Anyone who has ever been to a Boston Terrier athletics event knows Hot Dog, one half of the America East’s most recognizable fan duo, Hot Dog and Jesus, proprietors of TheHotDogAndJesus.blogspot.com. Hot Dog, a.k.a Brian Fadem, sat down with Pipe Dream to answer questions on the Terriers, why he thinks Binghamton is a fake BU and who has the worst fans in the conference.

PD: So why a Hot Dog, why an American flag, why Jesus?

HD: Once Jesus and I both got our acceptance letters to Boston and realized we really wanted to stand out from the rest of the fans, we both dedicated our college careers to sports first, academics second. I told him I was going to wear the hot dog because I just loved how random it was. Looking back I think Jesus would have picked something else, only because that beard is such a pain in the ass and by the end of the season it smells like something terrible. I just thought it would been hilarious to wave an American flag around the entire time. Now, I have a big American flag that I hold up during the national anthem. Tons of people have thanked me for holding it up and honoring the country. I just think having an American flag adds to the complete randomness of the whole thing.

PD: So, how do other fans usually react to you guys?

HD: One reaction is to usually start shit with us right away. At UMass one fan started insulting us before he even sat down. The others are the opposing fans who love us and think we’re hilarious. They want to take pictures with us, even talk sports. Those fans are much more common in the America East than in other major conferences (the A10, CAA). BU fans appreciate us though because they know we will never miss a home game.

PD: What do you think of the whole two BU thing? Does Binghamton have any merit calling itself BU?

HD: [Laughing] I knew this question was coming. There is a reason I refer to Bing as fake BU. Just look at the URL — bu.edu versus binghamton.edu. Boston University has also been around longer and if we want to get technical we can factor in the SUNY that does come before Binghamton. In my opinion there’s only one BU and that’s Boston University.

PD: Is John Holland the Rookie of the Year? Is it close?

HD: There is no doubt in my mind John will be the Rookie of the Year. Take 38 points, 11 rebounds in the final home game, factor in five straight Rookie of the Week awards and there isn’t a contest. Holland was the best rookie this year and he’ll take the award.

PD: If you could take one player from another AE team, star or otherwise, and put him on your team, who would it be?

HD: I would take Jaye Greene even over Marqus Blakely. Greene is my least favorite player in the league only because he’s not a Terrier. He is SO good at what he does and he knows his role. As much as I hate him I can’t help but love how much hustle he displays and how much of his heart he leaves on the court every game. Plus the kid can score if he wants to but he chooses to display his passing game almost nightly. I love white guards who can get assists.

PD: What team has the worst fans in the AE?

HD: UNH. I hate UNH fans, mostly because they don’t really know what basketball is and they would rather watch NASCAR than college hoops. The worst experience I had all this year was the BU vs. UNH women’s basketball game at BU. Jesus and I were yelling “air ball-air ball-air ball-you suck” to a girl who air-balled her first shot of the game. A UNH dad came over to us and told us that we were terrible and obnoxious fans and that if we didn’t stop he was going to do something about it. He threatened us. It’s D1 basketball. Yeah, it may be women’s ball, but these girls need to take the heckling and having their fathers fight their battles is just horrible. UNH is more of a hockey school than BU is and their student-fan support isn’t there. I am just really biased against them because of that dad though.

PD: What’s the best part of America East basketball?

HD: I love the intimacy of the league. Growing up, as a fan of the Big East and Ivy League, I never knew the starting lineups for any team other than Nova or Penn. In the America East I could go through every team and tell you the starting five and their next two bench players. (Maybe not Stony Brook, but who really cares about them?)

PD: So, this year the tournament is in Binghamton, last year the tournament was in Boston. Where’s the best place to hold it?

HD: I’m actually really excited to see the Events Center. I hear it’s a great place to watch a game. I think Agganis Arena at BU is absolutely terrible for basketball. I don’t think the AE tournament should be played there again unless they switch up the seating or add floor seats behind each basket. Fake BU seems to be the best place to play — it’s probably the nicest arena in the AE, and it’s built for basketball.