The Yale Herald » the Game

5 outfits you will see at The Game

Amanda Gould — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:51:52 +0000

Individualism is so 2010. Everyone you see this weekend will fit into one of these five categories. Guaranteed.

This pup is ready to tailgate.

1. “Y” Knitted Sweater

This Yale classic should be instated as the official uniform for Harvard-Yale weekend. It’s classy, warm, comfortable, and most importantly, Yale themed. If you own this sweater, wear it. If you don’t, trust us, go buy one.

2. School Spirit Overload

These students have accumulated enough Yale apparel to clothe an army, but instead choose to wear it all themselves. They will be decked out in Yale sunglasses, sweatshirts, hats, scarves, t-shirts, gloves, and even socks with little “Y”s embroidered on the ankle.

3. New England Preppy

It is safe to say that a majority of Game-goers will be sporting Barbour coats and brown riding boots. These people may be Yalies, they may be Cantabs, or they may be imposters from [insert any Ivy League school other than Harvard or Yale] that are trying ride the coattails of our school’s tailgating superiority.

4. The Alumni Uniform

Old people come to The Game too. Chances are, they will be wearing khaki slacks, a navy blue sport coat, loafers, and a tie featuring some sort of Yale emblem (Residential College shields, Yale College shields, bulldogs, the letter “Y”… you get the picture).

5. …the color crimson

Doesn’t look good on anyone. What an unfortunate mascot. Sorry we’re not, Harvard.

Harvard sucks and this article doesn’t matter

Ryan Arnold — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 22:13:18 +0000

Yesterday, the New York Times reported that Coach Tom Williams has purported a suspiciously confusing history concerning his own application for the Rhodes scholarship. Williams, a graduate of Stanford University, said he withdrew his application to the Rhodes program prior to the announcement of the finalists. According to the article, it’s actually unclear whether Williams applied in the first place (you’ll see why if you check it out for yourself). The article vaguely hinted at the credibility of the “advice” that Williams was giving our own Patrick Witt, ’12, in Witt’s decision between the finalist interview and the Game. Once I finished the article, I had to re-read it in order to understand why Vivian Yee (last year’s editor-in-chief of the YDN) and Peter May wrote it in the first place. It didn’t help. Yes, the evidence provided shows that Williams probably didn’t try his hardest to correct the existing articles that says he was a finalist. Yes, the evidence provided makes it difficult to say he was an applicant for the Rhodes in the first place. Who actually cares? I’m not sure why it’s important or relevant to his ability to coach the Yale football team. Regardless, this article marks one of a bajillion articles that surrounds Witt’s decision to play in the Game this Saturday. Despite it hailing from the ever-God-like New York Times, it’s also probably the least interesting.

The best H/Y football prank…

Jesse Schreck — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:21:23 +0000

…happened in 1982, when MIT tunneled under the football field and made a giant weather balloon appear as if out of nowhere, proving definitively that MIT is far nerdier (read: better at doing stuff weather balloons) than either Harvard or Yale.

From the vault: a very annoying Harvard video

justine — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:53:38 +0000

The so/so video turf battle going on before the Game led me to the world of Harvard on Youtube, and it was an adventure. Here’s a gem from 2008 that meshes well with Harvard’s “we are the best elite” Game theme this year. In the video, which I encourage you not to watch all the way through, an a cappella group struggles its way through a song dedicated to all the people who have been rejected by Harvard (the 94%?). It does so much to make viewers uncomfortable… including such lines as “You got rejected, and you’re probably not Jewish or even gay” and “You got rejected, maybe your daddy should have made a donation.” Just fun stuff.

Harvard plans to “occupy Yale”

Jesse Schreck — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:56:24 +0000

That’s Harvard’s unofficial slogan for this year’s Game. It’s on their pinnies and t-shirts, and there’s even a Twitter account @OccupyYale (still waiting for that first tweet!). Their Game-day apparel website does feature some other choice catchphrases, like “No one ever says ‘I want to go to Yale when I grow up’” (really?), but Occupy is the dominant theme.

True, Harvard is going to occupy Yale in that they will be here physically, but beyond that, the joke doesn’t really make sense. One pinny says “WE ARE THE 6%.” Are they protesting our marginally higher admissions rate? No, they’re bragging about being more elite, which is…exactly what Occupy is protesting. The basis of Harvard’s claim to superiority is that they’re more selective; the basis of Occupy is that the selective 1% is destroying the world.

To extend Harvard’s logic, the occupation of Yale would be akin to a group of bankers occupying a family business (they’re comparing themselves to the 1%, which would presumably make us the other 99%). That’s kind of a dick move. Except that our admissions rate is literally one percentage point above theirs, which makes their occupation of Yale more akin to a group of bankers occupying a slightly less wealthy group of bankers. That’s still a dick move. Also, it’s weird.

