Football's Spring Break trip to Japan gives team experience on, off the field

Princeton football traveled to Japan over Spring Break to take on the Kwansei Gakuin University Fighters — a team that has been in 42 of the last 50 Japanese national collegiate championship games.

Almost a year-and-a-half ago, representatives of KGU invited the Princeton football team on an all-expense paid trip to Japan to play the Fighters as a part of the school's 111th anniversary celebration.

"I couldn't imagine a better educational opportunity for these student athletes," said Director of Athletics Gary Walters, who accompanied the Tigers on their trip. "It was a great opportunity for them to experience a different culture."

And so, with the permission of the Ivy League presidents, the "Dream Match 2001" — as the game was billed — was on.

"I think that it was a great learning experience for both parties," junior captain Bob Farrell said. "For us it was learning about a different culture. For them it was an opportunity to learn a little about American culture and to learn more about American football."

Soon after the Tigers arrived in Japan, the culture-sharing began in earnest. On March 19, their second day in Osaka, the Tigers attended a reception with their opponents and administrators from both schools.

"It was realy nice," Farrell said. "We walked in to a round of applause from people we had never seen before."

After an intense practice Tuesday morning, the Tigers traveled to several major historic sites in the area for the next day-and-a-half. But more than just seeing the sights, the Princeton players had the opportunity for interaction with KGU players almost every day of their trip.

For the most part, the players managed to sidestep the language barrier.

"It really wasn't a problem, it was actually quite amusing," Farrell said. "A couple of guys were teaching them American slang, and they were teaching us Japanese phrases. At times we had to go slow and keep it simple for them, and they had to do the same with us, but we got by."

The KGU players also treated the Princeton players to authentic Japanese cuisine.

"To put it simply, Japansese cuisine was raw," junior quarterback Brian Danielewicz said.

Get the best of the ‘Prince’ delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe now »

"It wasn't your typical sushi from Soonja's," Farrell said. "It was downright 'we-just-picked-this-out-of-the-ocean' raw. It was a novelty at the time. Everyone was eating it and enjoying it — but thirty minutes after we left the restaurant some people weren't as happy. The consensus was that no one was going to eat Japanese food again for another month."

The play's the thing

Raw fish aside, there was football to be played. Princeton was up against a team that had played ten games in the fall, reaching the national championship game, and then seven more games in the spring. This game had inspired them to practice year round. Since its season ended in November, Princeton had held five practices, including the two in Japan.

"Their offense was almost flawless, while we had to try to put something together in four practice," Danielewicz said.

Early in the game, the team was in for an unexpected brush with Japanese culture.

"In the first quarter of the game we got to experience a Japanese earthquake," Walters said. "I don't think the players were aware of it, but those in stands could feel the dome sway."

As far as the football itself, KGU was the same as most teams Princeton has played in the past. But not everything was the same.

"I have never played a team that was as relentless as [KGU] was." Farrell said. "The cliched phrase about playing 100 percent until the whistle — most college teams believe they follow that, but not at the level that this team did."

The Fighters, led by its seniors who had graduated that morning and were playing in their final game, took advantage of a rusty Princeton team and led 12-10 at the half.

"I think guys didn't understand the reality of the situation," Farrell said. "During halftime I think the reality set in that in thirty minutes someone was going to win, someone was going to lose. I think people started realizing that this was for real, and that these guys were real."

Princeton came out in the second half and regained control of the game on freshman quarterback David Splithoff's second and third rushing touchdowns.

But with just over a minute remaining in the game, a KGU touchdown pass gave the Fighters a 25-24 lead. With two timeouts and an effective two-minute offense, the Tigers quickly drove the ball downfield. The final drive culminated in a 35-yard field goal by junior Taylor Northrop that gave Princeton a 27-25 victory.

"When we kicked the field goal to win the game, the fans were cheering — it was like they didn't know they had lost the game," Farrell said. "At the reception with their team after the game, you couldn't tell that we had just played a football game. We were treated very well. The whole socitey seemed like that. The people at Wendy's were about the nicest people I've ever talked to."

After the game, the positives of the trip were immediately apparent.

"I think the most important thing we took from the trip was the bonding," Danielewicz said. "The unity that this team has is unmatched — there is no class separation, it's like we have a team of all upperclassmen.

"It also gives us an 11th game to the season. It's another chance to get out there, and for our young players to get out there and get game experience."