The Yale Herald » yale harvard game

Top 5 things you’ll be able to hear at The (vuvuzela- free) Game

justine — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 00:10:34 +0000

Harvard has bowed to pressure from marching bands, football players, and other people who enjoy the use of their ears to ban vuvuzelas at this year’s Game. Great! Now you’ll be able to hear all the amazing sounds around you. Here’s a top 5.

5. Your neighbors in the stands, including the person next to you screaming something about football, the person on your other side screaming something decidedly not about football, and the Yalies all around you commenting on how much they miss New Haven.

4. The marching band playing something resembling a song that sounds so vaguely familiar that you will spend the at least five minutes trying to figure out what it is.

3. Your friend’s constant questions about what is going on in the game… “Wait, so they have to go 4 yards on 10 tries? Is that right?”

2. Another friend calling to find out where you are in the stands/ where you are going after the game/ whether you should leave the game early/ instructions to wave from your seat so they can see you.

1. Your own thoughts.

YDN in six words or less: 11-19-09

joe — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:33:52 +0000

Past, present, future predict Yale winning!

Harvard-Yale Game 2009: Who’s Who in the YPMB

gabe — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:22:17 +0000

The Super Bowl might get Justin Timberlake, U2, or Elvis for its half-time show (I said might, I don’t really know), but no Rock-and-Roll can compare to the musical stylings of the Yale Precision Marching Band (or “YPMB” to insiders). Because they’re the Game’s main entertainment attraction, I decided to get some inside scoop on who the major “players” are in making it all happen. So here are the people you can thank when all is said, done, and marched:

Jackie Bruleigh, head scriptwriter. Like Tina Fey on “30 Rock,” Jackie is the boss, she’s a strong, assertive, creative woman, and she’s pretty into food. She’s the one in charge of coming up with ideas for a script and convening the “script team.”
Tom Duffy, Ph. D., faculty advisor. Professor Duffy is the Alec Baldwin to Jackie’s Tina, the “suit” who helps to edit the script after it’s been drafted by the “script team.”
Raja Pillai, announcer. Tracy Morgan?
Kate Kraft, drum major. The drum major, it turns out, is basically the conductor of the band. So she is a huge deal.
Tory Jeffay, props builder. Inexplicably referred to as “squiddeity,” this position involves building the props for the shows––super important!

Now, as you probably know, actual details about the Game show are Top Secret. But I have assurances from my source that preparations are well under way, and that excitement among the YPMBers is higher than ever. ”I love being in the band, especially around this time of the year,” she told me. ”We have bigger audiences, and people tend to really respond well to our Game Show. However, I’m kind of stressed because I want the show to be perfect, especially after what happened last year.”

For more coverage of the Harvard-Yale Game 2009, check out our Game topic page!

Harvard-Yale Game 2009: The Fight Songs

joe — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:51:53 +0000

Unless you’re on the Glee Club, you probably don’t know more than “Bull Dog” and the first line to “Boola Boola” (the latter is the one that played on the website when you got in.) So here’s a great, albeit ugly, guide to all the fight songs for the Harvard-Yale Game! My personal favorite? For its vague, albeit possibly anachronistic drug and dating references:

Goodnight, poor Harvard,

Harvard, goodnight!

Oh, we’ve got your number, you’re high as a kite. Oh, Oh, Oh,

Goodnight, poor Harvard, you’re tucked in tight.

When the big blue team gets after you

Harvard, goodnight!

You might want to print it out, or at least e-mail it to yourself in a special folder on your iPhone, because chances are not good that your memory will hold up at the Game—or even on the walk there.

For more coverage of the Harvard-Yale Game 2009, check out our Game topic page!