Ludwigmania

PRINCETON, N.J.--Some days are good days. Some days are bad days. And then there are days that are unbelievably, metaphysically, sublimely perfect.

On Saturday, Tom Ludwig had a day that was better than any of those.

For those of you that don't know, Tom Ludwig is a freshman at Princeton. He's also a safety that happened to intercept three Harvard passes to ensure his team's 18-7 victory.

It's only about a month after orientation, and even the word "star" won't do him justice.

Let me put it this way: at the post-game interview session, the Princeton sports info director announced that four Tigers would be coming in at the same time.

They were quarterback Harry Nakielny, Ludwig, and two other people. I'm not really sure who they were, because I and every other reporter started making a beeline to the Ludwigster.

He's taking the newfound fame well.

"If [the rest of the defense] wasn't in position," Ludwig said, "then [Harvard's quarterbacks] would have never thrown towards me."

He got Harvard's Vin Ferrara to do that twice.

First, when it looked like Harvard was thisclose to scoring with an Eion Hu rumble, Harvard Coach Tim Murphy decided to added some spice and called a pass.

It wasn't intended for Ludwig.

Then, with the game waning down, the Crimson was on its last drive, hoping to somehow score.

Ferarra threw it up the middle, hoping to catch the defensive backs guarding the sidelines. But instead of catching Ludwig, Ludwig caught him.

And even Steve Kezirian, the man whose comeback crested Colgate, was no match for the Mad Ludwig.

When Ferrara got shaken up on a play, Kaz came in for one play and threw one pass.

You can probably guess what happened.

"I can see it, but I can't remember it," Ludwig said, owning an ear-to-ear grin. "I bobbled it once."

Maybe he was still in denial. It's not every day that you tie the Princeton all-time record for interceptions in one game during its 125th year of football.

What's more, Ludwig was almost on the other side of the field.

"There's no reason I didn't go to Harvard," Ludwig said. "I just felt more comfortable here."

Over the summer, he worked on his receiving skills--his first love--in hopes of making the Tiger offense. But now, fate hath ensured that Ludwig will always be a safety.

"Before today, I liked offense a lot more," he said.

Eventually, the hordes of reporters left his side, and moved on to get some quotes from other people, having heard enough from the young safety.

The smile did not leave his face, though. Ludwig did look a bit goofy and giddy, but hey, who's going to spoil the feeling of a record holder?

"I haven't really thought about that," said Ludwig when asked about his place among the all-time greats. "It feels good.

"I can't compare it to anyone that came before me."

I don't know if good 'ol Tom has taken his first midterm yet. He may not even know his way around the Princeton campus.

But on Saturday, Ludwig was The Man. Perhaps it was only due to good Man. Perhaps it was only due to good luck, but he as much as anyone won the game for the Tigers.

You had to smile and pat him on the back.