Only Game That Matters Inside the Harvard/Yale Rivalry

Chapter 11 The Tie That Binds THE COLD STING OF a brisk New England morning slapped Neil Rose in the face as he exited Dillon Field House. His breath caught a little as the icy air numbed his lungs. He had no doubt that the crisp football field would be near empty save for himself, fellow Harvard quarterback sophomore Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Todd LaFountaine, a freshman quarterback who'd followed Rose from Honolulu to Harvard. Even after four years in Cambridge, Rose still wasn't used to these hellish winters. The native Hawaiian sure wouldn't miss the weather when he returned to Oahu after graduation. As cold as it was, Rose had no intention of changing the pregame ritual that had brought him so much success on the gridiron. He wore only mesh crimson shorts and a white T-shirt, and when he reached the field he kicked off his socks and shoes. Growing up in Hawaii, the kids always played football in the schoolyard barefoot. Rose needed to feel the grass and dirt with his bare feet, even if it crackled and crunched underfoot. As far as football went, this was it for Rose. The 6'2, 220-pound quarterback appeared on the tail end of some draft lists after leading his team to perfection in the 2001 season, but the NFL wasn't really a consideration. Intelligent and creative, Rose had other aspirations and though he loved the game, he wasn't sure that football alone would fulfill him. Nonetheless, he wasn't eager to see the last seconds of the fourth quarter dribble off the clock in the 119th playing of the Harvard-Yale game. He didn't want to hear the referee's whistle signaling the end of his playing days. Rose looked high to the stadium roof at the three flags flapping and snapping in the steady November wind. The first, atop one side of the horseshoe, bore a white H outlined with a thin black band against a field of crimson. The second, in the middle of the horseshoe's curve, was the American flag, the flag at which he would be staring during the national anthem as he reflected on his football career and made final mental preparations for the game. The third flag, directly opposite his school's on the other side of the horseshoe, was that of Harvard's archrival, the Yale Bulldogs. A simple white Y on a dark blue background. Both Ivy, both elegant. The wind whipped the flags taut on the flagpoles, causing them to snap straight as if they had been dipped in the icy waters of the Charles River and left to freeze overnight. The three flags collectively signified an incredible history. Long before the founding fathers turned back the redcoats so that they could proudly fly the red, white, and blue over a sovereign nation of their own, Harvard and Yale nourished a budding rivalry that had exploded onto the football field in 1875 and became the most important in the sport. Every player, coach, and fan that looked toward the sky today would be reminded of the more than century-old skirmish that they held dear. If the wind continued its violent thrashing, the flags might be reduced to a few frayed threads by game time. It would not be a good day for throwing the pigskin, and that didn't bode well for the Crimson's all-time pass-leader on a day when he needed to be his sharpest. The weather didn't matter to Rose, though. The team had always performed well in bad weather. They were better than the weather. Rose threw some passes to LaFountaine, testing the wind. He sent the freshman on an outside hard post-Rose's favorite route-and dropped back in slow motion, counting out his footsteps. One, two, three, four, five. Plant the back foot. Fire. Rose hit LaFountaine twenty yards out amid a visualized Yale defense. The defense always gave up something against Harvard's multiple-threat offense, and Rose exploited the weakness. He'd stare down the free safety and watch him cheat just a little left or a little right, reluctantly providing the ideal situation for a completion, especially if thCorbett, Bernard is the author of 'Only Game That Matters Inside the Harvard/Yale Rivalry', published 2004 under ISBN 9781400050680 and ISBN 1400050685.