Spirit

Why is The Game different from all other games?

A fair question--one that a variety of fans would ask.

The simple fan would say:

"Hey, why's everyone wearing all these raccoon coats, tweed jackets and why are they carrying silver flasks?"

To this simpleton, you reply:

"For one thing, it's cold. Take last year's Game when players left the field with frostbite and fans left the stands kind of tipsy. Lambeau Field didn't hold a candle to Yale Bowl that day. For another thing, it's Harvard and Yale alumni. They don't wear parkas and they don't drink beer. For them it's fur and whiskey sours."

The wise fan would say:

"Isn't it traditional that at the conclusion of major athletic events the overwrought fanatics rush down from their seats, charge the field and proceed to disassemble the goals?"

To this know-it-all, you reply:

"Check your history. Such displays of emotion were once in vogue, but after it resulted in tragedy in 1983, such acts have been banned. Still, feel free to make a mad dash for the 50-yd. line after the final whistle blows. The players love it. They even let you touch their helmets. What fun."

The arrogant fan would say:

"Who cares about Ivy League football. Why shouldn't I watch UCLA-USC this afternoon or Notre Dame take on the Nittany Lions?"

To this blasphemer, you reply:

"Have you never heard of 1968? Does the score 29-29 mean nothing to you? That contest was a college football classic. Are you not moved by more than a century of tradition? Or could it be that you went to Princeton? Ten thousand men of Harvard, to victory today..."

The fan too young to ask would say:

"What's this all about?"

To this naif, you reply:

"Kid, this year it's played in The Stadium and it's called The Game."