The Game has passion.

It was 1908, and Harvard coach Percy Haughton needed to motivate his players in the locker room. In a move that would have made Woody Hayes look like a saint, Haughton brought in a live bulldog and strangled it to death with his bare hands. The Crimson ended up winning 4-0. Today, many consider Haughton’s actions simply a myth. True or not, however, its legend is a testament to the passion of the rivalry.

Finally, The Game has perhaps the greatest football game ever played.

Led by future NFL running back Calvin Hill and quarterback Brian Dowling (known as “God” in New Haven), the ‘68 Yale squad entered The Game well on its way to extending its 16 game winning streak. But a scrappy Harvard team, down 29-13 with just 42 seconds left in the fourth quarter, would have none of it as it fought back to “defeat” Yale, 29-29.

It’s hard to believe that Harvard and Yale were once the big boys of college football. At the same time, it’s hard to believe that in the most unsuspecting place, I’ve found the perfect rivalry for me.

I still wake up early on Saturdays to watch College Gameday. But this time around, that aura of envy I once had for students who have big-time football teams to cheer for no longer exists in my mind.

With this year’s edition of The Game only two days away, I have my own team to root for now.

—Staff writer Kevin T. Chen can be reached at ktchen@fas.harvard.edu.