The real winner of the Harvard-Brown game might have been marked by the ruthless smack-talk between competing schools. Chants from the Harvard student section like “Safety school!” were swiftly retorted by Brown students saying “Crimson Sucks!” Brown student Rachel Penner saw her rivals prove the Harvard stereotype of superiority complexes. “Chant safety school all you want, but Harvard was the one ivy I didn’t even consider for a second (besides Cornell but that’s not even a real ivy),” said Penner.
As freshmen in college, we went into the Harvard-Brown game with zero expectations. But we discovered that Harvard’s dedication to academic excellence extends to its school spirit, evidenced by the tailgate scene outside of Harvard Stadium.
The rugby fields transformed into a sea of Crimson and Brown. Loud music and flatbed trucks swamped the grass as students and Final Club members celebrated the return of football season. White claws and beer cans scattered the mud floor. Walking to the game, crowds of people swarmed the gates with tickets in hand, anxiously waiting to head up to the student section. Once there, the football game was in full swing. Harvard dominated with a whopping final score of 49-17.
It was the largest gathering that many students have been a part of in over a year. “In a way, it was kind of relieving because I was nervous I wouldn’t meet people or go to that many social events because of COVID,” said Elliott Stephanopoulus, a freshman at Brown.
The game was especially fun for first-years, as Harvard’s social scene does not offer many opportunities for first-years to mingle, let alone party, alongside older students.
While each class demonstrated relatively similar levels of school spirit, the class of 2025 clearly dominated in excitement. “I think the first-years got a lot more into [the rivalry],” said Nikhil Kamat ’25. “I know a lot of kids in our grade that threw on all of their merch and came very decked out. Then, I saw the upperclassmen wearing like one t-shirt… There was a lot of enthusiasm on the first-years part.”
While some of us were pleasantly surprised by the tailgate before the game, and others were shocked by the football team’s massive blowout. “I mean, to be honest, it was very, very satisfying as someone coming to Harvard not knowing what their athletic programmes were like,” Michael Finkenbinder ’25 said. “Seeing them do very, very well and absolutely decimate Brown.”
Students’ opinions of the game differed based on previous experiences of high school football. Those who came from large, suburban schools may be disappointed by Harvard’s lack of emphasis on Friday night lights, while others seem thrilled to attend large athletic events for the first time.
Many Brown students recalled not even making an appearance to the game at all. Some were placed on “drunk girl watch,” and a large group shared an ounce of psychedelic mushrooms, turning the rivalry chants into sensory overload. Other students paid more attention to the food trucks outside the stadium and the overall atmosphere of the game. When asked about the final score, Raquel ’25 responded, “I think they were winning when I left. They won, right?”
Regardless of your Harvard-Brown football game experience, the famous Harvard-Yale Game will be held on November 20th. It should be an absolute blowout so wear all of your Crimson gear and get rowdy!
Hannah Frazer ’25 (hannahfrazer@college.harvard.edu) ate chicken fingers in the student section.
Eliza Kimball ’25 (elizakimball@college.harvard.edu) is now an avid tailgate enthusiast.