A Party on The Roof

by Sam Tabachnik

There’s noise, and then there is NOISE. The BU basketball season kicked off with a bang Friday night at a packed Case Gymnasium for the 2009 Terrier Tip-Off. Raucous Terrier fans entered just after 8:30 p.m. and the energy was palpable. Lights, cameras, action: it was a red carpet event on steroids. Think about everything you know about basketball and turn it on its head. Rhett, the BU mascot, helping WTBU set up its camera tripod; band members boogying to the beat, displaying why they play instruments seated in the stands. The crowd cheering and jumping in a frenzy.


Boston’s Best Dance Crew, Status Quo, began the night with a series of mind-blowing dance routines that bordered on dangerous. Performing cult classics “Barbie Girl’ and “Soulja Boy” they had the crowd on its feet from the get go. “How long can he stand on his head” was a phrase actually circulating around the press tables. Human bodies are not meant to move like that.

After a brief performance by the BU Drum Line, the women’s team was introduced. The players sauntered down the aisles sporting black sunglasses and an infectious verve that had even the most casual fan ruining his vocal cords in the name of women’s basketball. Awkward chest bumps and high-fives followed as the team seemed genuinely excited for the start of their season.

Naturally, the only way to proceed from here was a game of leapfrog featuring members of the women’s team and BU dancers. A confusing array of diving, sliding and hopping ensued with the crowd searching to understand the meaning behind this bizarre relay race. The men’s squad was seated on their bench smiling uncomfortably as they witnessed six foot tall women slithering clumsily under human arches. Ladies and Gentleman, your 2009 Terrier Tip-off!

The women then competed in a more conventional three-point shooting contest with sophomore Alex Young (’12) outshooting junior Kat Briggs (’11) 7-6.