Editor's Note: This is the eighth in a series of articles profiling members of the Class of 2004 on Dartmouth varsity sports teams.
Two years of Dartmouth football have not been particularly kind to the 14 rising juniors on head coach John Lyons' squad. After a 2-8 season in 2000 that saw the Big Green men consistently outclassed by their rivals, Dartmouth's 2001 season saw theteam plagued by injuries en route to a 1-8 finish.
However, as the '04s prepare to enter their junior season, they aren't ready to be called underdogs. Witness, for example, offensive tackle John Turner '04's reaction to the team's marketing slogan for the upcoming season, "Why Not Us, Why Not Now?" "I'd be surprised if the person who came up with that [slogan] ever set foot on a football field," said Turner.
Wide receiver Jay Barnard '04 is equally unimpressed. "That [slogan] kind of makes me angry," says Barnard, "it makes us seem like we're kind of a helpless football team just looking for a shot to prove our worth and prove our expectations of ourselves, and I believe we're a lot more than that.
"Despite a lot of hardship that we've had in the last two years, we still have a lot of great players and a great program, and for us to be put already in the [position of the] downtrodden 'feel sorry for me' type team kind of angers me, as it does a lot of other players. But, it also gives us a little bit of motivation to prove everybody wrong."
To "prove everybody wrong" in 2002 will require hard work on the field, as defending Ivy champion Harvard returns 29 letterwinners from the undefeated 2001 squad, and Pennsylvania -- whose only loss in 2001 came at the Crimson's hands -- returns 38 players. However, hard work has been a reality for the Dartmouth '04s since their arrival on campus.
"I always expected coming in that [playing football here] would be a lot of work," said Turner. "I had no idea how much work it would actually be. I had these grand expectations that I would be involved in DOC, I would do all of these amazing, wonderful things, people would be like, 'No, you're playing football, it's going to take up your life.' Football, like many other sports here, is like a lifestyle; everything we do revolves around football."
Tight end Casey Cramer '04, a first team All-Ivy selection in 2001 and a preseason Division I-AA All-American this season, agrees about the "lifestyle" aspect of football at Dartmouth. Said Cramer, "We train four days a week. We eat together. We live together. There are so many things that we do together as a team now, and spend so much time together that it is like a lifestyle."
In 2001, the '04s witnessed firsthand another part of the Dartmouth football "lifestyle:" injuries. The injury bug bit the Big Green hard last fall, claiming quarterback Greg Smith '02 and team captain Matt Mercer '02 among its many victims, dooming the team to a disappointing season. However, the '04s aren't thinking about injuries as they prepare to embark on the second half of their Dartmouth careers.
"Last year, we got decimated by injuries," said fullback Scott Wedum '04, but "I wouldn't say that there's any fear that it's going to happen again.
"I mean, you can't play football at this level if you're worrying about stuff like that. Basically, whatever happens, happens. We'll make the adjustments, we always do. We can hope that stuff doesn't happen, but we'll deal with it if it does."
Another thing that the football '04s will have to "deal with" in 2002 is the added responsibility that comes from being part of the veteran half of the team. With twelve seniors on the 2002 roster, the '04s will share some of the leadership responsibilities with the senior class. According to Cramer, the '04s are "not going to be seen just as juniors. I think that this year, along with next year, we're going to have to take more of a leadership role, because we lack the numbers in upperclassmen.
"I think a lot of the freshmen and sophomores are going to be looking up to us as leaders, and I think we have a great class, where we can take that responsibility, and use that to help along the younger guys, introduce them to where we want to be."
Barnard agrees that the '04 class is well qualified to share the leadership responsibilities, saying, "I think that something that's a part of our class is a lot of resilience. There have been a lot of guys who have gotten a lot of experience on the field, [and they know] how to deal with certain hardships and difficult situations that we've overcome.
"Football's a very tough game to deal with, in terms of everything you have to encounter. You have to face a lot of problems, and you have to face a lot of difficulties. That's one thing we've gained a lot of experience at, and it's one of the things that might be the most valuable thing we can pass on to our younger classes, just to lead by example, not worry, and just play the game we know how to play."
So, when the '04s are done playing the game that they "know how to play," what will they take away with them from their Dartmouth careers? According to tailback Michael Giles '04, "I think we're going to remember not so much the actual football game time and practice time, but more the bonding with your friends and fellow players. You remember the funny times in the locker room..
"Those are the kinds of things we'll look back on, the bonds you make working as a team to achieve one goal. I'm going to measure my football career here in terms of friendships made, and persevering, in addition to wins and losses."
For Turner, persevering through two difficult seasons has already left an impression in his mind. Said Turner, "The thing you definitely find out from being part of this program for the last two years, is that it is really easy to be on the football team when you are winning every single game, and when you lose, it is not easy. Working, and fighting, and being at the bottom and trying to get to the top, we bust our asses. That is memorable.
"The people who stick with it, who last and do not quit over the four years, that group of guys can say, 'We're the ones who lasted.' That's what I'll remember: working our asses off and doing our best, doing everything we can."
And as the '04s embark on the second half of their Dartmouth football careers, they will keep doing everything they can to return the Big Green to the top of the Ivy League.
