A "momentous occasion" or a "low key" event?

Harvard has announced that the first-ever night football game at Harvard Stadium in Allston has been rescheduled from Friday, September 21 to Saturday, September 22.

The reason? The Jewish Holy Day Yom Kippur begins on the evening of September 21 and a variety of groups considered this to be, in the words of Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz "insensitive to religious obligation."

As an Allston resident, it is fascinating to compare how Harvard describes this night game to two different audiences - the Allston audience in the TAB and the general public in the Globe.

To Allston: The game will be "fairly low key", not too many people will attend, and it won't be a big deal

Scheduled nighttime Harvard football game angers residents - Allston/Brighton TAB


To Everyone Else:
A momentous occasion! - September 21, 2007, will be an historic day
"We want as many people as possible to be able to come to the game," said Harvard's athletic director, Robert Scalise.
Harvard believed that the date, on a Friday night, would draw the most freshmen to its newly illuminated stadium.

Religious conflict in Harvard football schedule - The Boston Globe

So, which one is it?
An insignificant non-event with a few proud parents in the stands?
Or is it a major event scheduled to attract as many people as possible, especially a bunch of 18 year olds who may know who Harvard's starting running back is but who will certainly know which tailgates have full kegs and plenty of Jack Daniels?

(And the person who called Harvard's athletic dept to complain about the electricity needed to power the lights also has a good point. It is great that Harvard wants to build a "green" and energy-efficient Science Complex in Allston, but what is the point if just a 1/4 mile away Harvard will needlessly use gobs of electricity to play football at night?)

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