Why Harvard Will Lose

By Edmund Finnerty | Sunday, November 3, 2002

Homecoming weekend has finally arrived. This weekend the Indians host what may be the most pivotal game of the year. With Harvard undefeated in the Ivy League and Dartmouth with one loss in league play, a win will propel Dartmouth into a second place tie in the Ivy League. And, with a Dartmouth victory and a Penn loss to Brown, Dartmouth would find itself in a three-way tie for first place in the league.

Although the sentiment on campus is generally indifferent towards football, it is time to reflect on Dartmouth football's history, to describe how and why Dartmouth is going to beat Harvard this Homecoming Weekend, and to explain why we all should show our support this weekend.

Dartmouth has always dominated the Ivies. Regardless of what any other school boasts or tries to suggest, Dartmouth Football has seventeen Ivy League Championship titles, more than any other team in the Ivies. From 1969 to 1973 the Indians won the Ivies each year. And, from 1990 to 1992 Dartmouth hoisted the title each year. Victory is a timeless word for Dartmouth football, and these last three weeks have supported that claim.

Dartmouth has had its tough seasons too. The 1998, 2000 and 2001 seasons each tied the record for the most number of losses in one season with eight. In 1987, Dartmouth also lost eight games, but by 1990 it started a three-year Ivy League Championship streak. Now the Indians have again reached that time, and it is important for the school to support the football team this weekend.

The weather will be miserable on Saturday. The high is forecasted to be just above freezing, and snow will be flying in the air all day. That gives Dartmouth an advantage. With the support of the Dartmouth students this Saturday, the home team will prevail. It is time to stop making petty, biting remarks about the performance of our football team and believe that the Indians can start another winning tradition.

While winning three games currently seems to be an impressive feat, it is a regular event considering the Indian's history. In the mid-twenties, the late-thirties, and again in the mid-nineties Dartmouth won twenty-two games in a row. In our 2002 season, our three-game winning streak began by beating Yale 20-17.

Yale has always been a tough match for Dartmouth. When Yale first met the Dartmouth team in 1884, Yale crushed it 113-0. Dartmouth didn't break the 'Yale Jinx' until 1935 when the Indians beat Yale 14-6. The current team has already defeated Yale this year, and Dartmouth now looks to this Harvard Weekend to determine whether or not this team has successfully recovered from multiple seasons of losing football.

Students need to grasp the importance of this Saturday's football game. The stands must be packed on Saturday. No matter how cold the temperature is or how hard the snow is falling, Dartmouth students need to fill the stands and set the scene for a pummeling of Harvard. We can come out of this game with a 4-3 record and we will.

In recent years Dartmouth football fans have been like economists shirking from an 'unexpected' bear market: neither wants to be around to endure the hard times between booming eras. We have all been around to endure the hard times. Now it is our time to boom again, and the Dartmouth Football team needs every Dartmouth student at the game Saturday for support.

Why Harvard Will Lose

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