Go to Yale. Seriously. Unless you've been hiding in front of CNN recently, you know that the football team is heading to Yale on Saturday to play for a shot at the Ivy League championship, as well as the rights to hold a certain celebratory conflagration. If you have a ticket for one of the buses, I'll see you there. If not, then take this as your last reminder to beg, borrow or steal your way to New Haven by Saturday afternoon. Anyway, if you needed any more motivation, here are our top 10 reasons to go to the Yale game.
10) Consider it a chance to remind yourself how [fill in not-so-superlative here] New Haven is
Seriously, have you ever been to New Haven? With a median income roughly one-third that of our own Princeton Borough's, perhaps it's a bit much to expect a fair comparison, but the contrast between our town and theirs is fairly drastic. I'm not sure if you've ever seen a little film called "Lord of the Rings," but there's this guy named Frodo from a nice little town who travels to this place called Mordor, and whenever I go to New Haven, I find myself empathizing with him tremendously.
9) The Yale Bowl
We may hate New Haven, but Yale's surroundings do have a few redeeming features. The first-ever "natural bowl" stadium, the Yale Bowl, is one of the greatest football stadiums ever built, just seeing a game there is worth the trip. Though its location seven miles from campus makes it a tad inconvenient for students, I think most Princetonians would freely admit that this is one acceptable thing to envy the Elis for.
8) School spirit
Let's be honest here. Grade deflation, attacks on eating clubs and wars on late meal not withstanding, most — if not all — Princeton students are desperately in love with their school. This passion has few acceptable outlets, however, as showing excessive pride for your No. 1 school is often seen as, well, excessively prideful everywhere else in the world. This game, however, offers the only chance outside of late night with the cannon at Cannon to give physical expression to your feelings for Old Nassau.
7) Road trip!
There's just something about road trips that always makes them unforgettable. Pile into a car with your friends, pump up the jam and roll.
6) Bus ride with randos
It's like a Hollywood script: nine buses, 130 miles, one dream. When you step into that coach Saturday morning, you're strangers. When you high-five each other as the clock runs out on the football team's first Big Three sweep in over a decade, you're acquaintances. When you sing "Old Nassau" arm-in-arm on the ride home, you're friends. When you see each other at the Street that night, you're whoever you want to be.
5) Mock Yalies when we win
Yes, I know, you can mock Yalies anytime, but once we win, you'll have even more cause than usual. Here's a few samplers to start you off: "We know what Harvard is, but what the hell is No. 3?"; "W? Come on"; "Yale? More like jail"; and "Your town is nice. Not." That last one should be in a Borat voice.
4) Support the football team
As much fun as we'll be having on the road and in the stands, the guys on the field are who matter, and this is the biggest game of their lives. Let them hear you out there.
3) Revenge
I don?n't know if any of you were around last year, but this is sort of a deja vu situation we have on our hands. Just like this year, we had beaten Harvard and a victory over Yale would give us a bonfire and a good shot at the Ivy title. Playing them on our home turf, Princeton jumped out to a strong lead, but [fill in blocked memory here].
2) Ivy title
To some teams on this campus, an Ivy League title is old hat. Three teams have already won theirs this season — field hockey, men's and women's cross country — and women's volleyball is just a few crucial wins away. But for football, this would be the first title in over a decade. Saturday's game doesn't clinch it for the Tigers, but it's a big step in the right direction, and proof that the program is legit.
1) Bonfire
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