Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 Review
By David Kempler
Sis Boom Bah Tie
On November 23, 1968, an undefeated Yale football team traveled to Harvard Stadium to take on an also undefeated Harvard football team, with the Ivy League Championship on the line. Despite both teams having not suffered any defeats, Yale was an overwhelming favorite to win. At no time during the season had they ever even trailed in a game. They were ranked #16 in the nation, a height that Ivy League teams just don't attain. The resulting game has achieved a level of fame among college football historians and the alumni of both schools.
Kevin Rafferty's documentary about the game is part highlight reel of the action but mostly consists of interviews with the men who performed in the game. Rafferty is best known as the co-director of the "Atomic Café", a tongue-in-cheek history of the atom bomb. Mr. Rafferty was a Harvard undergrad at the time and he attended the big game. What makes the story worth telling is the impact of the culture of the day on these men and the people who came out of that game. Most appear to be successful businessmen but a few have achieved other success, most notably the actor Tommy Lee Jones, who didn't have a major part in the outcome but his presence adds some flavor to the setting. His stories of sharing a room with Al Gore are an interesting diversion but it is clear that the only reason he is in the film at all is because he is Tommy Lee Jones.
The two on-field stars both belonged to Yale. The quarterback was Brian Dowling, who was immortalized in Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury strip. Trudeau began his brilliant career by chronicling the Yale squad and Dowling became B.D., a long-running character in Doonesbury. Their running back was Calvin Hill, who went on to have an illustrious NFL career.
There are moments in the film that are compelling as sport but it shines brightest when the players reflect upon the game as a backdrop to the political turmoil of the times surrounding the Vietnam War. The problem is that there are not enough moments of that type that grab the viewer. In the end, we are left with a decent documentary that might be better served as a PBS show. It's sometimes fun and sometimes slow. Overall, its importance is nothing more than any other football game, which is a shame. It would have been better served if it explored less of the game and more of the psyches of its participants. Even though this game ended in a tie, it was an exciting tie, but as the old saying goes, a tie is like kissing your sister.
