Flyby's Guide to Harvard-Yale: The Pregame

Before The Game on Saturday, there’s an entire Friday to fill with fun (and Thursday if you don’t have Friday classes...and Wednesday if you’re a senior who’s already lined up a consulting job). So what do you do before The Game? You pre-Game, obviously.

In college parlance, “pregaming” means drinking cheap alcohol in your room (with friends, hopefully) before going to an event so that you don’t have to pay for it. Flyby makes no assumptions about your imbibing preferences, so here are some pre-Game suggestions for beer connoisseurs and teetotalers alike.

The morning of:
Zoe’s (Dunk’s if you’re on a budget; Henrietta’s Table if you’ve already got your signing bonus from Bain) — If you’re 21+, and under no other circumstances, you’re probably going to have a few adult sodas on Saturday. Don’t be dumb: protein up before you toss ‘em back. Bacon and eggs will give you a proper base on Saturday so that Sunday isn’t the worst day of your life. And you know what? Grab a coffee while you’re at it. I’m guessing you didn’t sleep much the night before. Even if you choose not to drink, no one has ever complained about a hearty brunch!

The night before:
HYpe: The Harvard-Yale Dance - On Friday from 11pm-2am, you can find your Yale-spouse (#powercouplesonly) at this dance in Annenberg, co-sponsored by the College Events Board and the Undergraduate Council. We know this might surprise our readers, but Harvard and Yale undergraduates don’t care that much about football and there isn’t enough bad blood that the two student bodies can’t mix.

Host your own pregame - Don’t want to live in a social dystopia where everyone is looking for a party but no one is hosting one? Then take some initiative and turn your common room into School Spirit Central. DAPA is giving out grants for substantial food, so your party can be both an inclusive social space and a mecca for responsible drinking. Potential themes: Why Can’t We Be Friends (if you’re inviting Yale friends), Blue and Crimson (food coloring can do wonders on cookies and cocktails), Geeks and Nerds (invite people on Facebook and randomly assign them ‘geek’ or ‘nerd’; see how people interpret their assignment).

Go to an a capella concert, stand up/improv show, or mixer - Check out this link for a full list. Chances are you know someone—a roommate, a section crush, that kid you ate with in Annenberg one time—who is part of one of these groups. And a lot of these are joint shows with the Yale counterparts of Harvard groups. That’s like a football game, but it’s not a sport so it’s more appropriate for us nerds!