Welcome to the start of my 2nd College Football Pilgrimage or CFP. My 1st CFP of either playing in, sitting in, or both, in the Ten Largest College Football Stadiums (attendance wise) in the USA, concluded with my trip to Sanford Stadium in October of 2017. Sanford Stadium is located on the campus of Georgia University and to mark my ‘Historic Event’, Homecoming was declared for that weekend. That story along with others is located in the Pilgrimage Section. Since my CFP began during my days as a Pitt Gladiator, not all Pilgrimages have been put on ink. However, photos and thoughts remain for a future printing. This is a short story format of 11,500 words with images and video.
With many lists to choose from for my 2nd CFP, the selection was Joe Vitale from UGA Football Live. His list included the birthplace of College Football unlike other lists that excluded the Ivy League. Joe ranked all on campus stadiums according to age built and provides a brief synopsis of each.
10. Neyland Stadium, University of Tennessee (1921)
Opened September 24, 1921, Neyland has been the home of the Tennessee Volunteers ever since. Initially its capacity was only 3,200. The stadium has undergone 16 expansion projects, at one point reaching a capacity of 104,079 before being slightly reduced by alterations. Neyland now seats 102,455. (Editor’s Note: Neyland Stadium was included in my 2015 CFP and can be found in the Pilgrimage Section. (My 2015 CFP was a 2 for Onener. It included the Top 10 Largest and the Oldest.)
9. Husky Stadium, University of Washington (1920)
Opened on November 27, 1920, Husky Stadium has undergone three massive renovations, the most recent in 2013. Its capacity is 70,083, and the view overlooking Washington Lake and the Cascade Mountains is one of the most spectacular in the nation.
8. Boone Pickens Stadium, Oklahoma State University (1920)
Opened on October 2, 1920, it was Lewis Field until 2003, when Oklahoma State alum, T. Boone Pickens, donated a few million petro dollars. It started out as an 8000-seater back in the 1920’s, but has grown to 60,218, the last expansion taking place in 2009.
7. Camp Randall Stadium, University of Wisconsin (1917)
The Wisconsin Badgers Camp Randall opened on November 3, 1917. The name comes from a former Union Army training camp during the Civil War. The camp was named after then Governor Alexander Randall, who later became Postmaster General of the United States. It can seat 80,321.
6. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, University of Mississippi (1915)
Opened on October 1, 1915, it can seat 59,347, but will be able to hold over 64,000 from 2016. When the stadium opened, it was named for Judge William Hemingway, a professor of law and chairman of the university’s committee on athletics. The Vaught name was added in 1982, after Ole Miss’s former coach.
5. Davis Wade Stadium, Mississippi State University (1914)
When opened in 1914, it was called New Athletic Field. Six years later, that changed to Scott Field in honor of Mississippi State football star and Olympian Don Magruder. In 2001 Davis Wade, a massive contributor to the university and the stadium’s expansion got his name as the headliner, while the field itself retained Scott’s name. It seats 61,337 fans.
4. Yale Bowl, Yale University (1914)
This historic stadium just west of Yale’s campus put an indelible stamp on the modern lexicon of football. The stadium was the first constructed in a “bowl” shape, influencing the design of future stadiums such as Pasadena, California’s Rose Bowl. That stadium gave rise to use of the term “bowl” to signify major college football games, which later influenced the name “Super Bowl.”
3. Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field, Georgia Tech (1913)
The oldest stadium among NCAA FBS schools, Bobby Dodd has been home to Tech since September 27, 1913. It was known as Grant Field, named after Hugh Inman Grant, son of John Grant, a well-known Atlanta merchant and original benefactor of the stadium. It was changed to Bobby Dodd, the team’s greatest head coach, in 1988, although the playing field retained the Grant name. Its latest expansion, in 2003, left it with 55,000 seats.
2. Harvard Stadium, Harvard University (1903)
An engineering marvel considered the first massive reinforced concrete structure in the world, Harvard Stadium’s horseshoe design is still aesthetically pleasing. It is best known as the semi-annual site of what has become known simply as “The Game,” the long-running rivalry between Harvard and Yale. Harvard Stadium was built as a 25th anniversary gift from the Class of 1879.
1. Franklin Field, University of Pennsylvania (1895)
Built in the waning years of the 19th century, Franklin Field cost $100,000, the equivalent of $2.6 million in today’s dollars. The stadium has racked up a number of firsts in sports history, including the first use of a scoreboard (1895), the first two-tiered stadium (1922) and the first football radio broadcast (1922) and telecast (1939). It’s probably more famous as a track and field facility than football field, hosting the Penn Relays, the oldest and largest track and field meet in the U.S., since 1895. (End of Rankings)
This year’s CFP will begin and end in Philadelphia, Pa. Philly has been selected for its close proximity to the Yale Bowl, Harvard Stadium, and Franklin Field. With the Ivy League games scheduled for Friday, two additional college football have also been added. Louisville @ Boston College and Cincinnati @ Temple. Unlike previous years, some writings are now being constructed in the Dream Home here in Henderson, Nevada. This will open up more ‘Free TIME’ during the CFP. Since the Yale Bowl will be the 1st Stop on the 2018 CFP, an opportunity has been provided to write about the History of College Football. The Birth of American Football is connected to the Ivy League, specifically Yale University and a few other partners. Our story continues back in TIME.
MOB FOOTBALL
It was then known by different names, but it resembled the medieval European sport of mob football. The game had unlimited players, and one of its few rules disallowed manslaughter and murder as methods of moving the ball to the goal. By the 19th century, mob football moved to college campuses as an intramural sport. Each college played by its own rules. A Harvard tradition known as Bloody Monday started in 1827, when the freshman class played the sophomore class. Winslow Homer illustrated the game in an engraving called Class Day at Harvard University in 1858. (http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/walter-camp-and-birth-modern-football/)
A Game With a Ball and a Foot
As early as the 1800’s a game called football was played in America. It was originally known as “football” simply because feet and a ball were involved. Rugby, soccer, and football as unique sports would come later. By the 1840’s some sort of football was played at numerous colleges including Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Princeton, and Rutgers. There were no universal rules-in fact there were very few rules at all. Eventually the contests became an informal rivalry between the freshman and sophomore classes. Often the object of the contest was to hurt the other team as much as possible. Henry Twombly (Yale 1884) recounts his father’s recollection of Yale football in 1844:
“Kick the ball when you can and kick the other fellows’ shins when you can’t kick the ball…[football] was a melee and a scrimmage and that was the whole of it…The combatants robed themselves in old shirts and trowsers for the fray. We Juniors look on and hurrah for the Freshies. The Seniors shout for the Sophs. Shirts are torn from backs; blood flows from noses; trowsers only remain, but not intact… Everyone for himself and for his side . . . Athletics are athletics but the old football game rivals the Roman arena with the Greek thrown in for good measure.”
Rugby Comes to Yale And the Ivy League
In America collegians began to play first soccer then rugby. Both games were introduced by Brits who had “moved across the pond,” and a game similar to soccer became a rite of passage as a contest between incoming freshman and sophomores at colleges along the East Coast. The term football is initially used for both games. A contemporary account of an 1853 meet between the classes of 1856 and 1857 is described in Richard Hurd’s “A History of Yale Athletics, 1840-1888.”
