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Special: 10 Reasons to "Hate the 'Gate"

I couldn't really leave well enough alone. I'm so enthused by "Hate the 'gate" week at Lehigh that I was inspired to come up with ten (very good, in my humble opinion) reasons why you shouldn't merely root for a Lehigh victory this weekend against the Raiders of Colgate, but you should truly, honestly, "hate the 'Gate" this weekend.

10. First of all, Colgate leads the all-time series in football 24-18-2, and in almost every game in the past nine years the winner has gone on to win or share the Patriot League title. Too often that team has come from Hamilton, NY.

9. Before 1960, Lehigh played Colgate only once, in Binghamton, NY in 1922, getting embarassed 35-6. We need to avenge this embarassing stain on Lehigh's record.

8. According to local legend, this 1922 game featured the breakdown of Engine 13, stranding our beloved Engineers an extra day in Binghamton, NY and indirectly contributing to another loss to hated national-powerhouse Lafayette, 3-0.

7. In this article, Colgate's campus is said to look like Hogwarts of Harry Potter fame. The article fails to mention where the similarities begin and end. I don't know about you, but I have no desire to lose to a magical middle-school, do you?

6. Lehigh fans ask only one thing of Colgate every single year: to embarass Lafayette. So what do they do? They go out and lose to them for the first time in 10 years, getting dominated 27-10. For this indiscretion, they must pay.

5. Colgate's mascot, introduced this year as the "Raider", is beyond a shadow of a doubt the worst mascot in the Patriot League. (Holy Cross' Crusader comes a distant second.) I'm not sure if it's the pale skin from living through too many snowstorms in Hamilton, or the humiliation of not only looking like a Minuteman, but wearing a REDCOAT, putting him on the wrong side in the Revolutionary War. (May as well call him Benedict Arnold.)

4. Our Mountain Hawk could beat the living daylights out of the Raider. Heck, I'd give even odds to our cheerleading team against him.

3. Next to football, Lehigh sports fans are generally big into wrestling, a manly sport which is popular around the world and has its roots in ancient Greek and Roman times. Next to football, Colgate sports fans are generally big into hockey, some sport they play up in Canada.

2. Next to Lehigh, you have the fraternities on the Hill, bars and brewhouses in Bethlehem, and not too far away you also have Philadelphia nightlife as well. Next to Colgate, you have fraternities, snow-covered fields, and more snow-covered fields. Cow tipping has to be popular in that part of the state.

1. Deep down inside, despite our few differences I think we all know that Colgate fans and Lehigh fans are more similar than we all care to admit to ourselves. We're smart people who passionately love our football team with loads of class. Honestly. I've found myself rooting for Colgate in their miracle run through the I-AA playoffs in 2003, and I love to see them beat UMass. They are a level of class that is much higher than (say) Lafayette fans.

Which is why we need to "hate the 'Gate". They remind us too much of ourselves. We need to kick their butts this Saturday.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I was almost ready to argue against your entire argument until I got to the last two paragraphs. You're right, they are just like Lehigh and that's why I have a hard time hating them. Except when they play Lehigh.

And what's wrong with hockey?
Anonymous said…
The worst mascot for me to look at is the Lehigh Mountain Hawk. After the great athletic tradition that was established under The Lehigh Engineers it is most difficult to accept a silly looking bird as being representative of a proud institution such as Lehigh. As I understand the story, a disgruntled member of the board of trustees decided to shove a new mascot down the throat of Lehigh, and did it in a secretive and underhanded manner along with his allies. The legacy of Asa Packer is carried forth by the Engineer,
a dignified human being who helped build our country,not a tragic looking animal that is also the mascot of several other schools. The Lehigh Engineer will never die - it will reappear; one cannot kill spirit. LONG LIVE THE LEHIGH ENGINEERS!!!

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