"The Rivalry"- My First Lehigh-Lafayette on the Hill

Lehigh University and Lafayette College played 149 games before I ever saw one, despite growing up in the Easton area. Even that 150th game though was played in New York City, at Yankee Stadium, and so even seeing that game didn't count to me as "seeing" one, to me. I've been to pre-game tailgates, particularly when I was in college and Goodman Stadium was just across town, but I had never went in- until yesterday. I went into Fisher Field and watched the 152nd game.

This game was a mismatch, and there wasn't really any drama to it. Lehigh won 45-21, and that looks a lot closer than it was. Lafayette has won three games in the past two years, and it showed yesterday. The game wasn't sold out, and Lehigh seemed to have a lot more people who traveled to this one than normally would go to the road stadium. While Lafayette did win that 150th battle, since then it's been Lehigh's game.

Fisher Field is a pretty cool place to see a game. As you can see above, it's a really nice venue, and it can be loud when the crowd wants it to be. Both Fisher and Kirby Field house have undergone some serious renovations in recent years, and the venues are just night and day better than they used to be. I've been going to the Easton-Phillipsburg Thanksgiving Day game at Fisher my whole life, and so it wasn't "special" to be there yesterday. With that said, I did take my time to admire the venue a bit.

Is Lehigh-Lafayette as big of a rivalry as they say? My takeaway from yesterday is yes, but this wasn't the year to watch it. Lafayette needs to make some moves to improve the program, and give their fans something to cheer for again. That might take a year or two. For now though, Lehigh is taking their playoff bound squad to the post-season on a high note, winning the game they really had to win this season.