As the Harvard vs. Brown game fell upon the campus again, Harvard students geared up for a day filled with fun, football, and… tailgates? At most other, sports-oriented universities around the country, fall Saturday mornings typically involve students rolling out of bed at 9:00 a.m. with a White Claw in hand to prepare for the weekend’s highlight: Game Day. But ask any Harvard student about their weekend plan, and we bet not one will be planning to routinely attend Harvard football games.
Although Harvard prides itself on having more D1 teams than any other university, the student fandom across the board is lacking. Last year, students were disappointed when tailgates for The Harvard vs. Yale game were—to put it lightly—subpar. Rather than parties on campus the night before, students were forced to find alternative sources of fun by traveling to Boston and paying upwards of $30 to attend events. Yale claimed their superiority not just because of their victory in football, but also because of our disastrous party scene. So, would this year’s kick-off result in the same fiasco, or could Harvard students up their tailgate game and revive the integrity of the Crimson name?
Among the Harvard first-year contingency, expectations for the game were relatively low. “I might go to the game, otherwise…possibly sleep early,” said Stephen Yang ’27. “I just did two all-nighters in a row and I’m excited to catch up.” By the time Harvard students get to Friday, they are too drained to rally for the weekend’s festivities for the trade off of catching up on sleep. When asked if he was excited for the game, Lochlan Ho ’27 answered “not particularly. It’s just a game, I don’t know. It will be them playing football.” To the non-football enthusiast, the game draws little more appeal than other, more academically focused endeavors. Is Harvard students’ lack of investment in their sports teams—particularly football—harmful to our student life culture, or are there just better alternatives on how to spend a weekend night?
Harvard students complain so much about our own party culture, but has our reputation misled us as far as disgrace to our far less superior rivals? Harvard is considered one of the best academic institutions in America. However, our lack of school spirit brings shame on our name in the eyes of our opponents. But this year everything changed. We asked Dylan Challenger, a freshman at Brown, about his expectations for the upcoming game day. “Expectations [are a] seven out of ten. I’m not looking for too much but I’m excited to have fun,” he said. And fun he did have! A flood of Crimson and Brown washed into Cumnock Field at 5pm to kickoff the night. Among the sea of rivals, there was nothing but dancing, smiles, and cheers. You were lucky if you could escape the mosh pit to catch a breath of fresh air. Crushed beer cans lined the grass under thousands of feet wandering between each colorful final club tent. There were partiers on every elevated surface in sight as they danced to loud mixes created by the DJs.
To many people’s surprise, the event surpassed Brown and Harvard students’ expectations alike. “It was truly epic, I’m really blown away. They really turned up and showed out,” said Brown freshman Rosie Yanowitch. The loud music and crowds of people created an atmosphere of school spirit from both schools. Sarah Betensky, another Bear, said, “I think Brown is better, but this is very fun.” Although they are biased in favor of their school, Brown students could not deny that the Harvard tailgate was better than they had hoped for. Harvard students also expressed the fun they had at the tailgates. Ellis Long ’27 remarked, “honestly it was ten times better than I expected. I had low expectations, but Harvard did something good for once.”
Friday night’s festivities sent a deluge of students into the football stadium as we cheered Harvard to a 34-31 victory over Brown. Not only did we win the game, but Harvard set a new and improved standard for its game days. The fun that was had prior to the game created a student body filled with spirit and pride for their school. The morning after, everyone was reminiscing about the night and fiending to be considered, finally, a “real” sports school. Harvard-Brown proved that revitalizing the spirit for every game at Harvard—not just twice a semester—would dramatically create a sense of unity on campus and cross-grade socialization. Maybe we will see you on Saturday when Harvard faces Holy Cross?
Ellie Tunnell ’27 (ellietunnell@college.harvard.edu) and Lauren Barakett ’27 (laurenbarakett@college.harvard.edu) did not make it to the actual football game.