15. Chapter 15
Harrison and Rickles Discuss Family and Team Loyalty
With two future Boston Bruins stars entering their final season with us at BU, the Bruins fans are keeping a close eye on this season. I talked with Leo Harrison and Shawn Rickles about the pressure of having fans turning out for them before they’re even officially on the team.
“I’m used to being surrounded by Bruins fans,” Harrison says.
“Remember, I grew up around these people, I am one of them. Hell, if I hadn’t been drafted by the Bruins, I might have had a hard time rooting for my own team.
” Harrison may joke about his own loyalties, but anyone who knows him knows he would have been loyal to whichever team scooped him up.
His father is another story though. “My dad actually said he’d root against me if I was on a team that played the Bruins, so I guess if I’m ever traded, we’ll see where his loyalties really are.
My dad’s love of the Bruins runs pretty deep. ”
Rickles, however, is already living Harrison’s worst nightmare: he and his family are loyal Vancouver fans.
“I grew up cheering for the Canucks in Canada,” Rickles says.
“Harrison is living the dream, being drafted by his favorite team. I’ve had three years to get used to the idea of playing for the Bruins and I’m still struggling with it.
I figure I can cheer for Vancouver whenever it doesn’t negatively impact the Bruins. That’s how I’m getting by.”
As for his parents, they’re loyal converts already. “My parents have more Bruins gear than Vancouver gear now. They jumped ship in an instant,” he says, laughing. “Apparently, they have no team loyalty but a hell of a lot of loyalty to me, so I’ll take it.”
When asked if future love interests would need to be Bruins fans, Rickles says he’s fine with someone who’s just willing to tolerate his intense schedule. “They should probably like hockey enough to watch a lot of it,” he adds. “But loyalty to me is more important than loyalty to my team.”
How sweet. You heard it here first folks, Rickles just wants someone to love him despite the intense lifestyle he’s about to immerse himself in.
And who could blame him? Hooking up with hockey players in college is one thing, friends, but dating them long term?
Take a look at how many games they play a year before you jump into a relationship.
When asked the same question, Harrison, evasive as ever, simply asked me if I was willing to be a Bruins fan, as if my response would at all impact his answer.
That Leo Harrison is a charmer, as if all the ladies didn’t already know that.
And for the record, I could become a fan if I even remotely understood the sport and had a good reason to be one.