{An early account} describes the sophomores as being most grotesque in their styles of dress and as having their faces painted in all imaginable colors. The game was started in the possession of the freshman, one of whom after making a feint, picked up the ball and rushed into the wedge-shaped phalanx of his classmates, which opened to receive him. This phalanx then immediately closed and rushed forward in close column until it was checked by fourteen picked sophomores.
At this time, with the wedge held in check, others of the sophomores broke through the flank guard, and seizing the men, hurled them aside and broke up the wedge into individuals, the contest becoming a question of mere physical strength. While the strife was going on the ball was extricated and, falling into the possession of a sophomore, was carried off the field. This was pronounced a foul. The ball being brought back and the game started again, the ball was carried off by a freshman. The umpires declared the game a draw. As a rule there was less organization than in the game described, the members of both classes contending as individuals and without concert. The ball used in this game of 1853 was described as “a bladder ball, enclosed in a leathern case ” and was a round one. The umpires were upper-class men.
This particular challenge was never met since by 1860 Yale faculty as well as the city of New Haven had banned the play of football. Other colleges followed suit and the game virtually disappeared until the end of the decade. At Harvard students held a mock funeral for the demise of their beloved game.
The Harvard Crimson preserved the eulogy. It reads in part:
Dearly beloved, we have met together upon this mournful occasion to perform the sad office over one whose long and honored life was put to an end in a sudden and violent manner…. The wise men who make big laws around a little table have stretched out their arms to protect your eyes and noses. For us there is naught but sorrow, the sweet association and tender memories of eyes bunged up, of noses wonderfully distended and of battered shins, and the many chance blows anteriorly and posteriorly received and delivered, – the rush, the struggle, the victory- the call forth our deep regret and unaffected tears.
The game evolved into an excuse for a brawl that usually ended with injuries. Under pressure from the surrounding towns, college administrators banned it. However, another version was becoming popular at East Coast prep schools. It was called the Boston Game, and the use of a round, inflatable ball was introduced in 1855. Graduates of Boston’s elite prep schools played it. They were called the Oneida Football Club, which some consider the first organized football club. (http://www.yalerfc.com/new-page/)
Football in the United States-The game emerges. Roots in soccer and rugby.
Gridiron football was the creation of elite American universities, a fact that has shaped its distinctive role in American culture and life. After several decades of informal, student-organized games that were tolerated by faculty as an alternative to more destructive rowdiness, the first intercollegiate football game was played on November 6, 1869, in New Brunswick, New Jersey between in-state rivals Princeton and Rutgers according to rules adapted from those of the London Football Association. This soccer-style game became the dominant form as Columbia, Cornell, Yale and a few other colleges in the Northeast took up the sport in the early 1870s. (www.britannica.com/sports/gridiron-football#ref402860)
But the passion this new game had instilled was not easily quelled. By 1869 athletes were again on the field, and the first intercollegiate game was played between Princeton and Rutgers. Rutgers issued the challenge to its neighbor, Princeton, for three games. In fact only two were played. The third was cancelled when faculty from both schools decided the students were spending too much time at play and not enough at their studies. Rutgers won the first game, Princeton the second. (http://www.yalerfc.com/new-page/)
It all started on a cold day. There was, in fact, a threat of snow in the air that November 6, 1869, when a team of 25 and some faithful followers boarded a train in Princeton for New Brunswick. There, starting at 3 o’clock after a leisurely dinner, some billiards and some girl-watching, Rutgers and Princeton played the first game of intercollegiate football.
Accounts from surviving players and the Rutgers Targum recalled the historic confrontation:
At 3 p.m. on that memorable afternoon, the 50 combatants and about 100 spectators gathered on the field. Most of the assemblage sat on a low wooden fence and watched the athletes doff hats, coats and vests and use suspenders as belts. To distinguish themselves from the bareheaded visitors, 50 Rutgers students, including players, donned scarlet-colored scarfs, which they converted into turbans.
John W. Herbert, (Rutgers,1872) gave this detailed account:
Though smaller on the average, the Rutgers players, as it developed, had ample speed and fine football sense. Receiving the ball, our men formed a perfect interference around it and with short, skillful kicks and dribbles drove it down the field. Taken by surprise, the Princeton men fought valiantly, but in five minutes we had gotten the ball through to our captains on the enemy’s goal . . .Someone by a random kick had driven the ball to one side, where it rolled against the fence and stopped. Large led the pursuit for the ball closely followed by Michael. They reached the fence on which students were perched, and unable to check their momentum, in a tremendous impact they struck it. The fence then gave way with a crash and over went the band of yelling students to the ground.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ebz3AFpQhI&rel=0
By 1872 Yale and Harvard were eager to return to the game of bygone years. In April 1872 the Harvard classes of ’74 and ’75 met. The Advocate rejoiced and foretold the future of the game:
We are glad to see that football is being revived once more. It is hoped that all who feel interested in it will take an active part and make football what it should be, one of the most popular of college games.
At Yale the revival of football was thanks to the inspiration and determination of David S. Schaff. The most lasting influence of the Class on athletics was effected when as seniors a few of its members, inspired by David Schaff, introduced football among American colleges by organizing a team, which defeated Columbia. President of the first Yale football club, organizer of the team of twenty that played Columbia Nov 16, 1872 and generally regarded as the “father of intercollegiate football in America.”
On October 31, 1872, Schaff, along with Elliot S. Miller, Samuel Elder, and other students, called a meeting and voted to form the Yale Football Association. Schaff was its first President. One of the first tasks the Association tackled was to create a set of rules. In November Yale sent out its first challenge, to Columbia and subsequently played its first intercollegiate game in New Haven, on November 16, 1872. Unfortunately, due to a knee injury suffered in practice the day before the match, Schaff was unable to play this first game.
At 2:30 pm the game commenced with Yale classmates and townspeople some 400 strong there to cheer on the home team. The winner would be the first team to score five goals.
Within the oval of the Hamilton Park track, the football field had been laid out, 400 x 250 feet. Stakes with a rope drawn through them marked the boundaries of the field. The spectators spread themselves along the sides of the field behind ropes. Some watched from the vantage point of horse and carriage….the weather was what has come to be known as ideal for football: too cold for the spectators and too cold for the players… After 15 minutes of play, Tommy Sherman, Schaff’s substitute, booted a goal. The second goal, which took an hour, was registered by Lew Irwin. Irwin also kicked the third after 50 minutes of play. Columbia lacked the precision that the injured Schaff had drilled into Yale, and was shut out, three goals to nothing. “The Yale Football Story,” Tim Cohane. (A reporter from the Newark News )
YALE’S FOOTBALL PROGRAM IS ONE OF THE OLDEST IN THE WORLD (i.e. NORTH AMERICA), HAVING BEGUN COMPETING IN THE SPORT IN 1872
In 1873 representatives from Princeton, Yale, and Rutgers met in New York City to found the Intercollegiate Football Association and to adopt a common code. Conspicuously missing was Harvard, the country’s premier university, whose team insisted on playing the so-called “Boston Game,” a cross between soccer and rugby. In May 1874, in the second of two matches with McGill University of Montreal (the first was played by the rules of the Boston Game),
Harvard’s players were introduced to the rugby game and immediately preferred it to their own. The following year, for Harvard’s first football contest with Yale, representatives of the two schools agreed on “concessionary rules” that were chiefly Harvard’s. When spectators (including Princeton students) as well as Yale players saw the advantages of the rugby style, the stage was set for a meeting in 1876 of representatives from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Columbia to form a new Intercollegiate Football Association based on rugby rules.
