Green Line Rivalry

{| class="infobox" style="width: 28em; font-size: 95%;" The Green Line Rivalry, also known as the B-Line Rivalry, the Battle of Boston and Battle of Commonwealth Avenue, is the name for the sports rivalry between Boston College and Boston University. The rivalry is named after the trolley line that runs along Commonwealth Avenue and links the two schools as part of the MBTA, Boston's public transit system. The two campuses lie less than five miles apart.
 * colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 140%;" | Boston College vs. Boston University
 * align="center" style="width:14em" | Boston College text logo.gif
 * align="center" style="width:14em" |
 * colspan="2" style="text-align: center" | The Green Line Rivalry
 * colspan="2" style="text-align: center" |
 * align="left" style="width:14em" | Boston College Eagles
 * align="right" style="width:14em" | Boston University Terriers
 * colspan="2" style="text-align: center" |
 * align="left" style="width:14em" | Boston College Eagles
 * align="right" style="width:14em" | Boston University Terriers
 * align="left" style="width:14em" | Boston College Eagles
 * align="right" style="width:14em" | Boston University Terriers

The Green Line Rivalry is considered one of the top rivalries in college sports and first among college hockey rivalries. The Green Line Rivalry is the third most played college hockey rivalry series after the Michigan–Michigan State Rivalry and Battle for the Gold Pan.

History
The series dates to February 6 1918, when BU first began playing hockey, and played its lone game that year against BC, a 3-1 loss at the Boston Arena. Since then, no other opponent has appeared on either teams' schedule more often. The rivalry has been renewed annually since the 1946-47 season, and the two teams have met at least three times a year since 1949. The schools have met 258 times; BU leads the series 127-115-17.

With 18 NCAA championship game appearances between them, including a matchup in the 1978 championship game, Boston College and Boston University both field perennially competitive collegiate ice hockey teams and compete in the same league, Hockey East, having both previously been members of the ECAC. The two teams meet at least three times annually as part of their regular Hockey East season schedule and often also meet in the Hockey East and NCAA postseason tournaments. Additionally, each first and second Monday in February, BC and BU, along with Harvard and Northeastern, take part in the annual Beanpot Tournament where the Eagles and Terriers usually square off in the championship game. BU has traditionally dominated the tournament, winning the title 29 times. The Eagles and Terriers last faced each other in the championship of the 2012 Beanpot, with BC edging BU 3-2 in overtime to win their seventeenth title.

BC has won the national championship five times (1949, 2001, 2008, 2010, 2012); BU has won five times (1971, 1972, 1978, 1995, 2009). The two rivals faced off in the 1978 championship game in Providence, with BU claiming its third national championship with a 5-3 victory in Providence, RI. BU and BC have met in NCAA tournament play on one other occasion in the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament Northeast Regional Final, with the Eagles skating to a 5-0 victory over the top-seeded Terriers.

The rivalry is highlighted by its intensity and mutual contempt between both players and fans. For instance, after BU's victory over BC in the 1978 national championship, BU co-captain Jack O'Callahan was quoted as saying "We shouldn't have to beat BC for the nationals. Hell, we can do that anytime." In a 2005 Sports Illustrated article, BC senior captain Ryan Shannon said that "Every once in a while, out in a restaurant, you see familiar faces. But hockey culture is so humble. Outside the rink, you see those guys as human beings," but when the on the rink: "They're evil. They're a Terrier." Games feature an array of chants and insults chanted by each schools' students sections, the BC Superfans and BU Dog Pound.

The rivalry was amplified when on January 8, 2010, BC and BU faced off at Fenway Park, the first men's college hockey game to be played at Boston's iconic ballpark. BU edged BC 3-2 in front of a crowd of 38,000, the largest crowd to ever watch the two schools play.

A documentary about the rivalry entitled The Battle of Comm Ave. was released in 2009 by Rival Films. The documentary contains game footage and interviews with numerous players and coaches.

Game results
''Boston College victories are shaded ██ gold. Boston University victories are shaded ██ scarlet. Ties are shaded white.


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Football
"The Green Line Rivalry" originally referred to the football rivalry between the schools, a series begun in 1893 and played annually from 1928-1942 and 1954-1962. With BC leading the series 27-4-1, BU discontinued the rivalry after the 1962 season. BU eventually terminated its football program in 1997.

Game results
''Boston College victories are shaded ██ gold. Boston University victories are shaded ██ scarlet. Ties are shaded white.

Other sports
The Green Line Rivalry has also come to refer to the rivalry between BC and BU in other sports. In soccer, the two schools regularly open the season against each other with the expectation of large freshman-filled crowds.