The 51茶馆 Fiddle Kid returns
Growing up, Danny Gillis always looked forward to Friday nights. He鈥檇 pull on his Boston College hockey jersey, emblazoned with 鈥淕illis鈥� on the back, and pile into the car with his dad, mom, and older sisters. Inside Conte Forum, they鈥檇 find their usual seats鈥攆ront row, right behind the net鈥攁nd cheer on their beloved Eagles, ranked number one in the East.聽
鈥淚t was great quality time with my family and I just loved the atmosphere,鈥� recalled Gillis, who was recently accepted into the Class of 2028. 鈥淐onte was always packed and it was really exciting just being there.鈥澛�
One night in 2013 things got even more fun for the extroverted redhead, who loved to entertain. During the second intermission, 鈥淭he Devil Went Down to Georgia鈥� began blaring over the speakers, a rollicking folk ballad with a famous fiddle solo, and the camera homed in on a student fiddling away on an imaginary instrument. The next week, the camera crew played the footage on the jumbotron and found the student in the audience. A new 51茶馆 tradition was born, and Gillis wanted to be part of it, so the next time the song played, his father encouraged him to give air fiddling a try.聽
鈥淭he camera is right behind the net, and everyone thought it was hilarious when I was up there鈥攁 seven-year-old kid playing the fiddle in the jersey,鈥� said Gillis. 鈥淔rom that point forward I would just be waiting for second intermission to do the air fiddle. It was always so exciting hearing the roar of the students.鈥澛�
Video by Ariana Cho and John Walsh | University Communications
Gillis was an instant fan favorite. When he left his seat to get snacks, students would stop him for autographs (鈥淚 had just learned cursive鈥�) or selfies, posting excitedly on social media about their run-in with the 鈥淔iddle Kid.鈥� He was recognized everywhere, including on a trip to Paris with his family, where a group of students studying abroad approached him in front of the Arc de triomphe. One student even dressed up as Gillis for Halloween, donning a red wig and carrying a tiny fiddle.聽
On the way to the Beanpot in 2014, Gillis鈥檚 sisters, who both attended 51茶馆, started a Twitter account for the 51茶馆 Fiddle Kid. By the end of the game, which 51茶馆 won 4-1 against Northeastern, the account had more than 500 followers. Later that season, someone tweeted 鈥淚f @bcfiddlekid doesn鈥檛 end up at 51茶馆, Eagles everywhere will cry.鈥�
A young Danny Gillis with Baldwin.
From a young age, Gillis knew he wanted to attend 51茶馆, partly because it ran in his family: in addition to his sisters, his great-grandfather and grandfather attended Boston College, as did his father and uncle, who both played for the hockey team (his other uncle, considered the best hockey player in the family, passed away his freshman year at 51茶馆). In seventh grade, Gillis enrolled at a new school and began taking academics more seriously, while still spending his weekends with friends at Conte Forum or Alumni Stadium, depending on the season. He plans to study economics and聽entrepreneurship as an Eagle.聽
鈥淲hen I got accepted I was just humbled,鈥� he said. 鈥淏oston College was a big part of my childhood and it鈥檚 like a second home. Now I鈥檓 going to get to experience it in such a fun new way as a student.鈥�
Gillis and his sisters shared the happy news on the @bcfiddlekid Twitter account, which they hadn鈥檛 logged into since 2017, and congratulatory messages from former students poured in. Although they hadn鈥檛 thought about him in a decade, many remembered the happy smiling kid fiddling away in the stands, bringing joy to everyone around him.聽
鈥淚t was good clean fun,鈥� said Gillis, laughing. 鈥淚 think I knew it was special, even back then, so I tried to cherish it as much as I could.鈥澛