Walter Camp and the creation of American football
Harvard made the first breach in rugby rules. Rejecting the traditional manner of putting the ball in play—players from both teams massed about the ball in a “scrummage,” or “scrum,” trying to kick it forward through the mass of players—Harvard opted for “heeling it out,” or kicking the ball backward to a teammate. The further transformation of English rugby into American football came chiefly through the efforts of Walter Camp who even during his lifetime was known as the “Father of American Football.” As an undergraduate and then a medical student at Yale, Camp played football from 1876 through 1881, but—more important—beginning in 1878, he dominated the rules committee for nearly three crucial decades. (www.britannica.com/sports/gridiron-football#ref402860)
Walter Camp has been recognized as ‘The Father of Modern Day Football’. Under his leadership, rules were added to manage the ‘Violence of the Game’ and the ‘Flow of the Game’
“The spirit of early football can be glimpsed in the introduction of a rule in 1894 that banned projecting nails or iron plates in shoes and any metal substance on the player’s person. Rules establishing boundaries between permissible and impermissible violence have been continually revised over the years, sometimes in response to periods of heightened concern over deaths and injuries”. (www.britannica.com/sports/gridiron-football#ref402860)
Walter Camp contributed the following major changes from Rugby and Soccer to American football. Plus, other rules continued to evolve the game:
One side retained undisputed possession of the ball until that side gives up the ball as a result of its own violations
The line of scrimmage
11 on a team instead of 15, requiring 7 on the line of scrimmage
Increasing the number of downs to gain 10 yards from three to four
Created the quarterback and center positions
Forward pass
Standardized the scoring system, numerical scoring
Created the safety, interference, penalties, and the neutral zone
Tackling as low as the knee was permitted – 1888
A touchdown increased in value to six points and field goals went down to three points – 1912 (www.thoughtco.com/history-of-football-1991800)
YALE FIELD
The school’s athletic facilities are located in nearby West Haven because that’s where there was space for young men to frolic and play the Ivy League way back at the turn of the 20th century. What would eventually become Yale Field was an apple orchard purchased by the school in 1882. By 1902 there was an open field with a few bleachers. (https://ballparkdigest.com/200904061710/college-baseball/visits/yale-field)
Yale Field was a stadium in New Haven, Connecticut. It hosted the Yale University Bulldogs football team until they moved to the Yale Bowl in 1914. The stadium held 33,000 people at its peak. The first game at Yale Field was on October 1, 1884 against Wesleyan University. (Wikipedia)
NEXT IS THE 1ST FILM (4 MINUTE VIDEO) OF A COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME PLAYED AT YALE FIELD IN 1903 BETWEEN PRINCETON & YALE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jClXitq7UFY&rel=0
YALE BOWL
The Yale Bowl is a college football stadium located in New Haven, Connecticut on the border of West Haven, about 1½ miles (2½ km) west of the main campus of Yale University. The home of the Yale Bulldogs of the Ivy League, it opened 104 years ago in 1914 with 70,896 seats; renovations have reduced its current capacity to 61,446.
Ground was broken on the stadium in August 1913. Fill excavated from the field area was used to build up a berm around the perimeter to create an elliptical bowl. The facade was designed to partially echo the campus’s Neo Gothic design, and, as with some central campus buildings, acid was applied to imitate the effects of aging. It was the first bowl-shaped stadium in the country. (Wikipedia)
When the finishing touches were put on the Yale Bowl in 1914, it was an architectural revolution.
At the time it opened, it was the largest stadium in the world (Princeton Stadium, capacity of 42,000, was second) and the first to incorporate seating that completely surrounded the field, achieved by excavating nearly 13 acres of land, all of it used to build the surrounding walls. Yale had assembled one of the elite programs in college football, and decided to house it appropriately. The design, with seating for more than 70,000, was so perfectly suited for big-time football it was copied by the Rose Bowl, the Cotton Bowl, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and Michigan’s “Big House.”
It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987. Crowds aren’t quite what they used to be, though visits from Harvard every other year come close to filling the place to capacity. Still, the Bowl holds a unique place our country’s sporting history. Rutgers played host to the first college football game, but the modern game was created and developed at Yale. Walter Camp, a New Britain native reared in New Haven, played on the school’s early football teams, coached three eventually recognized as national champions and invented most of the rules and innovations that turned the game from a rugby hybrid into what we see today.
Camp donated $135,000 to construction of the Bowl. Remaining funds — total cost for the project was $750,000 — was secured to construct a stadium capable of handling enormous crowds. Temporary bleachers for big games could expand capacity beyond 75,000. “The Roman Coliseum was the only facility on Earth that could compare at the time, and of course, it wasn’t being used by then,” said Ansonia’s Rich Marazzi, author of “A Bowl Full of Memories,” which chronicles the history of the Yale Bowl. “It was an engineering marvel. The cut-and-fill process below Earth’s surface saved lot of money rather than an above-ground, double-decker stadium.” (Chip Malafronte of the New Haven Register)
The stadium was the first in the United States to be built in the shape of a bowl. Construction was relatively straightforward: concrete poured around the edges of a crater dug nearly 28 feet below ground level. But the stadium’s designer, Charles A. Ferry, mysteriously opted not to include changing areas for the players. Until 1930, portable toilets outside the stadium were all that fans had for accommodations.
Two designated halftime rooms, about 50 feet long by 30 feet wide, were installed on opposite sides of the field, one for the home team and the other for the visitors. Each had a bathroom and training room the size of a closet. That halftime room has been replaced by the Kenney Center, a structure that contains a renovated press box, box suites and a team meeting area. But still, no lockers”. (Zach Schonbrun and The Associated Press @ The New York Times)
A party of more than 600 alumni, parents, and friends gathered in Coxe Cage November 17, 2007, to celebrate a landmark for Yale football and the Campaign for Yale Athletics. Capping nearly two-and-one-half years of construction, the Saturday morning ceremony commemorated the top-to-bottom renovation of Yale Bowl, a national landmark now in its ninety-third season of gridiron action. Yale President Richard C. Levin and Director of Athletics Thomas A. Beckett hosted the rededication event. (Yale University)
Tom Beckett had only begun unpacking his boxes when the phone rang.
It was the summer of 1994, and Beckett had just moved across the country to become Yale’s new athletic director after 11 years as associate AD at Stanford. It was a heady time. Here he was, running a storied Ivy League department, new overseer of things like The Big Game and The Big Race, suddenly a vital thread in Yale’s tapestry of historic space and architecture.
