NEW YORK -- Saturday was a golden chance for the Columbia football program.
In comes the goliath of Ivy League football, the No. 15 team in the country, the defending Ancient Eight champions and winner of 11 consecutive games.
What a chance to test the new Lions, a squad that had already eclipsed last year's win total and showed real promise for the upcoming season.
Not only was this homecoming weekend, but the celebration of the school's 250th anniversary.
With the backdrop to the game including a 13-foot-high replica cake of the Columbia Library, the Columbia football team joined the homecoming party, suiting up in jerseys from the 1933 Rose Bowl squad. The 1933 Lions squad was the last Ivy team to compete in a major bowl game, defeating Stanford in the 1934 Rose Bowl, 7-0.
All the way down to the gray knee socks, the Lions headed onto the field quite literally dressed to make a statement.
Apparently this wasn't enough to pump up the Columbia players, however.
Friday's Columbia Daily Spectator quotes Lions coach Bob Shoop guaranteeing a victory against Penn.
"We're gonna win," he told the Spec.
But just in case Penn's players didn't get the chance to pick up Columbia's student paper during their time in New York, the Columbia Athletic Department conveniently printed a similar statement in its pre-game notes.
"In 1995, I think this program faced a similar situation with Penn coming to Wien [Memorial Stadium] riding a long win streak and we prevailed then and we will now."
Wow.
That certainly isn't the average "Shoop scoop" -- the section of the Columbia pre-game notes where the Lions' head coach sounds off on a number of issues.
There's a fine line between confidence and lunacy, especially when dealing with the most talented squad in the league.
Penn coach Al Bagnoli certainly saw the statement.
"We kind of took that as an insult," he said. "It's not like we're some rinky-dink team that's coming in here that has no credentials and hasn't played well and doesn't have any good players.... Coming from our kids' emotional perspective, I'd really like to thank coach Shoop for firing our kids up, to be quite honest with you."
Saturday's 31-7 Penn win made it clear that the Quakers were clearly the most talented team on the field. Sure Columbia had an impressive drive to start the game, but when it came down to it, Penn was simply too strong and too fast for the Lions.
Shoop was the first to admit that. His answer to the biggest difference between the Quakers and Lions?
"Their players. I mean they're good. They're the best defense in the league and arguably the best defense in Division I-AA football."
Columbia is getting better. But there is a tremendous difference between defeating Princeton on a last-second Hail Mary play and guaranteeing a victory over the defending Ivy champs.
Pumping a team up in the locker room is one thing, but telling the public and the Penn players that same message just doesn't make any sense.
Shoop's response to whether his comment gave Penn an extra spark? -- a decisive "no," as he looked down and waited for the next question.
The Quakers didn't need the bulletin board material -- they had the advantage at every position already.
But if for whatever reason the Penn players weren't ready for the game -- which doesn't happen often on Al Bagnoli-coached teams -- then they had a little extra incentive.
In front of the largest crowd in the history of Wien Stadium, the Quakers walked off with a 24-point victory.
Shoop said that he is attempting to rebuild the Columbia program, not just this year, but for the future, as well.
"I really believe this, the difference between us and them is about that much," he said, holding his thumb and forefinger about a centimeter apart. He later added that with only one loss in the Ancient Eight, the Lions are still in the thick of the Ivy League race.
No, coach, they aren't. No doubt that Columbia is steadily improving and may be in striking distance for Ancient Eight championship rings in the near future, but not this year.
Penn would have won had Shoop not made the comment, but it sure didn't help Columbia's cause on its birthday bash.
