A House Divided 

By this point, it’s safe to assume that football fans, athletes, and even the most non-athletic regular person (NARP) Swifties alike are at a minimum familiar with the NFL’s widely recognized Kelce brothers. With their podcast, numerous brand deals, and limelight engagements, the pair has steadily become an iconic example of one of the most entertaining dynamics in sports: the sibling rivalry. 

As it turns out, the Ivy League has some Kelce— although McCaffrey may be the better comparison—brothers of our own. The Tattersall family from Wilmington, Delaware, will be a house divided for the historic Harvard-Yale game, with Robby, junior tight end at Yale, and Harvard’s very own freshman wide receiver Ryan ’29 wearing crimson.

To say that the Tattersall brothers were exposed to the sport early would be the understatement of a century. “Robby was actually in my stomach at a game,” said Shannon Tattersall, Robby and Ryan’s mom in an interview with the Harvard Independent. “My husband used to coach college, so that was his first introduction to a play-off game.”

Before their collegiate careers in the Ivy League conference, the Tattersall brothers were situated at the helm of a three-generation legacy in Delaware high school football. Grandfather, Bob Tattersall, was the head coach of the brothers’ high school football team at Wilmington Friends School for an impressive 54 years, starting in 1968 until he passed on the role to his son—the brother’s father, Rob Tattersall—in 2022, when Ryan was a sophomore. Bob currently holds the state record for the most football wins in state history at 283. Over time, Tattersall practically became a household name in Delaware. “It’s a credit to my in-laws and to who they are. So many people, alumni, come back to watch, and they come back to be a part of my in-laws’ family, like an extended family,” said Mrs. Tattersall.

Overcome with pride over her sons’ accomplishments, Mrs. Tattersall shared wholesome anecdotes and family photos from their football-filled childhood with the Harvard Independent. “The kids grew up playing on Friends fields. They grew up being managers. I mean, it has been like a playground for them,” Mrs. Tattersall said. “When Ryan was a first grader, all he wanted to be for Halloween was a Wilmington Friends football player.” That year, not only did his aspirations of being a Friends football player for Halloween come true, but Ryan also wore a captain jersey—the same jersey he would one day wear during his high school career. 

“Football is not just a sport for us, but it’s a huge family and bonding thing that ties everyone together,” said Ryan. For his grandfather’s last season coaching at Friends in 2022, the family accomplished what felt like a cinematic ending of an era: winning the state championship with grandfather Bob and father Rob coaching and Robby and Ryan playing on the field. 

Now graduated and playing for their collegiate teams, football remains an important part of their family tradition. Last week, having just left the field himself, Robby texted the family group chat “great catch Ryan” from the Yale locker room after Ryan made an 18-yard catch, putting Kieran Corr ’28 in position to make the electric game-winning field goal in the last five seconds. Aside from Mr. and Mrs. Tattersall’s weekly travels to New England instead of their local field, the brothers’ father, Rob, has had to transition from the role of coach to dad on the sidelines. 

“I think the hardest thing for him is something that he looked forward to every day, as any parent would, is to be able to watch your child grow in a sport or something that you love,” said Mrs. Tattersall. The other notable change: the boys are now competing against each other for the first time.

“When we were younger, we used to fight all the time. Every single thing would turn into an argument, altercation, something like that,” said Ryan. For them, sports meant not only playing for the same team, but also for the same well-known last name and the pressures associated—something that ultimately made the pair closer as they got older. “As we got to high school and we ended up playing sports together, we ended up becoming super close,” said Ryan.“He’s my best friend.”

As Ryan’s collegiate career approached, his brother being at Yale was naturally factored into the decision-making process. “Yale, obviously, was a school that I looked at,” said Ryan. But, having been labeled “Robby’s younger brother” for the majority of his athletic career, Ryan’s decision to attend a different college, as he puts it, allowed him to “cliché-wise blaze my own path or something like that.” 

Competing in a collegiate rivalry ironically parallels the brothers’ childhood. Growing up they were die-hard fans of rival schools—Ryan supporting the Michigan Wolverines, Robby the Ohio State Buckeyes. “We went to the game…and we switched sides halfway through,” said Mrs. Tattersall. “They totally switched colors,” she said ironically. “Ryan bled blue and gold, and Robbie was obviously the red and the silver.”

Although they had largely outgrown the intense rivalry of their early childhood by the time Ryan faced his college decision, the chance to compete at rival schools was a tempting offer. Outside of the obvious appeal attached to a Harvard education, the Harvard-Yale rivalry and the opportunity to compete against his older brother helped cement Ryan’s choice to play for the Crimson. “If I’m going to an Ivy League school, might as well be the best at football and academics, but also, might as well just have that rivalry, the Harvard-Yale game,” said Ryan. “That’s the atmosphere that everyone kind of dreams of.” 

As one might imagine, anticipation for the Harvard-Yale game has been brewing ever since Ryan committed to his brother’s rival school. With the big game approaching this weekend, over 19 members of the Tattersall family are heading to New Haven, juggling how to best support both of their players competing on the Yale Bowl field.

Since both brothers are offensive players, the cheering part seems relatively straightforward. “My parents aren’t picking a team that they want to win or anything like that,” said Ryan. “It’s more whoever has the ball is what they’re going to be rooting for.” Logistically and fashionably, however, things become a little more complicated. As of now, the family intends to flip sides like they once did at the Michigan-Ohio State game and sport mixed gear—all in the sake of fairness. “They’re gonna be mix-matched with red and blue,” joked Ryan. Mrs. Tattersall will even be sporting a split jersey, one similar to that worn by Donna Kelce when both her sons competed in the Super Bowl.

The Tattersall brothers’ story writes itself. Between their legendary high school career and family’s generational love of the sport, watching them face off this weekend is certainly something to look forward to. As you squeeze into crowded shuttles or pay for overpriced Amtrak tickets to New Haven this weekend, keep an eye out for Tattersall nameplates on No. 22 for the Crimson and No. 17 for the Bulldogs. And, of course, you can’t forget Mrs. Tattersall’s split jersey in the stands.

Megan Legault ’28 (mlegault@college.harvard.edu) is, in the wise words of No.22 going to “Wear crimson, because Harvard’s going to win.”