The New Haven air was so thick with tradition Beckett could almost touch it. Then that phone rang. “It was a Yale alum calling to congratulate me,” Beckett said. “It was like a lot of conversations and phone calls at the time, but then he said to me, ‘By the way, are you aware that The Yale Bowl’s 100th anniversary is in 20 years, and the building is falling apart?’” The headiness evaporated, and the gravity of The Bowl issue descended upon Beckett.“ ‘Could I be here 20 years from now?’ ” he thought. “ ‘And if so, what am I gonna do? I need to be aware of what this alum has shared with me, and the impact of it, the importance of it.’ ”
So Beckett got to work. He quizzed coaches and alumni, sat with athletic staff, discussed the issue with Yale’s top administrators, fielded all sorts of ideas and suggestions. “The most powerful was, you need to have a signature event, and you need to fix The Bowl,” he said. “So we embarked on that challenge, and long story short, we made it happen.” Of all the jewels in Beckett’s Yale crown as he readies to retire after 24 remarkable years, The Yale Bowl’s restoration and renovation may shine brightest.
Behind Beckett’s generalship, Yale raised more than $32 million for the project, transforming The Bowl from a crumbling relic that Beckett said, “looked like the Roman Colosseum” to a singular monolith that at once blends its history with contemporary convenience.
“I don’t know what it looked like in 1914,” Beckett said, “but in 2014 it was breathtaking.” To put an exclamation point on the proceedings, Beckett somehow persuaded Army into visiting The Bowl for its ballyhooed centennial game on Sept. 27, 2014. (www.ivyleaguesports.com )
Thanking Donors for a Rejuvenated Yale Bowl
Charles Johnson, whose contribution was matched by the Class of 1954, for funding that accelerated the timetable of the Yale Bowl restoration was honored. Other top donors present in the audience were recognized, including Harry Day ’70, the Jensen family, Edward Toohey ’54, John Embersits ’58, and the Ehikian family. A portion of the Class’ historic 50th reunion gift, which totaled more than $120 million, was directed toward the project, rebuilding seven portals and the playing surface within the Bowl, now named Class of 1954 Field. (Yale University)
O&G restores the historically significant Yale Bowl for one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious universities.
The historic Yale Bowl first opened in 1914 and, at the time, was one of the largest concrete structures ever built. The stadium, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, had succumbed to the elements over the decades and needed a serious facelift. O&G was selected to oversee this high profile historic renovation project. In order to avoid interruptions to the football season, O&G’s pre-construction team developed a phasing plan that ensured the games would be played without delaying the project’s completion.
Among the project highlights are the restoration of the Bowl’s 30 entrance portals, retaining walls and interior concrete structure. The four-foot walkway, which encircles the stadium, was replaced with an eight-foot walkway and a new drainage system was installed. Twenty percent of the stadium’s wooden seating for 64,000 fans was replaced. O&G utilized nearly 200 workers in six different construction specialties. (www.ogind.com)
RITUAL DAY-THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2018
Ritual Day is a coined name. It includes a trip to the stadium to slowly walk around to observe and analyze the Shrine to produce as Buddha says a ‘Knowing’. It is these Shrines that my College Football Pilgrimages lead to. The Birth of American Football also gave Birth to the ‘Modern Day Gladiator’, a descendant from the Roman Gladiator. The Romans Gladiators fought for their lives during Rome’s version of Football, while ‘Modern Day Gladiators’ fight over a ball, best described as a ‘Pigskin’. My Pilgrimages also bring me to Shrines for the ‘Celebration of Pigskin’.
Throughout the USA on a fall weekend, over 100 ‘Celebration of Pigskin’, large and small, are arranged by fans, band, pep & dance squads, school officials, players, coaches and a multitude of others. The common theme of the ‘Celebration of Pigskin’ takes place around a stadium and in a Shrine. Some Shrines are considered as Cathedrals while others are sized down all the way to a Chapel. These Shrines are responsible for the ‘Celebration of Pigskin’.
My campsite is set up in Branford, Ct, about 12 miles from the Yale Bowl. After arriving late Wednesday night after a harrowing, night time, 4 ½ hour drive from Philadelphia my feet landed safely and in Good Health, Grogginess was a companion throughout the day. The Law of Rhythm was being put into play. My Homeostasis was out of whack. While preparing to leave my campsite and during the drive to Yale Stadium, Excitement would occasionally over take Grogginess.
The Excitement was based on numerous factors for Ritual Day. They included a Ritual Walk with pics, a possible moment on field level, thinking about the ‘Spirits’ that walked before my foot steps as I stepped on their footprints, and occasionally touching the outer shell of the Shrine for a taste of the Shine’s stored Energy created by those that came before my feet.
As my Red Rental Chariot pulled in to the Yale Bowl parking lot, the wide opened atmosphere was a welcomed relief. During my 1st CFP for the 10 Largest College Football Stadiums, semi-closed to closed-closed ruled the atmosphere. For a moment, as I looked out the windshield, a rush of Energy now led the way with Grogginess close behind. Previous image research prepared my Imagination as I looked through the chain linked fence for the sight of the Yale Bowl. After getting out of the car, another moment was taken to study the atmosphere that the Shrine had a view of. While looking, my Imagination thought of 1914 the 1st year of the Yale Bowl.
During those days and up to WWII, plus during the 50’s & 60’s, the Yale Bowl was a sellout. Most ‘Celebration of Pigskin’ now plays to lesser crowds unless Harvard shows up in town. As my gear was being gathered for the Ritual Walk, workers near Portal 1 were spotted. They appeared to be setting up the equipment for the national TV broadcast by ESPN. A sign posted next to the double gate is my 1st pic, followed by my 2nd pic.
The double gate was wide opened with a welcome mat waiting. After wiping my shoes, my step was light but firm enough for any Energy absorption from previous Spirits. With my Homeostasis still in question, my Gut & Radar lead the way to the outside bathrooms as built in 1914.
On my way back to Portal 1, to my right standing under a large white tent that had tables and chairs, my first possible Angel appeared. Whatever your beliefs are, Angels do exist among Humans. Anytime a Human helps another Human, the Helping Human for that brief moment becomes an Angel. For one of the duties of an Angel are to help Humans and to expect nothing in return. Very rarely do Humans refuse my request to snap a pic of my image for evidence for the College Football Pilgrimages. Experience led the way. In very little TIME, though names were not exchanged, this Angel and I were conversing as though we were ‘olde faithful friends’ according to Marcus Aurelius.
My explanation included my purpose, past Pilgrimages and other tidbits including my request for a pic near Portal 1. With a SMILE, this Angel agreed, and as we walked more talk was shared. After arriving at our destination, the Angel took the next 2 pics.
While being showered by her kindness and her Energy, she agreed to share a pic with me. The Angel was with the ESPN crew and solicited a volunteer to assist in our pic. A possible Angel #2 now made an appearance. What caught my attention were his black polo ESPN shirt and a Yankee cap. As I handed him Helen, my camera, comments of ‘Nice Hat’ were tossed his direction. He said ‘Thanks’ and a brief use of Helen was shared. Within moments the pic of my image with my Angel was created. Her name was Tatianna. More on Tatianna later.
