{"id":76160,"date":"2014-11-19T13:58:12","date_gmt":"2014-11-19T13:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=76160"},"modified":"2023-04-12T21:41:49","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T21:41:49","slug":"behind-mic-150th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-150th\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Mic: The 150th"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you are a college football fan, you are well aware of the games that take on special prominence every year \u2013 Alabama-LSU; Michigan-Ohio State; Notre Dame-USC; Oklahoma-Texas, etc.\u00a0 But these \u201crivalry\u201d games are just infants compared to the one between the two colleges in our own backyard.<\/p>\n

It is simply known as \u201cThe Rivalry\u201d.\u00a0 Lafayette and Lehigh first met on the football field in Easton on October 25, 1884.\u00a0 Lafayette won that game 56-0.\u00a0 There have been 148 other games between the two, making this game college football\u2019s most-played rivalry.\u00a0 The teams met twice annually except in 1891 when they played three games.\u00a0 The two per year ended after the 1901 matchups.\u00a0 They played 35 times in that 17-year span.\u00a0 The two teams did not meet at all in 1896 due to a player eligibility dispute between the two.<\/p>\n

This Saturday they will meet once again at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx for the 150th<\/sup> time and the 122nd <\/sup>consecutive time (also a record)!\u00a0 They have only met on a neutral field one other time \u2013 in Wilkes-Barre on November 25, 1891 in front of, at that time, a massive crowd of 3,000.\u00a0 Lehigh won three times that year (22-4; 6-2; 16-2).<\/p>\n

The rivalry game has been around for so long that it predated the invention of the forward pass and has been a part of the evolution of the various shapes of the football.\u00a0 Dislike for one another was created immediately when Asa Packer of Lehigh and Ario Pardee of Lafayette could not see eye to eye on the religious choices of the two men.<\/p>\n

Lehigh\u2019s first win occurred in 1887 after Lafayette had won five and tied one.\u00a0 The exuberance of the Lehigh team, coupled with their dissatisfaction with the administration for what the team considered a lack of support, led to the team burning down the rickety stands that were erected for the game.<\/p>\n

There have been two postponements in the series.\u00a0 In 1904 Lehigh President Dr. Henry Down, who had also been a former Lafayette faculty member, died, causing a postponement.\u00a0 The second postponement occurred when the game was moved back a week following the death of President John Kennedy in 1963.<\/p>\n

And now it is time for the 150th<\/sup> game between the two.\u00a0 Lafayette leads the series 77-67-5.\u00a0 Lafayette won last year 50-28, ending Lehigh\u2019s five-game winning streak.\u00a0 Prior to that streak, Lafayette had won four in a row. There have been over 49,000 tickets sold for this Saturday, by far the largest crowd to ever see the game in person. The CBS Sports Network (channel 421 and 1421-HD on RCN) will televise the game, and thousands will gather for various viewing parties across the country.<\/p>\n

This one should not be missed.\u00a0 Watch the first 150th<\/sup> game in college football history.\u00a0 Watch \u201cThe Rivalry\u201d.<\/p>\n

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)<\/strong><\/p>\n