Sideline Sidelights

It's funny how some of the most enjoyable experiences in life arise spontaneously.

Take last Saturday. I was sitting in my room, doing one of those take-home labs that Physics 15b is wont to assign. I had just scared my finger on the soldering iron that I was less-than-deftly using when the phone rang. It was fellow Crimson sports editor Eric Brown.

"Wanna go to the football game this afternoon?"

I think to myself, no way, you've already scheduled your day. There's no way I can make it.

"Sure, I'll go."

So we trekked across Weeks Bridge, ready for some football.

It was a gorgeous day, and the Stadium looked terrific. Then the big question: where to sit.

We wandered around until we see two guys with the Notre Dame-Boston College game on a TV, and we instantly planted ourselves there.

Harvard-Cornell live AND Notre Dame-Boston College on the tube at the same time. Hey, can your beer do this?

We also happened to be in the second row, right behind the Crimson bench. Pretty soon, we were consumed by the goings-on of the bench rather than the game itself.

We watched Coach Murphy diagram plays on one of those little rub-out boards and review them with his quarterback Vin Ferrara and the rest of the offensive unit, huddled around Murphy like respectful students around a master teacher.

We could hear the shouts of encouragement of players to one another as they took the field.

"We're going to send a message to the Ivy League that Harvard is coming," one player shouted as Harvard took a 13-9 lead.

"Way to go, offense keep it up, keep it up, KEEP IT UP!!" blared another player after a Harvard touchdown.

There was also the cries of the coaches, managing their different units.

"Punt team! Punt team!" called the special teams coordinator as the Crimson prepared for a third-down conversion.

And the punt team obliged, grabbing their helmets, swarming to the coach instantly.

"Hey offense, hey offense, come here," shouted another coach. "You gotta want this thing!"

Oh, and every now and then, I took a peek at the game.

Not that the game was boring. It's just that the action on the field didn't seem to be the whole story of the football game.

There was more. Another friend of ours from the Crimson was on the field, taking pictures of the game and the band. At the half we went over, talked for a while, and even got our picture taken.

And it dawned on me: these people on the sidelines, they aren't some overpaid, arrogant, amorphous stars that seem unreal. They're people we know, they're our friends.

For me, it was a fascinating and enjoyable ballgame. I'd never been that close to a sideline before. At pro games, you're lucky if you can see the field for the thirty dollars you spend to go.

Yet as far as I could tell, the crowd didn't seem incredibly enthusiastic.

Fellow sportswriter Dave Griffel noted this point in one of his recent columns, and I kinda felt the same way.

I came home a little hoarse from all the cheering I did, and with a new perspective on some of the little elements and goings-on of a football game.

When I looked at the picture taken of me at the game, I looked happy. Really happy. Like someone who has found Utopia and isn't leaving anytime soon.

Today the Crimson takes on the Colgate Red Raiders at the Stadium at 1 p.m. If time is on your side, catch the game.

And if you want to see a game from a little different perspective, head to the first row. After all, the devil really is in the details.

HARVARD

Head coach: Tim Murphy, 1st season

Captain: Ed Kinney

Record: 2-2-0 Overall, 1-1-0 Ivy

'93 Record: 3-7-0 Overall, 1-6-0 Ivy

Last Meeting: Harvard, 24-20 at Soldier's Field (1978)

Series History: Harvard leads, 3-2-0

Basic Offense: Multiple Pro-Set

Basic Defense: 8-Man Front

COLGATE

Head coach: Ed Sweeney, 2nd season

Captain: Mike Boorman

Record: 1-4-0 Overall

'93 Record: 3-7-1 Overall

Letterman Returning: 22

Starters Returning: 11

Last Victory Over Harvard: 1977; 38-21 at Soldier's Field

Basic Offense: "1"

Basic Defense: 4-4