Angel T then discussed her strategy for more pics inside the Yale Bowl with the Unknown Angel acting as a camera man. As we neared the opening of Portal 1, Excitement again reared its head. The Portals were designed to resemble a tunnel bored through the earth to lead one to their seat or as in my case the field at the 50 yard line encircled by the Yale Bowl. My unofficially estimate of Portal 1 is about 25-30 yards.
The Angels listen to Excitement as stories of Yale being one of the Founding Members for the Birth of the American Football Game, spilled from my lips. As the light at the end of the tunnel was growing, the Unknown Angel spoke of ‘Goose Flesh’ growing on the skin. My skin was lit a blaze with ‘Goose Flesh’ as the Unknown Angel led the way with his walk and talk. Angel T walked along side in a quiet fashion.
The moment of stepping out of Portal 1 onto the Class of 1954 Field in the Yale Bowl was a step into a Dream. The two Angels permitted TIME for my senses to embrace what the Yale Bowl had to offer. Three 50 yard pics
The earth was somewhat damp from the rains on Tuesday. Cloud coverage filled the skies with the temperature pleasant for wearing shorts. My Imagination shifted to overdrive as thoughts of the past rushed through. Not much had changed since 1914 and the seats were painted, reflecting a color of blue throughout the Bowl. As the shot was being prepared, AWE could best describe the moment as my feet stood on the 50 yard line in the Yale Bowl. The next two pics were taken by the Unknown Angel under the influence of Angel T.
While waiting for the Unknown Angel to fly down from his perch, Angel T and I continued to share our spoken words until more pics were taken from the 50 yard line.
After the photo shoot was completed, my thanks to my 2 Angels were extended, for other duties now called them. It was agreed that an extended stay for my feet was welcomed and off into Portal 1, the 2 Angels vanished. With AWE as a partner, my senses continued to absorb what the Yale Bowl had to offer. 1914 and beyond with a packed house for the ‘Celebration of Pigskin’ kept resonating in my Imagination.
When the Blessing was completed, my feet followed the 2 Angels thru Portal 1. It was in the semi-dark as my thoughts replayed all the Excitement & Blessings inside the Yale Bowl. Grogginess had affected the inclusion of the Unknown Angel into the story with his name and a pic. Perhaps, another encounter awaited outside Portal 1 as my Ritual Walk continued. As my vision scanned the area Angel T and the Unknown Angel were not in sight.
Angel Tatianna is a graduate of the University of Connecticut with a degree in Sports Management. During her tenure there, she worked in the video football department and parlayed her talents with her degree to land with ESPN. She was among the virgin cast televising the 1st season of ESPN & The Ivy League. Compliments were tossed her way for the telecast of the Princeton @ Columbia Football Game the previous week for the setting around the Shrine was magnificent.
My confession of being a College Football Junkie said the Ivy League is underserved and more games should be on national TV. No other football conference in the USA can offer the history of the Ivy League. Plus, the natural surroundings supply an added beauty. When one adds the history of the Shrines in the Ivy League, another helping can be served to a connoisseur of college football. After asking of her job title, my hearing explained that officially there was none. However, unofficially, her title was the Assistant to the Producer or Assistant Producer.
Images are worth 10,000 words or more. A few more tell the story of the Ritual Walk.
Eventually, my feet encountered 2 males attending to pre-Celebration chores. With one wearing a Yale polo shirt, it invited a question from my feet, for my ticket for the ‘Celebration of Pigskin’ was not mailed in the same envelope as my Celebration campsite ticket. Once their attention was grabbed, my dilemma was shared and the question of a ticket office was asked. Both were very polite and responsive and said that the main ticket office was located some miles away on campus. However, the Good News was that the Celebration Day ticket office was located just beyond the fence that the two were working on. I thanked them for their TIME and help and continued the Ritual Walk.
More pics tell the story.
After entering the Yale Bowl again as a fan, the Portals are shorter than the two that lead to the field. AWE joined in again as a torrent of thoughts resonated within my Imagination including the missed opportunity to take a pic of the last 2 Angels that assisted during the Ritual Walk for the story. My Homeostasis continued to be under the influence of the Law of Rhythm. To change my focus of lost opportunities, more pics from a fan perspective were taken for it was a found opportunity.
After receiving more Blessings from inside the Yale Bowl, a Chance Encounter magically appeared with the Angel wearing the Yale polo as my steps walked out of a Portal. My confession of lost opportunities was shared along with a request with a pic for the story. Not only did Angel Y agree, he offered a ‘Surprise Guest’ to join in with the photo. He walked to his truck as my feet followed. After opening the door, his hands reached in and snagged from the floor a dog. This was not just any dog, this dog was a World-Wide Celebrity. He was the newly appointed Yale Bulldog Mascot. His name was ‘Handsome Dan XVIII’, aka “Walter”.
The following is a combination of excepts taken from Yalebulldog.com & Yale.edu
“Kevin Discepolo, a former lacrosse player ’09, the Assistant Athletic Director of Facilities, Operations, & Events, returned to New Haven in 2014. His portfolio includes capital projects, facilities maintenance, contest management, and third-party rentals. While at Yale, Discepolo has been involved with transformative projects for Yale Athletics, including the Carol Roberts Field House, locker room renovations for baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, and volleyball, as well as synthetic turf field installations at Yale Field, 5K Corral Field at DeWitt Family Stadium, and Reese Stadium.
As the chair of Yale Athletics’ Sustainability Task Force, he was invited to speak at the 2017 Green Sports Alliance Summit in Sacramento. In 2018, Discepolo served as site director for the NCAA Lacrosse Tournament First Round Game, which the Bulldogs won over UMass on their way to winning the National Championship. Discepolo might be best known as the caretaker for Handsome Dan XVIII, also known as “Walter.” Born on Sept. 23, 2016 in Maine, Yale’s newest mascot was chosen after a nationwide search. He is an Olde English Bulldogge, a larger, stronger, and healthier version of the breed that got its name herding bulls. His constant companion is Kevin. Besides chronicling Walter through Instagram, the duo can be found parading the sidelines of contests, at various events around campus, and even leading the procession during Class Day.
Prior to returning to Yale, Discepolo worked for Scholastic, Inc., as well as the U.S. Department of the Interior. At the Department of the Interior, he helped launch First Lady Michelle Obama’s initiative Let’s Move! in Indian Country to combat childhood obesity within the American Indian and Alaskan Native communities. Additionally, Discepolo orchestrated an event at the White House where lacrosse was played and the sport’s Native origins were taught.
While in Washington, D.C., Discepolo received a Master’s in Sports Industry Management from Georgetown University. He also received a Master’s in Marketing from Durham University in the United Kingdom. At Durham, Discepolo coached the lacrosse team to an undefeated season and a BUCS National Championship. An American Studies major and member of Morse College, Discepolo was the recipient of the Donald J. Reape Memorial Award, which is presented to the member of the men’s lacrosse team who best exemplifies character, spirit, dedication, hard work, and enthusiasm. Besides athletics, Discepolo serves as a freshman academic advisor and Morse College Fellow. He has also been a Board Member for the Tewaaraton Award Foundation since 2011. Discepolo, who is originally from Long Island, now resides with Handsome Dan in Guilford, CT.