Enjoy some Natalie Portman, everyone (gotta give credit to Harvard on this one):

Salient points from Gentry’s email

John — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 01:52:17 +0000

If there’s one thing that really puts me in “rage mode,” it’s a well thought-out email from an administrator. Today’s email from Gentry could not have been any better for this purpose. He had it all: bold-faced headings, self-referential hyperlinks, plenty of appositives, and enough apologetic quotation marks to sink a ship. But these are merely formal matters. Not one to underplay the importance of letting loose, Gentry lucidly outlines the entire freakin weekin, complete with “have fun here” annotations. As a sophomore, I’ve never been to The Game at Yale, so naturally, I had some questions. Da dean had da answers.

Q: What is the MLA-approved term for Saturday’s contest?

A: “The Game.”

Q: Do we ever get to ditch the quote-marks?

A: Never give in–never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.

Q: Wtf is so tight about SWITCH?

A: He is a UK-based DJ.

Q: How legit is the ID enforcement?

A: :-/

Q: Where can I find Paine Whitney Gymnasium, our schools gym? Like that big-ass gym that everyone goes to and it looks like a cathedral and you can’t miss it?

A: 70 Tower Parkway, New Haven, CT 06511

Q: What are some things that you like to do?

A: Socializing with friends at a party, tailgate, or elsewhere is fun.

Q: And then what??

A: It ceases to be fun when someone drinks to excess.

Q: I don’t follow.

A: And, GO BULLDOGS!!

Q: Isn’t there a one-or-three rule for exclamation points?

A: ;-P

DJs and contests and Commons, oh my!

justine — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:05:30 +0000

This Friday, in honor of the Game and our guests from the North, YCC is throwing a huge party in Commons. It will feature Switch, of Major Lazer, along with the winners of Yale and Harvard student DJ contests in a duel before the main show. As if that wasn’t enough excitement, the party will also feature “some of the sickest lasers you can find – the same ones that were used at the Super Bowl.” This is serious business- Super Bowl tested lasers serious. You can check out the Yale student DJ submissions here, and then vote here. The submissions vary, with production values ranging from the top video drenched in hipster sunlight on a roof to the one below, which features exclusively the DJ’s machine on his lap.

New video for the Game

Jesse Schreck — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:26:58 +0000

Well, it’s Game week, which means that Yale is about to get saturated with anti-Harvard shirts, sunglasses, and ‘tudes. Some people even set out to make a video, which is coming out tomorrow night. You can check out the official release countdown here. The website is called “Harvard Still Sucks,” so I have no idea what the movie will be about.

In other, older news, enjoy a throwback to Yale’s 2004 prank:

THE DILEMMA 2012: Brian Williams joins the fray

justine — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:43:12 +0000

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Brian Williams joined in on the many many news sources covering the biggest double booking ever: quarterback Patrick Witt’s simultaneous opportunities to play in the Game and interview for a Rhodes Scholarship. Check out the video above for the coverage on Brian Williams’ Nightly News, including an interview in the stands of the Yale Bowl and some beautiful shots of Witt walking around campus under the weight of his upcoming decision.

A look ahead at The Game: Harvard’s fight song lol

John — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:57:46 +0000

The Game is now less than 26 days away. The City is 80.8 miles away. The Bandit is Burt Reynolds’s best role. Try The Grouper, it’s great!

Why is it that these things deserve such capitalization? What makes these particular items standout from the category to which they belong in such a way that they claim their respective titles outright? Aren’t there other games (like Yale versus Georgetown, Checkers, Hi Ho! Cherry-O) that we trivialize by dubbing the contest between Yale and Harvard “The Game”?

Well, yes. But that’s the point, you see. And if you don’t get what’s so important about The Game, then FORGET YOU, MAN! It’s called The Game because it’s about a conflict so essential, so deep-rooted, that any other name would inevitably shortchange its grandeur. To illustrate the all-importance of the contest, we recently unearthed an old-time Harvard fight song. This should begin to explain why the November 19 game matters so much. It is about an ideological clash so profound and irreconcilable that it must be meted out at the Yale Bowl.

Here it is. It is really bad. Hate it with me:

Fight Fiercely, Harvard!
Fight, Fight, fight!
Demonstrate to them our skill.
Albeit they possess the might,
Nonetheless we have the will.
How we shall celebrate our victory:
We shall invite the whole team
Up for tea! How jolly!
Hurl that spheroid down the field
And Fight! Fight! Fight!

Like, come on.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, taken by George R. Lawrence Co.