Students and Athletes

EVEN 10 days after Ed Krayer '89-'90 scored The Goal in St. Paul, Minn., to give the Harvard hockey team the 1989 NCAA title, folks around here don't want to forget about the Crimson's unforgettable victory over the University of Minnesota.

The windows around the Square are displaying the latest in Harvard hockey championship t-shirts. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54-'56 (D-Mass.) honored the team on the floor of the Senate. The Undergraduate Council last Wednesday held a rally for the team on the steps of Widener. And yesterday on Opening Day at Fenway Park, in probably the most memorable of honors, Harvard Coach Bill Cleary '56 threw out the first pitch while the team crowded behind him on the pitching mound.

Today, the national champions will visit the State House, meet Gov. Michael S. Dukakis and be treated to helpings of New England staples--clam chowder and apple pie.

WHY all the honors?

One reason is obvious. Boston is a sports town. When teams from the area win championships, from the pros to the high schools, Boston does not forget. The 1989 Harvard hockey team has joined the city's rich tradition--the same one that has immortalized Bobby Orr, Larry Bird and Yaz.

Another reason has something to do with the perception of college athletics. While the nation is questioning whether the NCAA and scholarship schools emphasize sports over academics, non-scholarship Harvard won a major national championship. The NCAA should spend its time publicizing what a group of student-athletes did one Saturday night in April. Maybe that would help bring back the Collegiate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

So the next time you read about some college accused of illegal recruiting or a poor graduation rate for student-athletes, find a VCR, get a taped copy of the 1989 hockey championship game and watch Krayer score again. And again. And again.