How To: Engineer a Yale Meet Cute

After a long semester of seeing the same masked faces from your lectures and sections, get ready for an exciting change of pace with the return of The Game this coming weekend. New city, new experiences, new friends… a new special someone? Read on for our tips on where, when, and how to engineer the perfect Harvard-Yale meet cute!

Classic Coffee Shop Kismet: Blue State Coffee

Call it old-school, but you can never beat a New England coffee shop meet cute. Blue State Coffee is a great place to not only fuel up before the Game, but scout out romantic Yalie potentials first thing in the morning (no judgement). Make eye contact with that cutie in the corner so they can witness your frighteningly dark yet charming eyebags after the long drive to New Haven, and bat your eyelashes over an $11 avocado toast. These classic moves can never serve you wrong.

Climbing the Cell Towers for Phone Service

If you haven’t been to the Game before, please believe EVERYTHING that everyone has told you about the Yale stadium being in the literal middle of nowhere. Just, in the deep woods of Connecticut. In other words: absolutely no cell service to be found, anywhere. But imagine how romantic a meet cute at the top of the New Haven cell towers would be as you’re desperately trying to use Find My Friends to track down your blockmates?

Yale Student Section Invasion

Just picture it: your bright, crimson sweater bobbing amongst a sea of bulldog blue. You lock eyes with a special someone over the crowd of Yalies inexplicably stripping en masse. They think, “Who is that incredibly hot, stunning, mysterious stranger in maroon?” You two slowly make your way over to each other, picking through the throng. Those first sweet, fateful introductions are finally exchanged as the band plays “All I Want for Christmas Is You” for the sixth time. It’s perfect.

GHeav or A 2000’s Rom-Com?

The affectionate colloquial name for Good Nature Market (think: Yale’s subpar analogue to late-night Noch’s), GHeav is the perfect place to run into a beautiful stranger and also chow down on overpriced sandwiches at 2 a.m.— the quintessential college experience everywhere. Workshop your best pick-up lines for this one; only time will tell what special magic the deli’s bright fluorescent lights and hordes of sweaty college students may provide for you this weekend.

A Tender Toad’s Tale

Ah yes, Toad’s. Part New Haven nightclub, part dimly lit purgatorial discotheque. In all honesty, you’ll just have to let fate run its course within the sticky walls of this infamous venue. Plus, cross your fingers that they play some decent songs so any serendipitous romantic run-in out on that crowded dance floor occurs with a backing soundtrack to make it the stuff of movies (one can only dream*).

*Seriously… this is a reach. You are not going to meet your one true love in Toad’s. Snap out of it.

Honestly, meeting new people at Yale is truly all in good fun, no matter your intentions. Just remember that if all else fails, you will very likely not see any of these people again (at least not for another year). After all, this is all about football! Right? Go Crimson!