"Punt team! Punt team!" called the special teams coordinator as the Crimson prepared for a third-down conversion.

And the punt team obliged, grabbing their helmets, swarming to the coach instantly.

"Hey offense, hey offense, come here," shouted another coach. "You gotta want this thing!"

Oh, and every now and then, I took a peek at the game.

Not that the game was boring. It's just that the action on the field didn't seem to be the whole story of the football game.

There was more. Another friend of ours from the Crimson was on the field, taking pictures of the game and the band. At the half we went over, talked for a while, and even got our picture taken.

And it dawned on me: these people on the sidelines, they aren't some overpaid, arrogant, amorphous stars that seem unreal. They're people we know, they're our friends.

For me, it was a fascinating and enjoyable ballgame. I'd never been that close to a sideline before. At pro games, you're lucky if you can see the field for the thirty dollars you spend to go.

Yet as far as I could tell, the crowd didn't seem incredibly enthusiastic.

Fellow sportswriter Dave Griffel noted this point in one of his recent columns, and I kinda felt the same way.

I came home a little hoarse from all the cheering I did, and with a new perspective on some of the little elements and goings-on of a football game.

When I looked at the picture taken of me at the game, I looked happy. Really happy. Like someone who has found Utopia and isn't leaving anytime soon.

Today the Crimson takes on the Colgate Red Raiders at the Stadium at 1 p.m. If time is on your side, catch the game.

And if you want to see a game from a little different perspective, head to the first row. After all, the devil really is in the details.

HARVARD