. Finish in time to get back to Campus Green to see "College GameDay" from 10 a.m. to noon.
Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m., so there's not much time to spare. Students fill pregame hours tailgating in the Mods -- '70s-era upperclassmen student housing -- but you typically can't access it without student ID (or a friend inside). But you can join the tailgate scene around Alumni Stadium, such as at Shea Field, a baseball field. Only those with parking passes (generally, boosters and season-ticket holders) can park, but all are free to roam and pawn beers.
The BC campus lacks a "strip." Many students go east along Beacon Street, on the south side of the Chestnut Hill Reservoir (just east of campus), to Cleveland Circle in Brighton -- a residential suburb where the T stations for the C and D lines are, as well as a few bars, pizza shops and convenience stores.
Mary Ann's is BC's most infamous dive, with beer-sopped floors and just-turned-21 students clutching plastic cups of cheap beer. Meanwhile, it's a cult-like rite of passage to stomach a two-and-a-half-pound burger at Eagles Deli. Portions are more polite at City Side Bar & Grill, the area's nicest bar, with many TVs to watch games, good burgers and pizza, and a roof deck.
If you want to do something other than drink, the McMullen Museum of Art, on campus, is running an interesting exhibit of illustrations made by artist-reporters during the Civil War. If you have kids, finish with FunFest, a free, indoor event with games and all sorts of activities at the campus Recreation Center (next to Alumni Stadium).
Sure, the stadium here is little compared to Florida State's, but it can get loud. When BC scores, listen in to your neighbors to see if they can remember all the words of the Eagles' complex fight song "For Boston!" After the game, the team and its fans sing "Hail Alma Mater," win or lose.
"Actually it's just the players and old alums who graduated before '65 who know the words," said one post-1965 alum.
For the evening, take a cab over the Charles River to the restaurant/bar scene at Harvard Square -- where janitor Will Hunting queried one student about his liking apples in "Good Will Hunting" -- or stick in the hood. Corrib Pub, about 15 walkable blocks north of Cleveland Circle, is a modern Irish bar, with Irish speakers, good food and BC fans crowding the long bar to watch the Miami-Oklahoma game.
Sports enthusiast calendar
Friday: The Red Sox play the Indians at Fenway Park at 7:10 p.m.
Saturday: "College GameDay" kicks off at Boston College's Campus Green at 10 a.m. Kickoff at Alumni Stadium against Florida State is 3:30 p.m. The Red Sox play the Indians at 7:10 p.m.
Sunday: The Patriots host the Ravens at 1 p.m. in Foxborough. The Red Sox finish their regular season against the Indians at 1:35 p.m.
HOME-FIELD ADVENTURE
