A Victory for the Ages

On Saturday the Crimson football team emerged victorious after another hard-fought battle in New Haven. Harvard’s 35-23 triumph capped its first unbeaten season since 1913. It was also the first victory over our old enemy in current undergraduate memory. The scenes of jubilation that accompanied the rushing of the field at the end at the final whistle (or perhaps slightly before it) will live long in our memory. Although Crimson fans were unable to pull down the goal posts, it marked perhaps Harvard’s only failure on the entire season.

Harvard never trailed during The Game and never looked in danger of losing the lead or their composure. Neil Rose ’02 adeptly led the Crimson offense and finished with 277 yards passing and four touchdowns. Appropriately, the decisive final score was caught by Carl Morris ’03, whose phenomenal season has not only broken but obliterated almost every Harvard receiving record. But this was not a victory of individuals, though individuals were surely impressive. Saturday’s victory, like all the others in this legendary season, was the product of Harvard’s gritty teamwork and resolute determination that no player (quite literally) let the side down. Anne Robinson’s quest to find the weakest link would surely have foundered on the Crimson’s sidelines.

The zeal with which the Harvard fans, be they students or alumni, supported the team was as memorable as any fake punt or successful completion. To see generations of Crimson supporters tailgating, cheering or celebrating was heartwarming and uplifting. As the band played Ten Thousand Men of Harvard, alumni clad in deer-stalker coats and bow ties danced with undergraduates in crude Game T-shirts, united by their love of Harvard and pride in its achievements. Harvard College purports to be largely about bringing different groups together, combining their diverse backgrounds to create memorable new experiences. The scenes after The Game illustrated the critical role of diversity here far better than any trite speech ever could.

A real sense of Harvard identity was created on Saturday. But this legacy should not be left in New Haven, of all places. The people who joyously celebrated the victory of Harvard’s football team should also rally behind the many other successful varsity teams in sports as diverse as women’s hockey and men’s squash. In that way the same exhilaration that pervaded the sidelines in the Yale Bowl can be replicated more regularly on our campus. In the meantime, those who were lucky enough to be at The Game can savor a triumphal end to a historic season. The specific plays may fade from the forefront of spectators’ minds, but the memory of the Crimson’s fantastic season will linger on for as long as there is Harvard football.