Life at The 101st Game

Last year in New Haven, Harvard and Yale celebrated 100 years of football rivalry. On Saturday, the teams and their partisans met to kick off the second century of The Game.

(Clockwise from upper left) Despite snow flurries and bitter winds, 40,000 fans attended Game 101 at the Harvard Stadium. The cold temperatures discouraged elaborate tailgating but not enthusiastic spectating, even from the Yale bulldog, who strolled around the field while a flasher made several token appearances. Banished to the end zones, undergraduates wearing "Bulldog Buster" hats and "Fight 'Fiercely Harvard" pins built human pyramids and chugged beer. Both sides of the Stadium took turns standing and cheering, then sitting and shivering.

Although Yale triumphed in The Game, 30-27, both teams' fans had reason to cheer. The contest was one of the more exciting Harvard-Yale matches, and one of the safest. Security guards on foot and horseback prevented students from approaching the greased goal posts. When it was all over, the Stadium was quickly cleared of football fans and other wildlife, but remnants of both remained. In the midst of manure and trash, a small group of Harvard fans stood on the field and sang while the hand played "Ten Thousand Men of Harvard."