The Team, (and the train), Return Soon!
Hello old friend
Just FOUR days to Homecoming and I still urge you ALL to buy at least one extra ticket to the game and get someone to use that seat!
LATEST WEATHER UPDATE: The forecast for this Saturday is now UPGRADED to 64 degrees, (originally 59), and mostly sunny!
LATEST TRANSPORTATION UPDATE: Great news! The #1 train will be running this weekend and will be an option to get to Wien Stadium for the game!
The team needs a boost from the fans right at the start to avoid a letdown against Dartmouth. The Lions lost tough games against the Big Green in 2006 and last year mostly because of TD’s scored by Dartmouth on opening drives.
Some More “Rooting Points”:
-Columbia hasn’t won a Homecoming game since 2000, a very bad streak that I believe has hurt long-term attendance more than any other single factor. That last win in 2000 came against… you guessed it, Dartmouth, 49-21.
-Perhaps some wind is out of the sails for a possible Ivy title, but Columbia is striving for its first winning season in 14 years. 14! Achieving that would be a big feather in the caps of all the seniors on the team. A win Saturday makes that much more possible.
-The recruiting battles with Dartmouth for many of the same players has been occurring a lot more often in recent years. We win this game, we probably get more of those recruits.
-The overwhelming majority of Columbia-Dartmouth games since 1997 have been very close and exciting. Last year’s 28-6 Big Green win was the first 14+-point spread in the annual rivalry since 2000.
Jake’s Week 6 Ivy League Power Rankings
1) Penn (#1 last week)
Quakers make a big statement against Columbia and win on defense and running alone. With Harvard and Brown fading with injuries, this team is looking like a lock for the title.
2) Brown (3)
A very weak offensive effort against Princeton, but does anybody doubt that Estes and Co. will have this team scoring points in bunches very soon?
3) Columbia (2)
The Lions still have the best QB in the league despite the loss to Penn. That counts for a lot.
4) Yale (5)
Starting to look very good on defense, but will they look good against mighty Penn this Saturday?
5) Harvard (4)
Losing to Lehigh at home is a shocker. Something is amiss in Cambridge, and it’s not just the QB situation. Injuries at WR are hurting too.
6) Dartmouth (6)
Very solid win over Holy Cross and the OT loss to Penn in Philly looks better and better in retrospect.
7) Princeton (8)
A near win against Brown gets them out of the cellar.
8) Cornell (7)
Back to the bottom after a crushing loss to Colgate.
One More Thing
... And you just gotta love this story!
posted by Jake @ 6:51:00 AM
8 comments
8 Comments:
Loved that story! It reminded me of kids playing for the Hecht House in Boston when growing up. However, the best part was about the coach and his MOTHER having to leave for being charged with MAIL FRAUD and interstate theft! Can't say every school has that!! Thanks for the laughs.
Jake, how about some insights on how we intend to stop the Dartmouth running game.
Jake, this is a family feud game for me. My brother is a Dartmouth graduate and we sometimes go to the game together. He was with me when Paul Kaliades kicked the field goal, one of the most glorious moments in Columbia football history, and he hasn't quite gotten over it. His daughter is also Dartmouth, and my daughter is Columbia, so the fault lines here run pretty deep. It's always a special game for me. Go Lions!
My brother is D '80 and I am C '82 so our feud has had a long and intense run. I love my brother dearly but on saturday I want Dartmouth blood to spill.
In our little town in vermont where we moved 10 years ago, we have found 2 other Columbians living on our street!! We will all be at the game on saturday..ages 16 (my son) to 67. We are committed!
Love to hear of the familial traditions of inter-Ivy rivalry and family "feuds." Here we only have Michigan-Michigan State, not nearly as colorful, historical, or significant. Are there more? I would love to hear them!
Your linked story about San Diego Jewish Academy reminds me that, a few years ago, the website JewishSports.com did a survey of all 320+ Division I basketball programs to see how many players were "members of the tribe." Out of a population of approximately 320*14 = 4480, how many do you think were Jewish? The top two programs were both Ivy League teams -- can you guess which ones?
Answer: At the time, there were only 30 Jewish players in all of Division I, or about 0.7%. Amazingly, fully eleven out of those 30 were found at just two programs, Princeton (6) and Yale (5). More than one-third of all Jewish D-I players suited up for just two teams.
From Vermont...
One of our troop is a 67 year old Romanian immigrant who was a famous concert pianist. She is an elegant and pretty lady who apparently will scream her nigh pitched lungs out for Columbia. Gotta love that.
I was '82 and was freshman roomates of Vince Pelini (for those of you who go back that far) which is why this son of Chinese immigrants became so nuts over Columbia football to begin with.
During the epic losing streak my brother was merciless, so every game against Dartmouth is a chance for payback.
Chen '82
Two deep is out. No Fraser, but Quirk is back.
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