I’m sold.
After two months of thinking about it, I’ve finally come around.
You see, when I first heard about the Schoellkopf Sellout, I could barely keep a straight face.
When I first talked to Cornell Sports Marketing Manager Pete Fitzpatrick ’94 about it a couple of weeks ago, I rolled my eyes.
Then he told me that they already had half the stadium accounted for. I sat straight up in my chair.
Then he told me that they were still receiving phone calls by the dozens asking about it. My eyes stared in astonishment.
Then I heard that three great alums — Michael Sharp ’00, Betsy O. Veysman ’99 and Mark Hale ’00 — were trying to make it back to town, and the glory of this homecoming game hit me.
Will the game actually sell out?
Who cares. Instead of being cynical about the (possible) sellout, I should just be ready and excited for the game, and thankful to see old friends.
Nothing negative can come of a failed attempt to sellout the stadium. The excitment created around the event is sure to draw a big crowd at any rate, which will be good for the athletic department, not to mention the guys wearing red on the field.
On the positive side, if Schoellkopf should actually sell out, tomorrow will be a historic day in Cornell football history. Imagine seeing 25,000 people wearing carnelian and white filling the Cresent. Hell, imagine 18,000 people wearing carnelian and white in Schoellkopf. It will be memorable to see more than the usual 13,000 or so in there.
However, I think that there will be a lot more people in the stadium that in the past few years for a few reason:
1) The team is better, and in fact the winner of this game is in the driver seat for the Ivy Title.
2) It’s Homecoming. That will draw a crowd regardless of who the opponent is.
3) It’s the first home game of the year and Freshmen on the Field. All the freshmen should be there. (NOTE: Freshmen — wait until the game is actually over to run on the field, unlike the past few years.)
So go to the game. This is Ithaca, it’s not like there is much else to do on a Saturday afternoon, especially for free should you be a student. Go hang out with friends, watch a huge game, get some facetime with everyone.
There is no reason not to attend.
Archived article by J.V. Anderton