The 140th Harvard-Yale Game: Fandom Tiny Mic Edition

“The Game” is celebrating its 140th year. We tiny-mic’d some Crimson supporters. 

A woman interviews a Harvard student with a "tiny mic" about her plans for the Harvard-Yale game this year

Harvard students around campus prepare for this weekend's 140th Harvard-Yale Game with merchandise and celebrations| photo credit harvard magazine

The Harvard-Yale football game, a tradition more than a century old, stands as one of the most storied rivalries in American collegiate sports. At its core, this annual clash between the Ivy League giants transcends athletic competition.

The Game is a living chronicle of academic prestige, social identity, and American history. Harvard’s football program began in 1873, with the first match between Harvard and Yale two years later in 1875. The rivalry grew within the turmoil of post-Civil War America, when college football was still finding its legs—and the contest itself was played with an energy that often mirrored the aspirations of a rapidly modernizing nation.

Over time, the match—alternating between the towering concrete Harvard Stadium, built in 1903, and the Yale Bowl—has become a pre-Thanksgiving tradition that is not just about football, but the passion of the American college experience.

In the words of Margaret-Ann Simonetta ’19, M.A. ’24, a doctoral candidate specializing in fandom, anthropology, and cultural studies, The Game is a “prime example of the power behind fandoms and their strong-bonded communities.” As Simonetta says, “Experiencing The Game is more than just cheering on the Harvard Crimson, it’s a chance for fans to live through the imagination and creativity that Harvard brings out of its students and alumni. Those embodied experiences create long-lasting collective memories, thereby fueling the fandom year-after-year and adding to the allure that is Crimson Football. The spirit encompassing fans at The Game is electric, and that energy derives directly from the fandom and its core purpose — to live as one Crimson community.”

Today, Harvard-Yale retains not only its feisty supporters, but also the reassuring timelessness of an unbreakable tradition, in a world of rapid change.

Oh, and: Go Crimson!

Read more articles by Olivia Farrar

You might also like

Harvard Football: Harvard 31, Merrimack 7

The Crimson stay unbeaten and uncover a new star.

Harvard Football: Harvard 34, Cornell 10

The Crimson stays unbeaten following a hard fight with the Big Red

Harvard Football: Harvard 59, Holy Cross 24

Another week, another blowout, this one against an in-state rival

Most popular

What Trump Means for John Roberts’s Legacy

Executive power is on the docket at the Supreme Court.

Harvard’s Class of 2029 Reflects Shifts in Racial Makeup After Affirmative Action Ends

International students continue to enroll amid political uncertainty; mandatory SATs lead to a drop in applications.

Harvard Football: Harvard 35, Princeton 14

Still undefeated after subduing the Tigers, the Crimson await Dartmouth.

Explore More From Current Issue

Wolfram Schlenker wearing a suit sitting outdoors, smiling, with trees and a building in the background.

Harvard Economist Wolfram Schlenker Is Tackling Climate Change

How extreme heat affects our land—and our food supply 

Three book covers arranged in a row on a beige background with a red border.

Must-Read Harvard Books Winter 2025

From aphorisms to art heists to democracy’s necessary conditions