Note: The account owner of Harvard State wished to remain anonymous to continue the “mystique” of the movement. Throughout this article, he is mentioned as “Harvard State” or by his pronouns.
Harvard State’s origin story began in the fall of 2021. “It was Harvard-Yale Week. I realized that the school didn’t have as much school spirit as I wanted it to, and I want to have that type of college experience where people went to games and it’s packed out,” the account owner said.
“I would go to a Women’s Volleyball game, and [think to myself], ‘Man, this is really cool as well.’ I looked around, and there was no one really there. I would [think to myself], ‘this is ridiculous, it shouldn’t be the case.’ Student athletes work really hard and practice really hard, so I feel like people should come watch at some point.”
And with that, the idea for Harvard State was born. A senior football player, who to this day currently runs the account, enlisted a few fellow football players to help him with the process. “I’m gonna do my own thing. I sat down to lunch with friends and came up with a cool idea, and that was the origin of the Instagram account harvesting.”
Since then, the account, known as @harvardstate1636 on Instagram, has amassed nearly 2,500 followers and counting, gaining popularity amongst Harvard students due to its ability to run tailgates and garner crowds at sports games throughout the year. The account also organizes what fans should wear, with themes ranging from “Blackout” to “Bloody Crim.”
However, what sets Harvard State apart is that despite the fact that it was started by football players, the account advertises attendance for all student sports, including rugby, field hockey, soccer, and basketball. Harvard boasts 42 diverse sports programs with a wide array of athletes, and Harvard State wanted to bring light to this. “A good chunk of the student population are athletes. By including all of the athletes, it’s cool because everyone is involved [and] we are building more students who want to come to those games.”
Harvard State cited an instance where, at a Men’s Volleyball game versus Princeton, the Princeton players were excited to see newfound Harvard attendance. “They had never had attendance like that any game, ever. They were glad to see how rowdy we were. Even though we were yelling things at them, they were so glad that people were there to watch.”
To organize the schedule, the owner of Harvard State sifts through the yearly sports calendar, picking out the games that he thinks can get the most attendance. “For football, we always pick the games that are home. It feels like a classic American thing to do,” he explained. When football is away or not in season, he focuses on a variety of games, trying to garner attention to the sports he feels can “get the most pull” and are “underrepresented.”
“I feel like with Women’s Field Hockey, for example, they’re a really good team with a lot of international talent, but they don’t get enough attendance…Women’s Soccer is also really good, but they do not get nearly as much attendance as they should.” Today, Harvard State continues to draw large crowds at games throughout the year. “I hear comments and get texts and emails from other athletes that appreciate what I was doing and that they hadn’t seen that many fans before at [their] game.”
While the process is a lot of work, from creating a schedule to organizing tailgates, the founder of Harvard State’s motivation for the movement stems from his love of sports and school spirit. “We are all united by one of the coolest things ever: the fact that we all go to Harvard. Going to games and giving some support to the students…I think it’s fun. When I’m not in [football season], I love to go to other sports games.”
“It’s something our school lacks. We go to Harvard, an Ivy school, and people say we don’t know how to have fun. But, I feel like sometimes it’s us choosing not to have fun,” he said. “I feel like if every student and every athlete bought into the idea of school spirit and community, there’s nothing standing in our way from having the state school vibe. I think it is something we could have here.”
The impacts of the Harvard State movement were surely felt during the Harvard-Brown game on Friday, with Harvard coming away with a 34-31 win. A representative from the Harvard Athletics department wrote to the Independent that there was an overall attendance of 15,838 at the game, and that “there were over 10,000 Harvard fans in attendance, of which more than 3,200 were undergraduate students.” This number was something that Harvard State had hoped for going into the game; though the account owner could not attend the tailgate due to his role in the football game, his peers having fun and supporting his team made all the difference.
“I want the student body to have a really good time, and to realize that the Harvard-Yale experience does not have to be just for Harvard-Yale. We can do this for Harvard-Brown. We have a game against Cornell in a few weeks that I want to be just as big as this one. Because, why not? It’s Friday night college football.”
In the future, Harvard State hopes to continue bringing large masses of students to games, rallied together through their support for their school and in coordinated outfits. “I want to have merch. I want it to be as cheap as possible. I don’t want to make any profit, I just want everyone to have it.”
Additionally, Harvard State hopes to build their board, continuing the movement for years to come. “If anyone is interested [in helping] expand the board, they should direct message the account. [I want] people to get involved. [Also,] look out for t-shirts and merch coming out soon.”
The Harvard State movement will leave a lasting impression on the way that Harvard students view athletics, attending games, and school pride. “If everyone really bought into the idea of school spirit, the entire school can have an amazing time every single weekend. I keep with it because I know there is gonna be a day where Harvard is gonna have that state school spirit, and it would be cool if my name was attached to the beginning of that.”
“I don’t want to do nothing for my college experience and allow it to be this boring thing where it’s a Friday night and I go to a basketball game and there are only ten kids in the stands,” he stated. “It doesn’t have to be that Harvard-Yale is the only time all of a sudden everyone that goes to Harvard wants to have a good weekend. They can have a good weekend every weekend.”
Layla Chaaraoui ’26 (laylachaaraoui@college.harvard.edu) is excited to buy a Harvard State t-shirt when it is released.
Image Credit: Dylan Goodman ’25 and Harvard Athletics