Handsome Dan XVIII
Fijian people greet each other by saying, ”Boola, Boola, Boola,” which means, “We’re happy you’re here; welcome–we love you.” Yale students know the word well and are singing it every time Walter (a.k.a. Handsome Dan XVIII) leaves his Ray Tompkins House Office to go for a walk. There has never been more interest in Yale’s school mascot. His reign as the new Dan began a day before the Elis beat their football archrival in November of 2016, and he has continued to have a positive effect on the Yale campus. Walter, an Olde English Bulldogge born Sept. 23, 2016, can’t wag his tail for more than a minute around New Haven without being stopped for a “selfie” or a petting.
His daily workouts in the athletic department are an event to behold. Student-athletes could gain much inspiration by watching the fast, nimble and aggressive canine leap off stairs and chase balls to the point of exhaustion. He is more than likely the first Yale mascot that can lick a standing adult’s face. Yale rowers, swimmers, divers and sailors are happy to hear that Walter is probably the first Handsome Dan that can do the doggie paddle. Most of his predecessors were English Bulldogs, a less athletic breed that was not comfortable in the water.
Many who wear the Blue and White aspire to grunt and growl with his ferocity when scooping a ground ball, pouncing on a fumble or grabbing a rebound. Walter, who graduated with high honors from obedience school, is a good role model for all student-athletes. Nobody shows off for cameras and adoring fans more than Dan XVIII, who has mostly a light brown color with a streak of white from his forehead to his belly. Walter also has big teeth, a little pink in his face and a set of ears that are begging to be rubbed.
He was the definition of cute when he arrived in New Haven three months after birth, and that charming quality has grown along with his maturation as the most famous (and the first) mascot in college sports. For more information on Walter, who has already been featured in Sports Illustrated and the Yale Alumni Magazine, follow him on Instagram (handsomedanxviii) or on Twitter (handsomedan18)”.
After receiving more Blessings from Kevin & Walter, the Ritual Walk continued in a daze. While lamenting missed opportunities during my Homeostasis Imbalance, the ‘Spirits’ of the Yale Bowl continued to create new opportunities. Next are my last two pics ending the Ritual Walk and Ritual Day.
‘CELEBRATION OF PIGSKIN DAY’-OCTOBER 5, 2018
Normal operating procedures for the ‘Celebration of Pigskin’ is to arrive at the Shrine about 5 hours before kick-off, unless it is an 11 am kick-off. Then it changes to about a 3 hour arrival. Since a parking permit was in my possession, parking would not be an issue as at other Shrines. Plus, a lighter crowd, would ease the impact on the surroundings. During the drive, Unknown joined as a passenger. My experience as a Pilgrimager has taught the lessons that venturing into the Unknown permits one to dance with Joy, Passion, Compassion, & FUN in the Game of LIFE. My motto when venturing into the Unknown is ‘What will LIFE place on my Road Not Taken’.
Traffic was a little heavier than the drive on Ritual Day. After seeking directions for Lot B, an Angel pointed to the right direction. However, as at Autzen Stadium at the University of Oregon, the lots did not open until 3 hours before kick-off. With plenty of TIME on hand, the surroundings were observed an analyzed during my short drive. Lot B was not identifiable, so my Red Rental Chariot pulled into an unmanned Lot A, smacked against the Yale Bowl. My arm waved a large white cargo wagon down for directions.
After discussing the events, the 2 unidentified Angels suggested that my Red Rental Chariot be parked near the back fence of Lot A for Lot B was a further walk from the Yale Bowl. Since my parking permit was already paid, the Red Rental Chariot would be in good standings. The worse scenario would be to move to Lot B. I thanked the two unidentified Angels and parked the RR Chariot near the back fence, next to temporary lighting and close to an exit.
The first campsites were just starting to be constructed by the Yale Football Parents. While gathering a few things for ‘Celebration Day’, a discovery was made. The ‘Knee Supporters’ were left back at the original campsite. Experience has taught, that when on long walks, exercising, and during chores around the Dream Home ‘Knee Supporters’ are a steady companion. Modifications of less walking would have to be employed for the ‘Celebration of Pigskin’ at the Yale Bowl.
Upon reaching the campsite of the Yale Football Parents, my Aliquippa Colors were obvious. A brief verbal exchange took place among the few during the initial greetings. My card was presented along with a request for a pic from their campsite. 5 hours before kick-off Julie and Danielle honored my request and welcomed my feet to the Yale Bowl.
With very few campsites to visit, my feet decided to walk to some interesting structures that were spotted on the drive to Lot B, now Lot A. The pics tell the story of the Tribute to Walter Camp.
Across the street stood the historic Yale Baseball Stadium & Track Stadium.
On the trail back to Lot A, a side path was taken through the now Known Lot B in search of the Yale Bowl Ticket Office. On the path, a familiar Angel showed up driving a Chariot Cart with a passenger. The driver assisted Kevin with the fence project during my Ritual Walk. Greetings were exchanged and an offer for a ride to the ticket office was extended by the unidentified Angel. My knees were Grateful, so my feet accepted the ride. During our ride, the events of Ritual Day were discussed, including Kevin relaying to him the story of our pic with Walter. When the ride ended, a lost chance turned into a new chance for a pic.
While walking back to the Celebration campsite, an opportunity was created for my 1st pic at the Yale Bowl for the ‘Celebration of Pigskin’ outside the Shrine.
My knees were thankful for the ride and rest would now rule until campsite activities increased. After placing my feet in the RR Chariot and adjusting the seat, my eyes closed for a period of Self-Contemplation. It was decided that due to the lack of ‘Knee Supporters’, that campsite visitation would be limited to Lot A. In TIME, the gates of Lot A were officially opened and more Chariots and Wagons of different sizes slowly began to filter in. Though a stranger took a pic earlier with my CRCR Coffee on my cellphone for texting purposes, another one was needed on Helen.
Out of my Chariot, my feet stepped. The Yale Football Parent campsite had grown as other campsites dotted Lot A. As my feet stood near the RR Chariot, while holding my CRCR coffee, the large white cargo wagon from earlier pulled up with the other two unknown Angels. As a courtesy, they were checking on my feet. The driver agreed to snap a Coffee Pic with Helen.
With live music now playing in the distance during a talk with one of the locals’ ‘Finest’ about recent developments in the local police department, my feet requested a LOA to pursue the music that had found the campsite of the Yale Football Parents. This was the largest campsite in Lot A.
Energy was now on the upswing with the assist of Live Music. The next pic is Live Music called the Clam Diggers from New Haven.
As the crowd cheered on, the Clam Diggers dug for volunteers to assist with the next number.
Eventually my feet made it back to my campsite reinvigorated with the Energy for final preparations to the Yale Bowl. Along the way to the Yale Bowl a few more pics were snapped.
