THE COLLEGE
The only thing to do is to throw away what's been written and start all over again. The biggest news and the newest news, sure to be a topic of Dartmouth conversation for a long time to come, is DARTMOUTH 16, CORNELL 7.
Victory is especially sweet when an underdog team knocks over the champion, but we are not impelled to begin afresh simply because of that. Sports Editor "Red" Merrill can be counted upon to do full justice to that aspect of the game in this month's Big Green Teams section. What concerns us here is the lift, the cohesion, the emotional well-being that a college experiences from football at its best. Victory is an important ingredient, to be sure, but any Dartmouth man who was in Hanover on Saturday, November 12, will know what we mean about the intangibles of that perfect day.
It was a perfect day, even to the weather. By some meteorological magic, there arrived between a raw, murky Friday and a dank, dreary Sunday one of those crisp, clear Saturday afternoons that are made to order for football and the high spirits that go with it. Hanover is not unaccustomed to an occasional crowd, but the Tanzis said that they had never seen anything like the one in town for the big game. It was more a matter of spirit and excitement than mere size, although the fact that 17,000 spectators set a new record for Me- morial Field will attest to an unusual jam of people, all seemingly trying to stand on the Inn corner at once. It was a novel sight to see the line of would-be ticket purchasers stretching from the stadium, up Crosby Street to Wheelock and then clear up to New Hampshire Hall. Not every- body got to the ticket window before the standing room sold out, and a few of the more determined souls, including some well-groomed ladies and gentlemen, were seen squirming their way under the iron fence near the baseball diamond. It was that sort of crowd; a thrilling contest was about to take place and everyone wanted to be in on it.
Whether the Cornell side of the field considered the game thrilling after the first half we don't know, but to the non-partisan spectator it was a great game. For the Dartmouth side the tension, the crossedfingers expectation of victory mounted and mounted. The final minute was something to remember. That was when Dartmouth's joy and unity took vociferous form. The Band started beating its drums and although thirty seconds of play still remained, the Indian roar began, rising higher and higher. When the clock showed ten seconds left, the two teams just stood and watched the second hand complete its journey. Why run off a meaningless play that would almost spoil what was in the air? Some of the sportswriters reported that hysteria broke loose as the game ended, but the final joy was not quite as abandoned as that. Visible above the mass of people on the field, to everyone's delight, was Coach Tuss McLaughry, bobbing along to the Field House on the shoulders of his players.
Saturday, November 12, did Dartmouth a lot of good. We can hear the academicians snorting at such an idea, but there never was a better demonstration of what intercollegiate football, played cleanly and with a sense of proportion, can contribute to an undergraduate college, made up as it is of something more than "disembodied intellects," to use a phrase from President Emeritus Hopkins. The uplift will have a lasting effect on both students and alumni, both of whom are deserving of it after having stood the gaff of campus tragedy during the past year. And if Cornell is gloomy over the end of its undefeated record this season, it can look back to last year when it had its day of elation at the expense of the Big Green. The gentlemen from far above Cayuga's waters are good friends, but we love to lick them whenever we can. This year there was a special score to settle.
