Calm in the Midst of the Storm

Through painful experience, I've learned the secrets to successfully attending the Lafayette - Lehigh football game:

1. Forget about parking within ten blocks of Lafayette's campus. Tailgaters set up at the crack of dawn and occupy every piece of asphalt south of Cattel Street.

2. Tape your flask to your inner thigh. Gimlet-eyed security thugs will search your bag and frisk you upon entering the stadium even if you are a respectable-looking and extremely sober (at that point anyway) 62 year old.

3. Purchase your game tickets on the first day they become available. This insures that you will be seated in your school's section. Surrounded by your fellow fans, you can heckle the opposition with impunity and fade into a sea of maroon should angry Lehigh folk seek retaliation.

Actually, Secret #3 failed last November. Descending the stadium steps to what should have been a prime Lafayette rooting section, I noted a man clad entirely in Lehigh gear standing behind my designated seat. He was considerably larger than I am and had leverage (seated behind me as he was) to beat me soundly about the head and shoulders should I root too raucously for my beloved Leopards. As a paid-up "Friend of Lafayette Football" I was supposed to get great seats. Instead, I might be having post-game cocktails in the Emergency Room.

Then I noted that his Lehigh gear was festooned with #74 Rackley. Lehigh had a senior lineman named Will Rackley who stood aboput 6'-3", weighed about 300 lbs and had just been named all-League for the second consecutive year. I politely asked, "Are you related to Will Rackley?" "Why, yes, he's my son."

A most pleasant conversation continued throughout the game. Mr Rackley engaged the other Lafayette fans in the vicinity as well. Our section was probably the least raucous in the stadium. Lafayette lost the game, but somehow it wasn't as soul-rending as in previous years. Now the 57 - 7 thrashing that Lehigh laid on us back in '74, that was soul-rending.

Will Rackley was in the news this week. He participated in the NFL Draft Combine and is one of the top ten interior line prospects in this year's draft. For the first time in my life, I'm rooting for a Lehigh kid to make it big. I would love to see Mr Rackley calm a section of Eagles fans if Will was on the opposition.