It's not just any old game—it's The Game

In 1989, Yale was poised to win an undisputed Ivy League Championship, but was upset by Harvard, 37-20. The last time before 1997 that Harvard came into The Game unbeaten, they lost. The last time the Crimson came into The Game winless, they won. And in 1979, the Elis entered The Game unbeaten in league play but were embarrassed to lose to a dismal Harvard team with a 2-6 record. There are no guarantees when Harvard and Yale meet for the yearly contest—regardless of each team's previous performance, The Game is a battle to the bitter end.

JULIA TIERNAN/YH Yale, the winningest team in college football history, managed to overpower Harvard, 24-21, last year.

The 1999 Yale-Harvard game was a perfect example. The Bulldogs entered The Game 8-1, and aside from wanting to beat Harvard, the team also hoped to clinch a part of the Ivy League title. The Game was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams from start to finish. The most thrilling moment came with half a minute remaining, Yale down by four. Eric Johnson, JE '01, dived for a pass from Joe Walland, TD '00, inches from the endzone grass, lifting Yale to a 24-21 victory.

According to Jack Siedlecki, head coach of the Bulldogs, there are two goals in Yale football. First, win the league title. Second, beat Harvard. Often, the second seems a lot more important than the first. The senior class had another goal, according to defensive end Peter Sarantos, MC '00. "As freshmen, we all vowed to one another that we would be the ones responsible for righting the staggering Yale football program," he said. "We talked endlessly of how fantastic it would be to pack the Bowl and play Harvard for the Ivy League Championship in our last game ever." All goals were met in the most recent edition of The Game.

Perhaps the most storied Yale-Harvard encounter was the 1968 game, between two undefeated teams. On the line was an Ivy League Championship. The Crimson fell behind 22-0 but staged a furious rally, tallying the last 16 points of the game to tie the game at 29. The week's Harvard Crimson read, "Harvard beats Yale, 29-29." Sports Illustrated recently listed the game as one of the five most memorable college football games of all time.

They call it The Game because it's the biggest game in town. And with most other college football rivalries, Yale and Harvard's trickiest plays are often saved for the face-off against the arch rival. In the huddle during a Game in the late 1970's, one of Yale's all-time most prolific receivers, John Spagnola, TD '79, heard "Downtown Left" and was astounded. Coach Carm Cozza was calling for a play that the squad had fooled around with during its sandlot football games that week. The play had Spagnola taking a lateral from quarterback Pat O'Brien, BK '79, to complete a stunning 77-yard touchdown play. After the game, a 35-28 victory for Yale, a young, recently-elected New Jersey senator named Bill Bradley, for whom Spagnola had worked during the summer, called Spagnola to tell him that the game was the most exciting contest he had ever seen.

The Game has meaning for the players, fans, students, and alumni, and memories of Yale-Harvard encounters of the past linger in the minds of those who came to support the team. And the players' memories center not only on the actual victory or what occurred on the field, but also in the atmosphere of The Game. "The most telling part of our season and of The Game was the 52,484 people in the Bowl, along with all the players and coaches, who believed that we were going to win," Jeff Hockenbrock, PC '00, said. You could feel it. To look up from the field during the game and see the Bowl packed with screaming fans was awesome, but seeing all those fans rush the field to celebrate with the team after the victory was even more special."

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