Bill O'Brien Defines 'Boston College SuperFan,' Urges for Massive Turnout Against Fordham

Three points away from the Crusaders’ first win against BC since 1978, the Holy Cross faithful—and the lack of BC SuperFans with the game on the line, and the Eagles up, 31-28—made it blatantly clear which student fanbase wanted the win more.

It’s not like the Crusaders’ fanbase had anywhere to go during the two-hour, 12-minute rain delay which forced attendants to shelter due to thunder and lightning. But instead of making their way into the rafters to keep safe, Holy Cross’ students stayed in the bleachers as an assembly of football-crazed lunatics and even hopped over the protective boards to run across the field, streaking and sliding face-first across the soaking-wet turf.

It was an ugly scene for BC, which came out on top thanks to a Vinny DePalma fumble recovery but certainly did not show the kind of love that a head coach would expect of its Power-Four, Division-I football fanbase. But that was Jeff Hafley coaching the Eagles back then.

Under Bill O’Brien? He won’t have that. 

With Fordham coming to town on Saturday, an FCS team which has not played the Eagles since 1954—BC has not lost to an FCS opponent since 1978, either, when the team went 0-11—the Holy Cross game should serve as a blunt reminder to BC’s SuperFans that while it’s not Clemson or Notre Dame, O’Brien and the football program still expects its students to show up.

"If you call yourself a SuperFan, here’s what a SuperFan is,” O’Brien said following Tuesday’s gameweek practice. “You show up early, half an hour before the game, and you stay for the whole game. You get your homework done so you can set aside four hours on Saturday to be at the games."

While that is usually the norm for college football student fanbases at most FBS-level, Power-Four schools, BC has notoriously fostered an environment of late-arrival, early-departure individuals who prioritize the tailgating experience over the actual football itself.

O’Brien got a taste of this trend last season, and he doesn’t expect to change the direction of students’ agendas on gameday with every word he says about the topic like almighty God himself.

But he is tired of the critics who blame the team and head coach for its lack of student support, so he’s leaving it up to the students this time to change the narrative, because they are the only ones in control of that. Afterall, his job is the football part.

“I just want people to be there early and stay throughout the game,” O’Brien said. “I can’t make anybody do that, but I think we have a great opportunity here to support a team that’s worked very hard. We’ve gotta go out there and play well. I say that all the time. We have to give them a lot to cheer for.”

This weekend, as freshmen made early arrivals to campus for their first weekend on the Heights, Bill O’Brien specifically addressed the class of 2029 with this exact message, hoping to construct a BC following which can hopefully outlast the fans of an opponent like Fordham, which went 2-10 and ranked second-to-last in the Patriot League.

This is a moment for the Eagles’ brass, the ones who call themselves “Sickos” and “defenders of the ‘Nut,” to set the tone for this season and show that even against a meager opponent like the Rams, they will bring the energy.

“That’s really what a SuperFan is, and we have great fans,” O’Brien said. “I love our student body and they helped us win a bunch of games at home last year. No doubt about it. But I want 9,000 [undergraduates] at the game. I think that would go a long way to helping us win games.”

For more information about Saturday's BC football season opener against Fordham...

• 2025 Boston College Football Early Opponent Preview, Week 1: Fordham

• How to Watch: Boston College Football vs Fordham; Full Week 1 TV Schedule

Posted by All Things Boston College on Tuesday, August 26, 2025