The Game of the Tribe

For many, Sunday afternoons dredge up the image of gallons of coffee, hours at Lamont, and inexplicable rashes. But for a select few, this past Sunday meant something a little less stressful, something more along the lines of a nice game of…Gaga. What? Don’t worry, non-Jews can play too.

So what is Gaga? Michael I. Levin-Gesundheit ’08, one of the organizers of the event, explains. “It’s a form of dodgeball thought to have originated in Israel, usually played in a sandy pit at a lot of Jewish Community Center camps.” Due to the lack of a pit at the Harvard Hillel, where the game was held, students instead lined up six folding tables on their sides to form a make-shift pit. “With each bounce, everyone says the word ga…ga…ga,” Levin-Gesundheit slowly enunciates, illustrating the suspense between bounces. After the third bounce, the game is a free-for-all, and Levin-Gesundheit briefly demonstrates the speedy footwork and hand-eye coordination necessary for victory in this below-the-knees game. Seem a little intense? Relax. Levin-Gesundheit assures us that “some would say it’s both infantile in name and practice.”

Not all of the participants share Levin-Gesundheit’s views. Dripping in sweat, Crimson Sports Chair Jonathan J. Lehman ’09 avows that “Harvard should really consider Gaga its 42nd varsity sport.” Fellow Gaga-guru Jaime S.M. Guarnaccia ’08 agrees, adding that “they should make a Gaga movie, like ‘Dodgeball.’”

So was this a one-time event, or can Harvard students count on a weekly Gaga game to get us through the Sunday slump? “We have to build up momentum, but we’re hoping to have at least two more games this year,” Levin-Gesundheit says. So, next time you’re looking for a good way to put off that pesky problem set, FM suggests looking out for the opportunity to embrace Jewish tradition by nailing your peers with balls.