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Washington Lion (Ready for more)
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Date Posted: 11:49:09 11/25/24 Mon
The Empire State Bowl has quickly become a highlight of fall: A season-ending rivalry game, a rivalry that makes sense, between two often evenly matched teams. The Lions’ victory last year spared them a winless season; this year’s won them a share of the championship.
But even when there’s less at stake, it’s a lovely valedictory, a meaningful final game for the seniors, a day to connect with football friends one last time before winter. And typically a competitive contest: before Columbia’s current four-game streak, the teams split the previous 28 games 14-14; More than half of those games were decided by a single score.
The Lou Little Trophy with Georgetown also has appeal. There’s far less history between the schools, but it’s New York-Washington. D.C. is full of alums, many tend to show up for what’s usually a pleasant late summer day, and this one appreciates there being at least one game every other year that doesn’t involve an hours-long drive. And, I imagine, vice versa.
It makes me miss the Liberty Cup. Also a trophy game, dedicated to the at least 82 Columbia and Fordham alumni, including two Rams players, lost on 9/11. There’s not a great deal of series history, but it’s the out-of-conference rivalry that makes the most sense, with the greatest potential for growth – and the greatest possibly of drawing fans who aren’t affiliated with either school: Who Owns New York? Not least, it’s likely better for the student-athletes of both schools to have at least one local road game every other year.
When consultant Rick Taylor recommended Columbia suspend the Fordham series after 2015, he wasn’t suggesting it be permanent. The Lions had just completed a second winless season, were on a 21-game losing streak and had lost six straight to the Rams.
“Columbia can play Fordham,” he said. “I’m not ducking Fordham. But they should not play Fordham when Fordham has three games and scholarships under their belt. ... I’d take Fordham on anytime in the middle of the season when I got games under my belt.
“I would hope that sometime in the next decade, Fordham comes back on the schedule. Because that will prove that we were alright, and Columbia has succeeded.”
The 2015 meeting, Coach Bagnoli’s first game with the Lions, was Columbia’s best attended of the year. Since then, Columbia HAS succeeded: Five winning seasons in the last seven; a 40-30 record including 6-3 against the Patriot League. Fordham in that period is 33-38 including 0-3 against the Ivy League. This series would have been competitive from 2017 forward.
The point isn’t that Columbia should put Fordham back on the schedule now that the Lions appear to have regained the upper hand. Both programs have had and will have ups and downs. When the Rams were beating the Lions regularly, most everyone else was, too. Perhaps they should never have taken them off.
Fbschedules.com lists games with Lafayette and Lehigh next year. If Columbia continues to schedule Georgetown, the first open date will be 2026. The Liberty Cup game would look good in that spot.
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