A GOOD HOST

Football has always been a gentleman's game, probably because its very physical nature brings out the best in men. Last Saturday the crowds applauded Boynton not only because his playing was spectacular, but because it was also the clean playing of a gentleman. Coach Moran of Centre College boasts that Harvard will never have faced a "cleaner playing team." That is the real football spirit; that is why the game is scarcely tainted with professionalism and the rowdyism that goes with it. This fall there have been crowds in the stadium who were so ignorant as to believe that the gentleman's code applied only to the players. Prolonged "boos" have greeted official decisions; cheers have been heard when a team was penalized. It was evident that these persons were not of the University, which is an easy way of dismissing the subject. But is not the University somewhat responsible for the conditions in the stadium?

The best host is one who creates an atmosphere in which all his guests will want to join. Is there any reason why the Harvard side of the stadium should show a silent indifference to its opponents, a sort of cold superiority to the presence of smaller colleges? Why save for the Princeton and Yale games the exhibition of enthusiasm and fine sportsmanship which Harvard can and has shown? So far the host in the stadium has done too little to create an atmosphere which will make those who "boo" feel decidedly out of place. We expect the team to act like fine sportsmen; why not expect as much from the Harvard supporters, instead of a passive indifference?