Me, Myself & I

Maybe this study about the growing self-centered nature of American college students is the best explanation for why attendance is down at so many Ivy League sports venues.

After all, if you're self-centered to the point of narcissism, why would you bother to root for a team? Maybe you don't even GET the idea of being on a team. Maybe they need to start selling personalized bongs at the games. I'm just not sure.

Look, I don't even know if the study is really accurate. But I do know that getting people of all ages to get off their couches, out of their houses, and do things together in even a somewhat crowded setting is getting harder and harder these days. Seriously, if you don't live in New York City, is there any place in America you can go other than a major sporting event or a concert where you'll see more than a few dozen people milling about outdoors? I find it depressing that people are more willing to "chat" on the Internet about sports than actually play them or go to the games. And I obviously like chatting on the Internet!

Getting back to the self-centered study linked to above... truth be told, I'm one of those parents who lavishes praise on my kid whenever she does something good. But I also teach her common courtesy and the fact that when things turn out well, usually more than one person is responsible.

So when it comes to boosting Ivy League football, maybe what our schools should be doing is not begging the kids to go to the stadium, but showing them the values of getting out of their dorm room in the first place. Seriously kids, put the laptop and the cell phone down for one second and pay attention to the people and life in general around you!

And speaking of getting outdoors...


Bruce Wood has a poll up at his Big Green Alert Blog asking fans to name their favorite Ivy football stadium. Obviously, Baker Field/Wien Stadium is my favorite, but the true test is to ask which stadium other than your home team's field is the one you like best. Bruce understands this and so he asks people to exclude Dartmouth's Memorial Field from consideration, since most of his readers are Big Green fans.

Choosing my favorite non-Columbia venue was a tough job. But I narrowed it down to two places. 1) Harvard Stadium and 2) Princeton Stadium.



The new Princeton Stadium is easily the NICEST venue in the league as it is the newest structure and it has amenities up the wazoo. The free programs and attractions for tots, (like a moonwalk cage), put it over the top. But it's just not classic enough to get my number one spot. Plus, it's general setting is too suburban and cookie-cutter for my taste.




Harvard Stadium, with its Greco-Roman architecture and perfect setting right on the Charles River, is my winner. They built a new fieldhouse about 10 years ago facing the open part of the horseshoe, and that blocks a lot of the view of the river, but it's still tops. Now if we could only get Columbia to win more games there, it would be perfect.