Soccer's Super Saturday

Much has been written (by this columnist and a couple of others) about the lack of school spirit and support for Harvard athletics.

But for one day, this past Saturday, Ohiri Field was as packed as I've ever seen it in my more than two years here at Harvard. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people watched the women's and men's soccer teams try to win the Ivy League championship, and they saw two teeth-gnashing, gut-wrenching, tear-jerking games.

First, there was the women soccer team's heartbreaker, in which the Crimson allowed two goals in the final 20 minutes of regulation to tie Brown, 3-3, and thus fall one point short of taking the Ivy title from the Bears.

The hundreds of supporters were even joined by the Harvard Band with the Crimson holding a 2-1 lead in the second half. They played a couple of songs and joined in the celebration of Keren Gudeman's second goal of the game, which gave Harvard a 3-1 advantage.

The fans also booed the referee who appeared to give the Bears the majority of the close calls. Of course, "Dave Brown" (as one fan called him) didn't change his officiating style, but the players appreciated the support.

When the game was finally over and the Crimson players were held their heads low, those fans gave the team a standing ovation--well-deserved after such a wonderful, hard-fought regular season. (There is a happy ending--the NCAA tournamnet selected Harvard for the first time since 1984.)

Then there was the men's soccer game against Brown that started at 2:30. Once the football game across the street ended at about 4:00, hundreds of people gathered around the already-packed stands to cheer on the squad.

While Harvard goalie Peter Albers was making acrobatic saves on one end of the field to keep his team's Ivy dream alive, the fans on the sideline opposite the players' benches were ribbing Brown goalie Tim Webb in vituperative, Harvard hockey-fan form.

Whether or not Webb was affected is not known.

What is known is that when Kevin Silva deposited Toure McCluskey's perfect lead pass into the Brown net 8:17 into overtime, the crowd threw out a thunderous cheer, as Silva and company tried to imitate Brazil's World Cup celebratory dance.

And when T.J. Carella struck a perfect ball off a direct kick only 39 seconds into the second overtime to give Harvard a 2-0 lead, pandemonium broke loose.

Carella ran over to the boisterous sideline, which poured out onto the field in a wild celebration. Yes, a few people had a few too many beers, but they were there, sharing their joy with the players rather than waiting to hear about the game from someone else.

They sang, they danced, they cheered and they celebrated Harvard's biggest win in years, hoisting Carella and others into the air.

And for one afternoon, one glorious Saturday afternoon, the school pride was there.

And it felt good.

"It was great to see so many fans, and it was great to have that much support," co-captain Beth Morgan said. "It made me so psyched to be an athlete."

I'm supposed to be impartial, but inside I do bleed for the Harvard teams.

And as a reporter who's been through the lean days of Harvard fan support, Saturday was a truly special sight.