12 Fascinating Facts about the Class of 2021
Back when these freshmen were born, Brady wasn’t the G.O.A.T.
As the 3,490 members of the Class of 2021 begin arriving on campus this week, we’ve put together a few fun facts about them. For starters, most of them were born in 1999, when many of us adults were preparing for the impending apocalypse that never happened—Y2K. Below, you’ll find a few more pieces of trivia that shed some light on this incoming class of Terriers.
1. They’ve never lived in a world without Harry Potter
Author J. K. Rowling introduced everyone to “the boy who lived” in 1997. As for the über-popular Daniel Radcliffe films? The first, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, debuted in 2001, when our 2021-ers were only two years old.
2. They were born during the first Pokémon craze
After initially launching in the United States in late 1998, the Pokémon trading card game and the release of the first movie a year later caused Poké-fever.
3. They’re as old as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
The game show, with original star Regis Philbin, introduced the question, “Is that your final answer?” in 1999.
4. …and Family Guy
Peter Griffin and crew debuted after Super Bowl XXXIII (pitting the Broncos and the Falcons) in January 1999.
5. …and SpongeBob SquarePants
The lovable sea sponge began on Nickelodeon in 1999, immediately after the Kid’s Choice Awards.
6. Back then, we were all Livin’ La Vida Loca
Ricky Martin’s smash hit was one of the most popular songs of 1999.
7. BU’s DeWolfe Boathouse was completed in 1999
The home of the Terrier men’s and women’s rowing teams opened on the Cambridge side of the Charles River that fall.
8. When they were born, printing out MapQuest directions was a way of life
Or worse, using actual maps, the annoying kind you have to fold.
9. They have never lived in a world with restrictive monthly texting limits.
No, the Class of 2021 has never had to deal with the horror of over-texting charges, or T9 texting.
10. They have never received advice from Mr. Feeny
Boy Meets World aired its last episode in mid-2000, when these Terriers were still infants.
11. Now, That’s What I Call Music! was only on Disc 2 when they were born
The lineup featured Britney Spears’ “…Baby, One More Time,” along with 98 Degrees, Sublime, R. Kelly, and the Backstreet Boys. And in case you’re wondering, the 63rd version of the album was released just this month.
12. Back then, New England sports teams were in the midst of a serious championship drought
While we may be #Blessed with some of the best teams in sports today, the Patriots had yet to win a championship, and the Red Sox hadn’t had a World Series victory since 1918. The Bruins had last seen a Stanley Cup in 1971, and the Celtics’ 1980s domination was over a decade in the past.
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