Students Travel to Penn for Rematch

Tonight at 2 a.m., when the last Cambridge bars close down and most students are left to wander back to their dorms, 50 students—sponsored by the H-Club—will board a red-eye bus headed to Philadelphia for the Harvard-Penn football game.

After having breakfast and “getting crazy,” said H-Club Co-President Hilary C. Robinson ’03, the Crimson faithful will arrive at Franklin Field, where the packed audience will include the unusual Ivy League guest ESPN, which will be broadcasting its weekly College GameDay show live from the game.

The H-Club, which typically launches buses to away games on Saturday mornings, decided on an overnight trip this week so fans can arrive in time for the start of the pre-game show at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow.

The Penn match-up has a little extra hype for a reason.

“Both Penn and Harvard are undefeated, so whoever wins this game will most likely be the Ivy League champion,” said H-Club executive Bryan E. Bellmare ’03.

Football prognosticators have pointed to this game all season as the contest most likely to decide the league championship, and when both Harvard and Penn won games last week to stay undefeated in the Ivy League, ESPN wasted no time getting in on the action.

GameDay host Chris Fowler and analysts Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit cover the details of significant college football games through previews, interviews and predictions. This will be the show’s first trip to an NCAA Division I-AA venue and only its second to a game where neither team has a shot at the national title.

So that Harvard makes a good showing on national television, the football team needs to have a solid fan base present to support them, Robinson said.

To help fans get to the game, H-Club is offering students tickets to the game, roundtrip transportation and food and drinks, all for $40.

It doesn’t look like attendance will be a problem.

Nicholas A. Shiftan ’05, an H-Club member in charge of organizing the bus for tomorrow’s game, said more than 50 people have signed up for the approximately 50 spots on the bus, and some won’t end up with seats.

Valerie Novales ’04 will be one of the lucky 50. An avid Crimson fan, she usually takes the H-Club bus to away games, she said, because it’s easier than working out public transportation schedules.

“This game definitely means a lot more for the guys, so I wish a lot of people go,” Novales said. “Crowd support really gets to them and they are fighting for the title.”

Lionel F. Rivera ’04, another devoted fan, said he is looking forward to bringing his whole Pforzheimer House blocking group on the bus.

“The bus ride over there will be the party in motion,” Rivera said. “There will be tailgating, craziness, painted faces and Crimson Crazy fun.”