In one of the great scenes in “Animal House,” a bruised, black-eyed Robert Hoover limps into the Delta living room moments after Dean Wormer has kicked the group off campus. The fraternity sits with heads down and shoulders slumped, no one uttering a word. With only one game left in the season, the football team would be forgiven if it shared some sentiments with National Lampoon’s fictitious fraternity stars. But as the great Otter once said, “Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”
The Tigers have endured one setback after another since their 2010 season kicked off against Lehigh back in September. In the third quarter of the game, preseason All-America linebacker and co-captain Steve Cody suffered a leg injury that ended his season almost before it started. Still, a stirring double-overtime win the following weekend against Lafayette and the energy brought by new head coach Bob Surace ’90 were causes for optimism. But ever since senior running back and co-captain Jordan Culbreath dove into the end zone from two yards out to clinch the first win of Surace’s tenure, the Tigers have been searching for win number two.
Even the most sadistic of viewers would find it hard not to take pity on the Tigers’ plight. Over the past three months, Princeton has endured losses big (see: Penn 52, Princeton 10) and small (Yale 14, Princeton 13). The Tigers’ starting quarterback (junior Tommy Wornham) and running back (Culbreath) as well as their best safety (junior Matt Wakulchik) and defensive lineman (sophomore Caraun Reid) have all had their seasons cut short by injury.
Now the team finds itself on the cusp of making history, a distinction the Tigers hope to avoid. A loss to Dartmouth on Saturday would wrap up Princeton’s first winless Ivy League season since 1973 and its second in team history. Keep in mind, Princeton’s football program dates back to 1869. For the oldest football program in the country, a loss would also signify Princeton’s worst overall record and the first time the Tigers have lost nine games in one year.
Dartmouth seniors might empathize with the Tigers’ predicament. In 2008, Dartmouth suffered a 0-10 season that ended with a 28-10 loss at Princeton Stadium. This year, however, the Big Green enters the season’s final game with an opportunity to wrap up its first winning year since 1997.
The circumstances of Saturday’s game present fans with a decision: Stay at tailgates until Public Safety calls an end to it, or embark on the harrowing journey back toward the student entrance gate across from Jadwin Hall and support a team stuck in the Ivy League cellar.
Here’s why you should choose Option B.
Seniors, though we may never participate in a Princeton bonfire, this is still our final football game as college students. For many of you, it might also be your first. Though no one would ever mistake Princeton for Gainesville, Fla.; State College, Pa.; or Austin, Texas, football should still play at least some role in every American college experience.
Juniors and sophomores, think of this game as an opportunity to witness the prelude to a more successful 2011 season. Final games have a strange way of predicting the future. In 2004, the Tigers wrapped up an otherwise unremarkable Ivy League season with a 17-10 home win over Dartmouth. Over the next two years, all the Tigers did was go 16-4 and win the Ancient Eight title in 2006.
And freshmen, Princeton will win many Ivy League games during your time on this campus. You wouldn’t want to miss the first.
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