Long Day's Journey Into Ithaca: Meeting the Big Red Machine

ITHACA, N.Y.--They call the Harvard-Cornell game the beginning of the second season. After two weeks of non-league play, the Crimson returns to six weeks of straight Ivy torture, beginning here--today.

I call the Harvard-Cornell game a hemarrhoid more than anything else. Being subjected to Ithaca for just 30 seconds is even more painful than the snicker-provoking affliction that attacks from behind. Ithaca, along with Binhamton and Buffalo, defines the triangular wasteland of Western New York that could well be overrun by the Erie Waste Canal and never be missed.

This year's trip to Cornell was destined to be an order on the scale of a pilgrimage. After deciding that driving four hundred-plus miles to see Schoellkopt Field's polyurethane carpet was too much to ask of any sane being. I opted for the airplane route.

But nothing could be simple: Ithaca has no airport. (I'm still looking for a bus station.) So the Cornell-bound must fly to Syracuse first. Hospitable Allegheny Airlines serves Syracuse four times daily; but on this day, most of the east coast had decided to head for that city's Hancock Airport. So with a 7:00 p.m. soccer game in Ithaca to cover, the Sports Cube contingent slipped on to flight 295. a 6:10 p.m. departure for Syaracuse, and the only seats we could get.

However, the plane didn't want to go anymore than we did. After a half hour of watching the pilot stroke this 727's nose and pet it on the wings, we finally boarded, set to touch down in Syracuse 50 minutes later--just in time to miss the opening gun in Ithaca.

While renting a Hertz car as Harvard battled away the opening period of an eventual overtime loss, we digested reeyeled saland sandwitches and shortcake cookies that Allegheny unfortunately had provided.

From Interstate 81 to Route 13, via scenic Cortland, a 50--mile journey to Ithaca offers an edifying display of fall foliage. Ofcourse on this trip, the leaves were obscured by predictably dark night sky. So after leaving the city whose airport proclaims it "New York's progressive metropolitan area." We were left to top-40 am tunes on CKLW (Toronto) and Sparky Anderson's World series color commentary on WHAS.

As we pulled into Ithaca, I couldn't help wondering why I hadn't stayed on flight 295, eventually bound for Mineapolis-St. Paul. After all, the twin cities looked good on the Mary Tyler Moore Show.

The lone hope is that Harvard will redeem the weekend with a win. Bob Blackman, a longtime Dartmouth coach, now in his second year with Cornell, should be made to repent for staying so long in Hanover's fraternity land. And Joe Restic could use a break. (Oh, sorry Joe. I didn't mean a break in a quarterback.)

The prediction from Ithaca: Harvard 19, Cornell 12; more early early snow in Boston; and a lot of Big Red fans who will have to shampoo the Schoellkopf carpet before entertaining guests tonight.

COLUMBIA at PRINCETON--A rival for last week's Columbia-Pennsylvania matchup: there's no deciding which will turn out more boring. The Lions won last week, and once is enough for New Yorkers: Princeton, 8-3, with a grand slam in the seventh.

DARTMOUTH at YALE--The Big Green won't curb these Bulldogs, and they'll have to clean up the Yale Bowl: Yale, 31-17.

BROWN at PENNSYLVANIA--Franklin Field will resemble a Quaker meeting Saturday--severe crowd silence: Brown, 28-6.

LAST WEEK: 4-2, .666 (mediocrity strikes deep).

SEASON TO DATE: 11-7, .611.