Not surprisingly, some Elis thought that their side of the tailgate was superior to Harvard’s.
“Practice makes perfect,” said Yale student Andrew A. Eberle, clearly jabbing at Harvard’s perceived lack of school spirt and game attendance. “We’re out here for every home game. It makes everything go a lot smoother.”
The Yale heavyweight crew team received a large round of applause from the crowd as its members returned to the Yale side of the parking lot with an inflatable palm tree it stole from the Mather tailgate.
“I just grabbed it and ran,” freshman Tom Lynam said. “Nobody said anything.”
As the clock neared game time, the enthusiasm was tangible. By the time the game reached the end of the first half, however, the kegs began to go dry, the ground became littered with discarded solo cups, and students started to make their way across the street to the Yale Bowl.
Though messy, the event never truly got out of hand.
“It’s pretty tame,” said Sergeant Jay Jones from the Yale University Police Department, adding, “It’s Ivy League.”