BOSTON, MA – DECEMBER 19: Denzel Valentine #45 of the Michigan State Spartans passes the ball by Quincy Ford #12 and David Walker #4 of the Northeastern Huskies in the second half on December 19, 2015 at the Matthews Arena in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
The oldest multipurpose athletic building in America is about to meet the wrecking ball. In anticipation, some Matthews Arena memories.
I'm Adam 12, Executive Producer of the Toucher & Hardy show, weekday mornings on the Sports Hub. I'm a Husky, Class of '95. I ended up at Northeastern University back in the mid-to-late '90s because they were the only school that offered me any money.
How did I get that cash, you ask? I auditioned for and received a music scholarship. It worked like this: NU paid half of my freshman year tuition; the most expensive year. In exchange, I played trombone in the Jazz Band, Concert Band, and Pep Band. Good deal.
Matthews Arena Memories: Home Losses
The Pep Band played at NU Men’s Basketball and Hockey home games, so I spent quite a bit of time at Matthews during my freshman year. And I played the Bass Cheer during a lot of really lousy games.
Men’s Hockey went 10-21-5 and—of course—didn’t win the Beanpot. Men’s Hoops went 4-24. Abysmal. But that disaster of a Men's Basketball season did end up giving me my main Matthews memory.
For one of that season’s out-of-division matchups, the Huskies hosted the Blue Devils. Sold-out game. Tons of Duke fans in the house. Tons of Duke fans surrounding the Pep Band.
The game got out of hand in the first half. The crowd got out of hand, too. A pair of Duke fans decided me and my fellow trombonist Danny were worthy of ridicule. They were really letting us have it. So we did what any reasonable student musicians in our position would do.
We politely asked the ushers to escort them out of the Arena.
Matthews Arena Memories: Kick Out the Jerks
I’ve never seen grown men as angry as these two. “You can’t kick us out!” “We paid for these seats” “Do you know how much it cost to fly up here and book a hotel?” All of that and more, punctuated with a flood of expletives. Sure, the Huskies lost to Duke. But those Duke fans were the biggest losers of all.
So many Matthews Arena moments and memories to be grateful for over the last 115 years. I’m most grateful for their top-notch ushering crew that season. It's a shame they'll have to knock the whole place down. I might have slink by and see if I can make off with a brick or two.
