One Last Defensive Hurrah

When Regis Philbin started hosting his new TV game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", he probably had some idea of the wide variety of audiences he'd be attracting--soccer moms, senior citizens, factory workers and so on.

But one tiny demographic that drops everything and tunes in for a half-hour of intellectual stimulation is one Regis probably didn't expect--Harvard senior football defensemen.

"Millionaire" was the main attraction one weekday night in outside linebacker Aron Natale's room where several players, including free safety Ben Green and linebacker Jeff Svicarovich, had gathered to eat, watch and talk.

The discussion topic at hand was the experiences and stories of the three players, who, along with five other seniors, start for the Crimson defense.

Aron Natale is the star of the assembled group, the only one of the three who has played all four years. Often labeled as a "quiet All-American", Natale's love of football can be traced to his childhood days in western Pennsylvania where football is life. Natale's father starred as a tight end at Penn State, but to hear Natale tell it, his dad wouldn't let him play for years.

"I couldn't play until seventh grade," Natale said, "but I always knew I wanted to."

Natale also credits his parents for his continued determination and inspiration from week to week. Every weekend, his parents make the long drive from North Huntington, Pa., to Cambridge.

"They drive every weekend ten hours back and forth," Natale said, "and I always hope I have something to show them."

Luckily for his parents, he always has. A starter at strong safety until this year, Natale has been a defensive stalwart on a great defensive squad. The classic tough-as-nails player who isn't afraid to hit, he's also classified as a quiet leader. Head Coach Tim Murphy once said he hadn't heard "ten words out of Aron until senior year."

Svicarovich jokingly disagrees. "Man, Aron thinks he's the Big Man on Campus."

Svicarovich's road to the starting lineup was slightly more difficult. A native Californian, he didn't start regularly until this year and has had to do a lot of sitting and waiting for the chance to play.

"What I'm most proud of," Svicarovich said, "is that I've stuck with football all four years, through all the hard times."

The final player in this trio was Ben Green, a starting safety and native of Cherry Hill, N.J. He started his Harvard career as a junior varsity player, but with the help of strength conditioning and coaching, worked his way up to a starting varsity spot this year. A concentrator in biological anthropology, the other players sometimes refer to him as "Doc."

"I've had a fortunate career here and it's been a lot of fun," Green said. "Actually, my parents come to every game, too."

"That's because they wanna get the hell out of Jersey," said Svicarovich, ever the jokester.

During commercial breaks, the players chimed in on their thoughts about their own careers, the team's goals and their opinions on players and coaches.

"It's nice having all these older guys out on the field," Svicarovich said. "You know that every week not every player is going to show up, not every player will be healthy, so at least you can fall back on some of these guys."

The team's roller coaster season this year, in part due to various defensive lapses at the end of games, has been an emotionally-draining and tough time. With this weekend's Harvard-Yale game, the final football game for all three players, they talked about how this season has shaped up.

"The quality of play has been there," Green said. "We just can't seem to put guys away. It sucks because so many guys have been injured."

Natale added that even though Harvard couldn't win the Ivy League didn't mean that the Game meant little.

"We're not just playing for pride," he insisted. "Every year this game is the Big Game, I guess it's just more emotional this year because I'm a senior."

All three players also had nothing but praise for Head Coach Tim Murphy and defensive coordinator Bruce Tall.

"Murphy treats us with great respect," Green said. "I also give credit to coach Tall for our defensive plan."

Svicarovich liked Murphy's disciplinary style. "He runs a tight program and he really takes conditioning seriously. One thing he also does well is recruit."

"After all, I'm here," Natale joked.

With the abundance of seniors on defense, each player has a slightly less-demanding role in terms of leadership and responsibilities. That isn't to say they don't take that responsibility seriously.

"I just try to make sure the younger guys know what's going on," Svicarovich said. "I mean, if the seniors don't know what's going on on the field, how do you expect the younger guys to?"

Natale, the quiet leader, explained why he's classified as such.

"We don't really need too much extra motivation," he said. "One reason I'm not that vocal is because I.K. [senior linebacker Isaiah Kacyvenski] is. He really knows how to lead."

The conversation subsides while a contestant from Chicago attempts to answer a question worth $64,000. The tension mounts while the man searches in his mental databank for the rapper who sang "Cop Killa."

"It's Ice-T man, c'mon, you should know that," chided Svicarovich. The contestant answers incorrectly and Regis breaks for commercial, allowing the interview to continue. The next question is about the decision to change quarterbacks in favor of Brad Wilford this year.

"I was glad about that quarterback change," Svicarovich said. "I think we were pulling for Brad. The guy with the better arm should play."

Even with Wilford and Menick and Terrence Patterson setting records, the Harvard offense has had problems, including interceptions and turnovers that have resulted in the defense playing long stretches in the middle of the game.

"It's nobody's fault. Football is a team game," Green said.

"Yeah, you can't blame the offense. I mean, we can't control what they do," Svicarovich added.

As the show winds down and Regis requests the audience to tune in the next night, the conversation turns reflective and personal, as the players talk about how they've grown, who they admire and what they will do now.

As seniors, the players are the ones the freshman and sophomores look up to. But who did they look up to?

"A lot of guys, but I would have to say [senior running back] Chris Menick," Natale said. "He's a tough guy."

The choice makes sense, since in high school Natale also starred as a running back before making the choice to only go one way in college.

"I looked up to Jeff Compas," Green said. "He taught me a lot of what I know." Compas was one of the finest defensive backs in school history, starring during the illustrious 1997 season.

"You may have to look this guy up, but my guy is Scott Larkee, a linebacker who graduated last year," Svicarovich said. "He was awesome. Oh, and if you count the pros, I say Mike Singletary."

All three players are the unsung leaders of the team, the guys who will be lost in the long history of Harvard football. Not one of them is an Isaiah Kacyvenski or a Chris Menick--a player who set records and gained recognition. All of them will soon enter the real world where they can't play football on Saturday.

"I have definitely grown as a person at college, and a lot of that is football," Green said. "I've become more independent. Now, I'll hopefully take this degree and become a doctor."

Green was hooked on Harvard when he took the recruiting trips and decided to forego Princeton, his local Ivy school. He's never regretted it.

"The friends I've made, the times I've had--it's been a good time."

Svicarovich agreed. "The friends I've made and the stuff I've learned, I'll never forget that. There are times when you just want to quit, when you're not playing. It says a lot about guys who stuck it out."

Natale, who picked Harvard over William and Mary, said football would provide his best memories.

"I'm gonna look back on football and the guys I've met," he said. "In my time here, the Harvard defense went from nothing to gaining national respect, and I'm glad I was a part of that."

"There's a better awareness on this team," Natale said. "We're getting back to like it was in 1997. There will be good teams ahead."

With one more week left on the season, these scholar-athletes played their final game at Soldiers Field against Penn last Saturday.

The defense came up big and held off the Quaker attack in the second half, only to fall once again on last-minute offensive heroics. In front of thousands of screaming fans celebrating Senior Day, Ben Green, Jeff Svicarovich and Aron Natale quietly finished their home careers.