Longing for the Cowbell Ring

When I was young and the Ivy League still participated in Division I-A football, I was Columbia's number-two fan, second only to my grandmother.

Between 1977 and 1979, grandma went to every Columbia Lion football game; I missed a few road games. During those three years, we were as famous as the old wooden bleachers of Baker Field.

Grandma never forgot to bring her notorious cowbell, which she rang whenever Columbia did anything good. Other fans had only to hear the bell to know that she was at the game.

The reason for all her enthusiasm was simple. Her son, my uncle, was a starting defensive end. He was pretty good for Ivy League standards. Grandma thought he played like Dick Butkus.

I thought that my uncle, along with rest of the team, was immortal. I emulated each of them, because to me the Lions were the best team in the East. Baker Field was my playground. I was just a kid.

If you were 10 years old and had the chance to enter the locker room of a college football team, wouldn't that team quickly become your favorite? If you were given an official, regulation-sized football and a sweatshirt that had the sqaud's logo sprawled across the front, wouldn't you tend to lean towards that team?

I remember playing catch with my uncle's teammates after the game. Football players were actually tossing a football with me. Unbelievable. I made sure never to drop the ball--but most of the time I did.

After she spent the entire afternoon clanking the cowbell and yelling at the referees, grandma would then have a couple of my uncle's teammates over for dinner. Of course, I always joined them. As they ate, they would talk about football and ask me questions about the game. Incredible.

Which brings me to 1978, Columbia's best season in the past 15 years. That was incredible, too. For the first five weeks of the season, Columbia was the toast of New York City. Would Columbia finally capture an Ivy League title?

Columbia's first opponent that year was Joe Restic's Crimson. The Lions visited Cambridge and stunned Harvard, 21-19. It was the last time Columbia ever beat Harvard and Restic's only career loss to the Lions. But on that day, grandma's cowbell echoed throughout Soldiers Field. It was a great day to be a Columbia fan.

The next week was a 21-0 laugher over Lafayette at Baker Field. It was the only shutout I ever saw. We had a huge dinner that night.

At Penn, the cowbell was quiet. The Quakers beat Columbia, 31-19. At least, my uncle had a career day.

Columbia bounced back to beat Princteon, 14-10, and regain first place in the Ivies. The big Yale showdown at New Haven was the next week. If Columbia could win or tie, it would be one of the favorites to win the Ivy League title.

The Lions tied the Elis, 3-3. The New York media finally had a college football team it could brag about. I finally had a team to be proud of. While my other friends talked about Penn St. and Michigan, I warned them about Columbia sneaking away with the national championship. I was just a kid.

Then the roof caved in. It all began with this score: Rutgers 69, Columbia 0.

Columbia would lose the final three games of 1978, and win only one of 10 games the following year. In my uncle's final game against Brown--which the Lions lost by 17 points--grandma kept ringing her cowbell after the game ended. I kept on cheering the players into the locker room. The ride back home from Providence, however, was still long.

Columbia has never been the same team again. Last Saturday's record-breaking loss to Princeton was the lowest point of Columbia's nine-year losing slide. I've come a long way since the 1979 game at Brown, but I'll admit that I still root for the first football team I ever liked.

I think the reason why Columbia has been so disappointing for so long is simple. When my uncle finished playing, my grandmother never went to another game.

Consider this statistic: Columbia's record during the Cowbell Era was 6-18-1, including a five-week drive for the Ivy League title. Somewhat respectable. In the Post Cowbell Era (1980-present), the Lions have posted a 4-67-2 mark and have monopolized the Ivy cellar.

I wonder what would have happened if the cowbell had kept ringing. Or if I had remained just a kid.