Breakers Open Season--Not at Harvard

Imagine yourself, one of 18,000 screaming fans at Harvard Stadium rooting on your favorite United State Football League team, the Boston Breakers, to an exciting come-from-behind victory last Sunday, Sounds unrealistic? Not if the Breakers had had their way.

More than eight months before the Breakers' opening kickoff last weekend at Boston University's Nickerson Field, the new franchise initiated negotiations with Harvard over the use of the Stadium as the town's home field. Harvard Stadium was seen by the Breakers as ideal in size and accessibility.

While exile to Schaefer Stadium in Foxboro remained a prospect, its use conflicted with Breakers President Robert Caporale's belief that "the fundamental concept of the Breakers is that the team be in Boston and play in Boston."

Play in Boston they did, and judging from the headaches now facing B.U. Harvard officials are at least a bit pleased with their decision to turn down the Breakers.

According to a Boston Globe report, the Boston Licensing Board charged Monday not only that B.U. had sold food and liquor Sunday without appropriate licenses but that it didn't even have the entertainment license needed to hold the game.

Harvard's decision was more than just a good prediction; the University has been involved with professional teams in the past. The Patriots played at Harvard for a year in the seventies while waiting for the completion of Schaefer, and the Celtics even entertained the idea of building an arena in the Business School parking lot.

Harvard Athletic Director John P. Reardon '60 is quick to point out that each of these cases involved quite different circumstances than those involved with the Breakers.

President Bok, who made the final decision, felt the Patriots' presence had interfered, however minutely, with the interests of the University and had been a disruption to the Allston community.

Surprisingly, money was not an obstacle to an agreement. The Breakers were ready to at least match the $25,000 per game price paid by the Patriots and cover all operating costs. Added to this probably would have been improvements to the Stadium such as new locker rooms and weight facilities that would have been available for student use.

But those involved in the decision felt other factors outweighed the monetary benefits available. According to Reardon. "What it came down to was a philosophical issue. Is it correct to have professionals in an amateur atmosphere? This issue was never resolved. We talked to other people who had pro teams. No one really liked it, but they lived with it."

In the end, $250,000 could not compete with the perceived interests of the University and the complaints of neighbors so sensitive as to demand that their windows be washed by Harvard after soot from last year's press box fire dirtied them. In his final decision that came at the last minute for the Breakers, President Bok said, "[the University] reluctantly decided that it could not enter into agreement because of very strong opposition from portions of the University and community. In particular, there were active feelings within Harvard that [the Breakers'] plan would conflict with our academic mission."

Rejected by Harvard and their second choice Boston College the Breakers finally found a home at Nickerson, where another crowd will show up next Sunday--making the Terriers a little richer and no doubt helping Harvard officials feel more satisfied with their decision.