It was then, memories of Clemson and the Clemson Family were spotted. Young Bulldogs were wearing the Yale Colors for the ‘Celebration of Pigskin’ and their Patriarch agreed to a pic after a brief discussion of families and football.
As my journey continued around the perimeter of the Yale Bowl, Angel Justin appeared on his cart. He stopped to check on my well-being and experience. He pointed to the direction of the Bulldog Walk. When the check-up ended, he took the next pic, per my request, for the story.
A lost moment from yesterday had manifested itself into a new moment today. Walking in my direction was the Unknown Angel that posed as the photographer. TIME & Forces brought the meeting. SMILES greeted the both of us. My opening salvo went something like this as we exchanged a handshake and a partial embrace. ‘You must have ESPN and I am not speaking about the network’. Before my words could continue, he replied as ‘In Extra Sensory Perception Network’. Laughter followed from my lips as more words explained lost moments. After a brief exchange of information, another Human Angel agreed to take a pic of my feet with Mike the Archangel.
A rush was now on after receiving another Blessing from Mike the Archangel to get to the Bulldog Walk. Since my status is a Rookie for shooting videos, my snafus of being a Rookie continued with no video for the story.
On the way back near the gate of entry for my Portal, an Unknown voice called out the words of ‘Aliquippa’. Wearing a SMILE and a Yale Commemorative Football Jersey with a Yale hat, this stranger asked if my feet were from Aliquippa. After responding with a Yes, we were strangers no longer. His name was Rodney and his family was visiting from near Pittsburgh, Pa. He said that his son had just played against Aliquippa in a ‘Celebration of Youth Pigskin’. After the next photo was taken, his wife Katrina confessed that she was both a Pitt Grad and former cheerleader. TIME did not permit for my feet to share all the woes of the Pitt football program. A little taste was offered, and in return, she confessed that Pitt football was not high on her list of ‘Things To Do’.
After making my way through a short line for entry, this sign to my left caught my vision. GOOD OLDE STADIUM COMFORT FOOD.
The Yale parents had relayed the news earlier at the Bulldog Walk about the non-presence of the Yale Band. Usually, the Band would lead the Bulldog Walk. Because of this info, my wait was short on the concourse and decided to enter the Portal to my seat on the 45 yard line, 2nd row behind the Yale’s bench. The word Portal links to the Star Trek Adventures, as the Space travelers would beam back and forth in the Portal. Similarly, one’s Imagination can experience being beamed back into TIME, as one steps through the Portal into the Yale Bowl. My 1st pic included James and the Yale Bowl for the ‘Celebration of Pigskin’.
James shared words with my feet as questions were answered. James has been stationed on the 45 yard line for 20 years. His career at the Yale Bowl began when he was 9 years-old. While actually following his father’s footsteps, who himself was an Usher at the Yale Bowl, James’ feet found themselves in the Yale Bowl in 1951 for his first gig as a ‘Row Guard’. A ‘Row Guard’ was positioned to sit between the reserve seat section and general admission tickets. The Yale Bowl had a number of these Guards stationed to prevent patrons from sitting in the wrong sections.
After serving 5 glorious years as a ‘Row Guard’, James was elevated to an usher at the age of 14. After a few years as an Usher, James took TIME off to serve his country. Overall, James’ tenure has exceeded 50 years of service at the Yale Bowl. When returning from his stay in the Army, James has had numerous job titles including Ticket Taker, Head Usher, and now Usher. During our moment, James shared many stories in a tone of a ‘Beautiful Person’. One included the tale of 2 Couples from Ontario, Canada that were also first TIME visitors to the Yale Bowl. As on cue, out of the Portal walks the 2 Couples. After a brief chat of the 5 of Us being Virgins to the Yale Bowl, the next pic was arranged.
Brian & Barry shared more stories with my feet about the various travels to other College Football Stadiums, both as a 4-Some, and individually. Songs of Pilgrimages were sung in my direction from the Natives of Canada adding to Magic of the Yale Bowl. Barry then shared a multiple of other Shrines his feet has sat in and the Excitement each one created. Eventually, he agreed to take my Virgin Pic for the ‘Celebration of Pigskin’ in the Yale Bowl.
Before departing to my seat, Gratitude was shared by all. The second row had its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages included being close to the sights, sound, and smells. Sounds of the late arriving Yale Band were heard earlier through the Portal as James and the Virgin Pilgrimagers swapped stories. The Yale Precision Marching Band has official records dating back to 1918-19. When the Modern-Day Gladiators left the field after warm-ups, the YPMB hit the field coming from Portal 1.
After the playing of the National Anthem, came the entry of the Yale Modern-Day Gladiators from their Portal for the ‘Celebration of Pigskin’.
The disadvantage of row 2 was the view blockage of the battle grounds by the Yale Gladiators. My feet moved up a few rows for a pic of the kick-off. It was in the new row that my path crossed with another group at the Yale Bowl. Each wore different Colors. One was in Dartmouth gear, two were neutral and one in Yale Colors. During an early break in the battle, the female member began taking pics of the group. As a gesture, my services were offered to photograph the entire group. All were in agreeance and different cellphones were used for the task.
My feet then mentioned the diversity of the group and asked about the relationship of the group. My CFP was briefly touched on and a request for a pic for my story was requested. The female bowed out, leaving the 3 Stooges, for each in his own way had the ability to make one laugh. Leon, a grad of Dartmouth, proudly wearing Dartmouth Colors was the Patriarch of the Stooges. Chris in neutral gear was his son, and Cameron in Yale Gear was both the son of Chris and the grandson of Leon.
Talk of football and families was included in our conversation. Leon confessed that his Prodigal Son had other things to do that did not include family & football. Cameron and my feet continued swapping spit, in between the Battle action. The Birth of the Modern Day Football was shared along with my feet walking among the Spirits that assisted in its Birth. Another yarn was told from my days at Chaparral HS in Las Vegas, NV. Chaparral was home to many well-known and distinguished alumni. Two of them were, Anthony Zuiker of the TV CSI franchise fame as the Creator, and Executive Producer. The other one was Brandon Flowers of the Killers. When my feet would walk through the halls of Chaparral HS, my Imagination would trace their footprints for possible absorption of their ‘Creative Energies’.
Cameron said that he liked the Killers and after giving him and the others my card, he was directed to the Pilgrimage Section on my website to access the T-Mobile Grand Opening Story featuring the Killers as the Grand Opening Act. As my yarn continued and my Theory of Spirit Energy not disproved by this member of the 2020 Yale Graduating Class, my feet had an another intention to visit the Yale Bowl. It was to be among the most intellectually Blest humans on our planet with plans to absorb some of their ‘Intellectual Energy’. Cameron laughed as my yarn slowly spun. Out of curiosity, my feet then asked politely, ‘What were your SAT scores’? Cameron, who was from Suffolk, N.Y. replied, ‘At the TIME the test was taken my score was 2300 out of 2400’. During the break in the Battle, playing from the scoreboard speaker system was a song by the Killers. I then thanked him for sharing his Intellectual Energy and was rewarded with my 1st Pic with Helen from near my seat in the Yale Bowl.
