Boston College Athletics
Tri-State Area Eagles Excited for Holidays
December 12, 2014 | Football
Wide receiver Dan Crimmins is one of the many Eagles who will be heading home for Christmas.
The trip home isn't a break or for relaxing, however. Crimmins and his BC teammates will be suiting up to take the field in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl against Penn State on December 27 ... at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.
Crimmins, a product of Closter, N.J., grew up just 20 minutes from the venerable stadium.
In the days leading up to the bowl announcement, Boston College didn't have any idea of where it would end up.
At 7-5 on the season, the Eagles knew they were eligible for one of the Atlantic Coast Conference's Tier One bowls, but factors around college football could affect where they'd end up.
Pinstripe Bowl? Sun Bowl in El Paso? Military Bowl in Annapolis? All were thrown around by pundits as possible destinations.
While the team was excited to have qualified for a bowl game for the second time in as many seasons, Crimmins knew where he wanted to play the final game of his junior season.
"The opportunity to play at Yankee Stadium - a stadium I grew up going to as a little kid - I knew that's where I wanted to go," Crimmins said.
Crimmins is one of many BC players who hail from the Tri-State area and who are excited for the opportunity to play in front of friends and family in their final game of 2014.
When head coach Steve Addazio walked in to the team room on Sunday, December 7, to inform the Eagles of their postseason destination, his news was met with overwhelming enthusiasm.
"When we found out, I went nuts," Crimmins said. "I was so happy. My family and friends are going to be able to see me play and it was just an amazing feeling."
The Eagles have the chance to improve upon their 2013 record with a win against the Nittany Lions. The victory would move them to 8-5 on the season, the team's first eight-win season since 2009.
"It's been a journey, especially this year. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but to end the season 20 minutes from where I live, with all my family in the stands? I mean, that's the best Christmas present I could ever ask for.
"Just to spend Christmas in New York with my teammates, there is nothing better than that."
