Briggs Cage Rocking, Rolling

The fat lady didn't sing last night at Briggs Athletic Center after the Harvard women's basketball team lost the Ivy League title to Dartmouth 72-48. She conducted an entire orchestra--complete with thousands of fans, two bands and teary-eyed players--in a bittersweet requiem.

Bitter no doubt because a loss would have been hard enough to swallow without a lopsided score. Sweet because the scoreboard was by no means a last testament.

This year's women's basketball team leaves us with only a taste of how exciting Ivy League sports and women's sports in specific can be.

"[The record setting crowd] is a statement about the growth of women's sports," coach Kathy Delaney Smith said. "It is also a statement about the women who play in this program."

Although it was unfortunate that the biggest statements of the game--as far as the Crimson were concerned--came off the court, last night's crowd was the sign of arrival that the Crimson has waited for all season long.

"We've been kind of searching for legitimacy," junior Elizabeth Proudfit said.

Last night, the team didn't need to look any further than its home floor.

The bleachers were filled on both sides of the hardwood, Dartmouth's band competed for time with the Harvard band, fans posted signs for their favorite players behind the baskets, faces were painted and a man with roller skates and technicolored housecoat (left behind by the Partridge family, of course) slid and cheered along the far side line.

"There was everything tonight--tail-gating, face painting," sophomore Jessica Gelman said. "Everyone really came out and supported us tonight. We were playing our hearts out."

Not to be outdone by the roller skating cheerleader, fans came up with their own creative cheers. The most humorous of these efforts was the call, "She's a man. Check her for a penis!" The cry went out in reference to 5'10" Dartmouth player Kira Lawrence.

But the most deserved chant of the night went to senior captain Tammy Butler when she left the floor for the last time in her Crimson career. With one minute left to play, the student section rose to its feet and started rhythmically chanting, "Tam-my, Tam-my."

Although it was not a fairy tale ending, it was certainly fitting, considering that Butler is, in many ways, the pioneer that made last night possible.

"I think its just the beginning," Butler said. "I made the choice of Harvard over a scholarship and a lot of recruits have made the same decision after me. We haven't had the gym this packed since I've been here.

"This team is going to continue. What we started this year, they're gonna finish," the senior said.

"My heart breaks for Tammy Butler because this is who this game was for," coach Delaney Smith said. "I don't know a player who deserves it more."

The coach, the cheering fans and most of all the team captain could tell you there is a difference between a tribute and a eulogy. Regardless of final score, last night's crowd was the ultimate tribute to the team and its year-long dedication.