2024 Beanpot: Who to Watch, What to Know

The 2024 Beanpot Tournament is underway, and history has already been made in this historic Boston sports tradition.

Before we get to this year's history-making, let's take it back to the beginning. If you don't know, the Beanpot is an annual men's and women's ice hockey tournament. Teams from the same four schools--Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern University, and Harvard University--compete each winter for the beanpot-shaped trophy and bragging rights for the upcoming year.

Last month, for the first time ever, the Women's Beanpot Championship was played at TD Garden, which has been home to the Men's Championship since 1996. Northeastern notched a 2-1 OT win over Boston University in the 45th Women's Beanpot Title Game after defeating Harvard 1-0 a week prior at Bright-Landry Hockey Center in the semifinals. You can read a recap here.

The Men's Tournament goes back a little further. The first-ever Beanpot was played at Boston Arena (Northeastern's Matthews Arena, as it's known today) on December 26, 1952. Harvard won the first tourney, defeating BC in OT in the first game and BU 7-4 in the final. 2024 marks the 71st Beanpot, as the event was cancelled in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So how does this year's iteration shape up?

The reining Beanpot Champion Northeastern Huskies are slated to face off against the Harvard Crimson in the 5 p.m. early game in the Semifinals on Monday, February 5. The No. 1-ranked Boston College Eagles will take on the No. 3-ranked Boston University Terriers in the second Semifinal game at 8 p.m. The two winning schools will play each other in the Championship Game at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, February 12.

Personally, I'm pulling for the Huskies. I'm an NU grad and have many fond memories of attending the Beanpot each year with my dad. Of course, during the years we attended, our Huskies were abysmal and we never saw them win it all. That's changed in recent years, as they've made the Championship game every year since 2018 and won four out of those five Beanpots.

It's a Boston sporting event like no other, and it's a blast to experience in person, with each school's pep band and cheering section trying to shout down the competition with cheeky chants. Get your tickets here, or, if you're not able to hit the Garden, you can watch the action on NESN or NESN 360 in New England. It's also streaming nationwide on ESPN+. Let's Go NU!

And by "worst sports fans" we're talking about the most vulgar sports fans. Let's see where Boston lands on the list.

Because of course Boston lands on the list. This should surprise no one. My two earliest sports memories involve vulgarity. As a kid, my dad took me to see the Celtics at the old Boston Garden. We were up in the balcony, and two rows in front of us was a guy with about a dozen empty beer cups stacked, shouting "LET'S GO CELTICS," followed by various profanity, at a full-throated bellow.

Then there was the New England Blazers game I went to in middle school. Remember that old lacrosse team? They played at the Worcester Centrum. I spent the night seated behind a guy named "Whitey" who was even drunker than the guy at the Celtics game. I know his name because his buddies were egging him on as he said things to the halftime entertainment that I won't repeat here.

So yeah, if by "worst" we mean "most vulgar"--and in this case, we do--Boston fans have earned that dubious distinction. Oddseeker recently published this: The Most Vulgar Fan Bases In The NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. And here's what their report had to say about Boston:

You can dig deeper in to the data here. Let's take a look and see how Boston stacks up against other vulgar cities.

Most Vulgar Fans: Washington Commanders

Most Vulgar Fans: Dallas Stars

Most Vulgar Fans: Chicago White Sox

Most Vulgar Fans: Boston Bruins

Most Vulgar Fans: Miami Dolphins

Most Vulgar Fans: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Most Vulgar Fans: Minnesota Wild

Most Vulgar Fans: Philadelphia Phillies

Most Vulgar Fans: New York Mets