The Battle was entertaining as halftime neared and my vision captured ‘The Lone Vendor’ of the Yale Bowl.
Normally, my feet stay for the halftime show. However, calls from the ‘Comfort Food’ were playing a better tune. A decision was to seek ‘Comfort Food’ before the start of the second half and to secure an endzone view under the scoreboard for the third quarter. With ‘Comfort Food’ securely in my grasp, my feet entered through another Portal back in TIME to the Yale Bowl. The scoreboard endzone section was wide open as the Gladiators were concluding their warm-ups. This provided the opportunity to set up a campsite in the Yale Bowl with ‘Comfort Food’.
Every seat in the Yale Bowl has a great line of view for the Battle Field which gives the patrons many opportunities for a Great Seat. The ‘Comfort Food’ was slowly being consumed as the different view entertained my Imagination. The size and scale of the Yale Bowl was Awesome. It remained true to its roots with its only one scoreboard and low tech feel. Sitting under the scoreboard would cause one to continue to turn and check on the clock for key information. Unlike other College Football Stadiums, the Yale Bowl had no video board to bombard one with commercials, public announcements and replays. Like the Olde Days, if one’s focus was not on the Battle, and a play would not be seen and etched in the Imagination. Another fan would have to describe what was missed.
Since this ‘Celebration of Pigskin’ was on national TV, there were many breaks. Some low key public announcements were shared followed by a variety of piped in music including the Killers, which was suitable for all age groups. Voltaire claims there is no such thing as Chance. After Cameron and my feet discussed the Killers, how would Voltaire explain the song by the Killers? Occasionally, the YPMB would strike up a tune, but the size of the Yale Bowl limited their music for those nearby.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, it was decided for my feet to move to another seat. Plus, my battle with ‘Comfort Food’ had just run its course.
My Gut & Radar led the way to where my feet eventually stopped. The area was occupied by two patrons with a few seats not taken. The answer to my question invited my feet to rest. With another view, the Yale Bowl offered more for my Imagination. The female sitting near, sounded knowledgeable in the ‘Celebration of Pigskin’ as the battle wore on. Her colors flew with the Yale Gladiators. While fighting gallantly, they were being thumped by the Dartmouth Gladiators. Leon was probably beaming ear to ear. Game pics from the new view
As the Battle was winding down, the female and my feet engaged in talk as olde faithful friends. Much was shared as the flow of the Battle permitted verbal engagement. It was with delight that my feet had parked next to another Angel. She was a long time Yale supporter, including serving 35 years in the Yale community in New Haven. After starting out in the lab, she eventually spread her wings and now flies around the community in a large medically equipped Bus assisting those in need. Her area of expertise and Blessings are shared with others while working in the Internal Medicine Aids Program at Yale University. In parting, Gratitude was shared along with her Blessing my feet for a Safe & Healthy CFP. Next is a pic of Angel Regina and her son Jordan. Jordan too is an Angel for serving in the Army and the National Guard.
The Low Tech Scoreboard tells the story
My feet stood for a moment taking in the final views of the Yale Bowl as the small remaining crowd began to file out. My Imagination replayed the events of the ‘Celebration of Pigskin’ at the Yale Bowl. One thing that my feet told Angel Regina was about the ‘Smell of Earth’ that emanated from the Yale Bowl. During my stay on the 2nd row, the ‘Smell of Earth’ struck my olfactory nerve, the most primitive of the senses, with an ‘Unforgettable Smell of Earth’. It was probably a combination of the recent rains, evaporation process and the stirring of the land by the Gladiators and Past Spirits inside the Yale Bowl. My thanks were once again extended to the Yale Bowl as my feet paraded back into the Portal to return to current TIME.
With my bladder needing relief, there was a one last stop in the original but updated rest rooms. It was here that my feet encountered an unpaid patron that was left behind. My Imagination then thought to past sellouts at the Yale Bowl and to the hundreds of unpaid patrons that were discarded and left behind.
In little TIME, the way led my feet to the RR Chariot. Most of Lot A was vacated. The Yale parents made a small group and a few outer perimeter campsites were still enjoying the cool fall evening and relationships. Next to the RR Chariot was still parked a lonesome large wagon truck. TIME & Forces SMILED on my feet. One last pic remained for a chance lost was now renewed. Imbalance caused the lack of an earlier opportunity. My first cameraman for the pic of the CRCR coffee shot on my cellphone was standing near the truck.
The Angel questioned my experience as I was searching for Helen for a pic. My confession of the ‘Celebration of Pigskin’ at the Yale Bowl revolved around the words of Welcomeness and Kindness. How it ranks with others will be determined by the digestive process, which will then create a Knowing. The Angel then asked for a request as the pic was being readied. ‘Please tell others as you write your story that the “Snobbishness of the Yale Faithful is Purely Fiction’ and remember to state otherwise. Gratitude was exchanged, and then off into the cool autumn night, my RR Chariot returned my feet to my original campsite.
The 2018 CFP continued with a stop with nature. If TIME & Forces allow, a visit with God and nature is added to the CFP. Angels of the Unknown assisted with photos
A Path Into The Unknown
The Number of Birds Invoked Hitchcock
LONG ISLAND SOUND
The actions and sounds of waves, large or small, produces ions that many humans find soothing and relaxing for one’s Homeostasis. After filling up my tank for the rest of my 2018 CFP, one final pic was snapped.
As my Yale Bowl story concludes at my next campsite located in Framingham, MA outside of Cambridge and Harvard Stadium, the drive produced a Knowing. The Yale Bowl, Present and Past Spirits have now set a Standard of Welcomeness & Kindness. Though all of my other ‘Celebrations of Pigskin’ have created their own levels of Standards, the Yale Bowl stands alone. Yes, the Yale Bowl was built in 1914 with very little modifications, but that is what adds to the ‘Mystique of the Yale Bowl’. It is stepping back in TIME to another era of low or no tech. If such a journey into the Unknown is on your list, then add the Yale Bowl on your Road Not Taken.
Whether your Pilgrimage matches my feet or not, the Present and Past Spirits of the Yale Bowl will Bless your Pilgrimage. The 2018 CFP now continues to Harvard Stadium, the 2nd Oldest College Football Stadium in the USA and a Birthing Partner of American Football. Unlike my previous College Football Pilgrimages, My Angels of Insanity, Angel Compassion and Angel Passion Chaffee were on other assignments, and current images of them were not available for posting. Previous pics were used for the Inspiration, Guidance, and Stimulation for the Yale Bowl Story. My Gratitude as always is extended to both. Though using past pics would be considered ‘Unhealthy’, one is needed for identification. So if you happen to spot the Vixen Angels, please contact Fox Feather for an update at playinyourdreams51@gmail.com.
Remember as always, to PLAYIN YOUR DREAMS, Share and Promote the Dreams of Others, and Show Others How to Protect Their Dreams. For lurking in the shadows are Dream Stompers and Dream Takers. If one does not PLAYIN YOUR DREAMS, others will have you play in theirs.
Fox Feather
