Pursuing Fun, Sun, and Win

Forget the winter hats. Forget the heavy coats. The Harvard hockey team is bringing its swim suits and sun tan lotion to Ithaca tonight.

"It's a day at the beach," says Crimson Coach Bill Cleary, who plans a snorkelling exhibition immediately following the Cornell-Harvard fun-in-the-sun party at Lynah Rink.

A Cornell-Harvard hockey game is like Times Square on New Year's Eve. It's like a bull fight with 12 matadors.

A Cornell-Harvard hockey game is as wild as some Harvard Square hairdos. Even if you don't have much hair.

"The Harvard coach is bald, the Harvard coach is bald," the Lynah fashionplates screamed at Cleary last year as they have for the past 17 years. And Cleary, the good sport, patted his head, smiled and waved to the mobs. They roared their appreciation.

When you got it--or, rather, don't got it--you've got to flaunt it.

Cleary is usually an early target of the Jay Lenos in the stands. After he gives them his $500 grin, they turn their attention to the Harvard players. Last year, goalie Dickie McEvoy was a crowd favorite.

"Harvard sucks Dickie," they yelled. "Harvard sucks Dickie." But Dickie didn't suck. He and the Crimson beat Cornell, 6-3, giving Harvard its second straight victory in Ithaca.

Cornell has an agricultural school and one of its charges usually finds its way into Lynah for the Cornell-Harvard showdown. Between the second and third periods, a chicken is tied to the Harvard goalpost. The crowd loves it.

Major-league Choke

Two years ago, some kids tied the bird to the post and the feathered fowl choked itself to death. Cornell didn't fair much better. The Big Red suffered an 11-3 blowout.

This year, both Cornell and Harvard sport young line-ups. Both goaltenders are freshmen. And both Cornell and Harvard are good. Harvard is 5-0 in the league and Cornell is 3-1.

"There's a great consistency to the two programs," says Cornell Coach Brian McCutcheon, who played for the Big Red during the early 1970s. "Both teams have national reputations. [Cornell-Harvard] is a constant struggle for the Ivy League and ECAC championships."

How big is Cornell-Harvard?

"It's got to be one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports," Harvard Associate Coach Ronn Tomassoni says.

It's so big--and so unruly--that for the last two years, the game has been held on Sunday afternoon, in hopes of attracting more grandmothers and children.

The Cornell hockey team didn't get along well with Sundays. It dropped both Sunday affairs by a combined 17-9 count. The 11 goals the Cornellians surrendered two years ago was the most ever.

Cornell hasn't beaten Harvard in three years.

So now the Big Red will try its luck on Friday night. The fraternity brothers will hold off their parties a bit so they can catch the game. Chickens all across Ithaca are phoning in sick.

"There's a tremendous amount of electricity," McCuthcheon said. "It's sold out, standing room only."

Surf's up.