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Subject: I Understand and Sympathize, But It's Still A Shock Author: An Observer [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] Date Posted: 11:54:44 02/21/25 Fri In reply to: Son of Eli 's message, "Stonehill at Yale 10/18" on 21:18:01 02/20/25 Thu I am very sympathetic to the difficulty of scheduling out-of-conference games, which is just one of many reasons I support starting the Ivy football season the Saturday after Labor Day. But it is always jarring to see an Ivy team play a college that I have literally never heard of. When Harvard football played Merrimack College and Princeton basketball played Incarnate Word, my first reaction was, "Are those even colleges?" Since 1869, college sports have been about marketing the sponsoring university to the public. We could have a long discussion about why HYP are the most famous universities in the world. I strongly believe one of the reasons is that, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when most Americans could barely name a single college outside of their state flagship university, HYP became famous not for educating the sons of Andover and Exeter and Lawrenceville, but for football. There is a reason why, from coast to coast, the most popular college mascots are bulldogs and tigers. Even the Alabama Crimson Tide tip their hat to a predecessor in Cambridge. We have benefited from marketing through football just as much as Michigan and Ohio State do today. So it's a shock to see Yale play Stonehill or Harvard play Merrimack. What's the marketing slogan at Arby's used to encourage buying their meat sandwiches? "You're the top of the food chain. Eat like it." Here's my suggestion for Ivy League football: "You're the most famous universities in the world. Schedule like it." [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

[> [> Subject: Its time to stop apologizing, For being The Ivy League Author: Ivy wanna be [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 12:55:42 02/21/25 Fri The Ivies are the elite., in academia be the elite in athletics.!! Start earlier, add at least another game. Stop doing things half assed.!! Come on Robin Harris, do what’s right. Look after The Entire sports program. Vicky Chun get in line as well..

[> [> [> Subject: Re: Its time to stop apologizing, For being The Ivy League Author: L et V [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 13:59:26 02/21/25 Fri Please, enough grumbling and grousing about playing Stonehill. It's perfect. It was meant to be. Look at Stonehill's crest where you will see its motto which begins "Lux et." There.

[> [> Subject: Am I the only one who watched Harvard-Merrimack? Author: Go Green [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 14:32:34 02/21/25 Fri It was actually a heck of a game. Merrimack was up by 14 in the fourth quarter before Harvard finally turned on the juice and won in overtime. IMHO, we look silly by bemoaning that teams are unworthy to be on the same field as us... and then either losing to them or beating them by the skin of our teeth. But that's just me...

[> [> [> Subject: Re: Am I the only one who watched Harvard-Merrimack? Author: An Observer [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 14:55:20 02/21/25 Fri I watched the end of Harvard-Merrimack. You are absolutely correct. It was a terrific football game. As I said above, it's very tough to schedule OOC when everybody else is starting conference play. Stonehill was available and they'll probably give us a good game. I get it. But as I said, it is absolutely jarring to see an opponent that I have literally never heard of. That was my reaction to Merrimack and Incarnate Word. And I lived in Boston for a long time! If I am located a half hour drive from your campus and I've never heard of your institution, that is jarring. I'll bet that there are not a dozen Division I colleges in America I've never heard of and one of them is taking Harvard football to overtime? What?! I dated a woman Suzanne who lived in Woburn (pronounced "Woo-burn") who had a sister Kendra attending Stonehill. Wonderful Irish family. Every visit to their house was a party. So at least I've heard of Stonehill, though not for the usual reasons.

[> [> Subject: Re: I Understand and Sympathize, But It's Still A Shock Author: Ivy Patriot [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 16:26:48 02/21/25 Fri It took a final drive and field goal at the end for Ivy League tri-champion Dartmouth to survive at Merrimack last fall.

[> [> [> Subject: Re: I Understand and Sympathize, But It's Still A Shockr Author: Son of Eli [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 17:35:54 02/21/25 Fri Apples and oranges. Sagarin rated Merrimack #207 last season. Stonehill was rated #258.

[> [> [> Subject: Dartmouth fans weren't p---ing and moaning about playing Merrimack Author: Go Green [ Edit | View ] Date Posted: 08:49:30 02/22/25 Sat Admittedly, Merrimack was a last-minute replacement for the Army cancellation. But after Merrimack took both Harvard and Dartmouth to the wire, I'd suggest that all Ivy fans shut up and concentrate on winning the game if they find their team playing Merrimack in the future.