Homecoming 2008 Blowout, our Tailgate Topped the Game

You guys showed up, and I doubt you regretted it. It may have been raining, and it may have been very bizarre to be back on campus after so many weeks of the so-called real world, but it was good times.

Timmy Boardman and PJ (two of class’ new reunions chairs) showed up early to pick up our kegs and the ingredients for our special spiced apple cider. We all owe them thanks for the fuzzy feeling we had during the tailgate and game.

A chartered party bus carrying about 35 New Yorkers arrived at 11 a.m. Their party had already started, so they were sad to see that the tailgate was not quite at their level yet. They ordered the driver to keep tooling around town to give them some more pre-game time. Meanwhile, Boardman was unloading the Varsity Liquors van and prepping the cider.

Other New Yorkers, tired from a late Friday night, were just beginning to board trains at Penn Station to make the long journey South to their alma mater.

It's safe to say that our class tent was the largest and most exciting throughout the morning. We had so many members of 08, 07 and even some from 06 and 05 that there was barely enough space to stay dry under the tent. People at the edges received a harsh reality check when gusts of wind sent water careening over the edge of the tent and onto dry sweaters, especially onto those who were trying to pour some spice into their cider. Chad, Melissa,Dorie and Emily (l. to r.) were able to avoid most of the water as they stood outside the tent.

Many of us made our way over to the stadium at half-time. Things were looking good, as Princeton was up 14-0 despite the fowl weather. We didn’t even mind that we had to pay for our tickets for the first time in years. But then the game took a turn for the worse. Our boys carried the ball almost 90 yards but couldn’t score. Then Harvard began to catch up and overtake us, ending at 24-20.

“I feel like I’m saying the same thing after every game,” Jordan Culbreath ’10 said after the game to a Prince reporter. “We come out in the second half, and we blow it.”
These words may be true, but Jordan shouldn’t worry too much. We, the alums, were just there to re-live our own glory days. Everyone was too distracted by the beer and the rain to pay too close attention to the game. Members of classes stretching back to the 1950s were just happy to have another excuse to don their orange hats and Pton ties and talk about the days when Princeton football was a national powerhouse.

PHOTO ROUND-UP

Jorge, Teddy, Kane and Colin beam in front of the Varsity truck.

Jana and Kristen stand in front of the make-shift stage. Did anybody know who that band was?

Martin, Matt, Teddy and Colin.

Andrew (07), Erica and Jess try to stay dry.

Oct. 8 PAW Column

Fall is here, but members of our class are still basking over some of the highlights from the summer. On the sports front, Diana Matheson helped guide the Canadian national soccer team to a quarter-final finish in its first Olympic Games since 1984. Though the team lost to the U.S. 1-2 in over-time, it won 2-1 against Argentina, tied China 1-1 and lost to Sweden 1-2.

Sonja Novak is playing ice hockey for the Czech National Team in Prague for the next two years. She is also going to film school at FAMU international. Lizzie Keady trained with the U.S. National Women's hockey team in Lake Placid, NY this summer. From September 2008 to April 2009, she will play hockey with the U.S. select team in Blaine, MN as the 2010 Winter Olympics quickly approach.

Leanne Bellar, Kate Collier, Liz Bergold, Karen Aherne, Courtney Regan, Sarah Elrod, and Katy Andersen gathered at Broadwater Farm in PA for a track/crew team reunion in early August. The girls picked apples in the orchard, made bellinis, and caught up on their lives after post-graduation trips and moves to new apartments. Katy will be traveling to Italy this fall to study artisan cheese production for 9 months.

Connor Cobean also drove halfway across the country, but for a different cause. He left home in Maine for South Dakota to work as Deputy Finance Director for Senator Tim Johnson's re-election campaign. His work has included sealing and stamping envelopes and planning fundraising events in preparation for the 2008 election cycle.

Poh Lin has proven that the thesis is a gift that just keeps giving. He was awarded 1st place in the Interuniversity Consortium for Social and Political Research for a short version of his thesis on vegetarianism.