Witness senior wide receiver Seitu Smith tearing off his helmet after scoring Harvard’s first touchdown of the night. The super-senior poses on the sidelines. He lets teammates pound his chest and listens to the crowd roar.

A few minutes later, witness fellow senior wide receiver Andrew Fischer, also with his helmet off. In this case, though, Fischer is off the field for good: he’s pulled up limp after a long kickoff return, and when the team huddles up for a timeout, he remains near the edge of the crowd, separated from the offensive starters that he’s played with all season.

A few minutes later, witness senior defensive back Asante Gibson dropping an interception and storming to the bench. He throws his helmet on the ground and refuses consolation.

A few minutes later, witness captain Matt Koran pacing up and down the sideline. Harvard has the ball now, but the team still needs a score on Dartmouth to take the lead. With the offense on the field, Koran can do nothing except watch and walk.

A few minutes later, witness freshman wide receiver Justice Shelton-Mosley holding the ball in the end zone. It’s a tie game, 13-13, but the freshman has no celebration planned. Instead, he stands still as his teammates rush around him.

A few minutes later, witness the entire Crimson bench rushing onto the field only to turn back when the referees rule that a second remains on the clock. There’s a lot of shouting at first, but the noise gives way to silence.

Finally, at the end, witness the blocked field-goal attempt rolling out of bounds and Harvard sprinting across the field. Some Big Green players crumple up, but Crimson numbers are everywhere—bumping into each other, jumping up and down, and racing to the locker room.

Witnessing emotions as real as these is a rare treat. That childish thrill, that rush-the-field excitement: these are not experiences that you can find in the domain of everyday life.

As flimsy and frivolous as sports can seem, they also have a special power to deliver gut emotions. If you were there, at Harvard Stadium last Friday night, you felt a rush. And that rush remains.

Staff writer Sam Danello can be reached at sdanello@thecrimson.com.