From Redwood Forests to the Gulf Stream

When the pigskin flies in Harvard Stadium this afternoon, patrons of Humperdink's in Dallas will sink their teeth into Harvard burgers and Yale burgers.

In San Francisco, hungry Crimsonites and Bulldogs will flock to the Golden Gate Grill. In Birmingham. Ala., genteel Ivy Leaguers will follow the game over brunch at the Winfrey Hotel.

All across the country, educated men and women will be gathering in fervid flocks to watch the Game. For most of them, it will be the year's biggest opportunity to relive their anxious youth, and reassert their connections to the colleges that gave them their diplomas.

Both the Harvard and Yale Clubs of Dallas will be watching. The Game at Humperdink's, a sports bar on the Can-Do City's fashionable Upper Greenville Ave.

"I got a call from a gentlemen from the Yale organization who wanted to make sure his burger would be as good as the Harvard burger," said Scott H. Thompkins. General Manager of Humperdink's--"There's a lot of selfishness on [the alumni's] part."

Although Humperdink's serves up "the best salmon and halibut in Texas" (according to Thompkins), nostalgic Harvard alumni visiting the bar today will probably be dining on hamburgers with canadian bacon and cheddar cheese. Yalies can have theirs with sauteed mushrooms and mozzarella cheese.

Thompkins said that since both sides are going to be in the restaurant. "I've got to stay pretty neutral."

But he noted that the Harvard club representatives who contacted him for the event were "the most polite people I've dealt with," while "one particular gentleman [from the Yale club] was sufficiently rude."

In San Francisco, alumni from both schools will watch The Game at the Golden Gate Grill. General Manager Bill D. Pitura said he's "looking forward to it" but would "feel differently if it was the Stanford-Cal game." Today is also the day of that "Big Game" and Pitura said he's "seen the behavior of Stanford graduates on several occasions" and would prefer not to see it again.

The celebrations will take a more sedate shape in Birmingham. Ala., where members of the Harvard and Yale clubs will watch The Game at a sit-down brunch in the Winfrey Hotel.

"I hope the chairs stay on the floor," said manager Julie L. Acquino, nothing that "most of [the alumni] are adults."

In Tampa, the clubs are meeting at the Cinema and Draft House where, according to Tampa club member Greg P. Hansel '81, "we'll be going at each others' throats."

Hensel said because this year Harvard and Yale both lost to Princeton, which in turn lost to Columbia. "we're looking for redemption."

The rival clubs in Eastern Michigan plan to have a "Game before The Game," said Harvard club member John C. Gierak '74. He said that the feelings for the Harvard-Yale rivalry haven't reached the height of the passions for the Michigan-Ohio State game.

Gierak said that while the Harvard-Yale game was "less bloodthirsty" than the Michigan-Ohio State game, "it has a more ancient kind of tradition."

"You would never even think of having [both sides] of the Michigan-Ohio State game together," he said.