Attention, Mr. and Mrs. Bearcat, I have a question. Do you want to say that you missed the most important game in school history because you were riding the roundup?

Thanks to some unfortunate scheduling, the only home lacrosse game while school is in session is going on at the same time as Spring Fling. And despite the temptation to buy Bar Crawl mugs and listen to bands you’ve never heard of, you absolutely cannot miss this game.

Why? The Albany Great Danes, those hated rivals from up I-88, are coming to town.

This Dane team puts Jamar Wilson to shame. So what if Albany’s basketball team has made two straight NCAA tournament appearances; its men’s lacrosse team is ranked No. 6 in the country and, up until last week, was ranked No. 2.

The Danes’ victims list reads like a who’s who of the lacrosse world.

Johns Hopkins? Defeated, 8-7.

Delaware? Destroyed, 13-7.

National championship runner-up UMass? It took two overtimes, but Albany beat them 10-9.

UMBC, Drexel, Stony Brook, Yale ‘ you get the idea. Only No. 16 Syracuse, a team that was fighting for its postseason life, managed to tame the Danes. The Orange took care of Albany at the Carrier Dome last week to the tune of a 17-13 win.

Albany’s killer duo of Frank Resetarits and Merrick Thomson rank first and second, respectively, in the AE in scoring. Goalie Dan McKeon has been the best keeper in the conference.

They’ve locked up the top seed and home field advantage in the America East tournament. It’s been a pretty magical season in our great state capital.

But as Syracuse proved last week and as Dartmouth almost proved in the following game, this team is not unbeatable. In its first game since the loss at Syracuse, Albany almost stumbled against Dartmouth. The Danes needed a furious rally in the final two minutes to beat a Big Green team that didn’t scare anyone.

Albany will be the fifth ranked team the Bearcats play this season. And three of those teams, Drexel, Virginia and UMBC, were pushed to the brink by the gritty Bearcat squad. The record hasn’t reflected it, but these guys have been keeping games that could have been blowouts, close.

And if Albany comes in sleeping, assuming they can coast their way into the AE tournament, the Bearcats will be ready for them.

A BU win sends a message to the whole conference that the Bearcats cannot be overlooked. A win guarantees that Binghamton will not have a first-round showdown against the Danes on Albany’s home field. A win sets up a rematch with UMBC, who was taken to double overtime by the Bearcats in Baltimore a few weeks ago; on neutral turf, it’s a whole different story.

But for this stuff to happen, fans need to let the fried dough and car-smashing wait until after the game. The BU Zoo needs to be out in full force to make the East Gym Complex a place the Danes don’t want to be. And it’s the last men’s game ever to be played at the East Gym Complex.

They’ve saved the best for last.

No matter what Albany does in the NCAA tournament or how many Jose Juan Bareas make the NBA, the America East is a lacrosse conference.

And this will be a great America East game.

Albany is the highest ranked team to ever come to campus and a win could go down as one of the biggest in our history.

So before you check out Reel Big Fish, make sure you check out the real big game going on at the East Gym Complex.