Watch out, Harvard. The "Yale Fan Express" will soon be rolling into Boston, letting loose Bulldog supporters filled with a fierce passion to see their team tromp the Crimson in one of the most rivalrous annual college football games. Later that afternoon, the train will make its return trip back to New Haven bearing those same fans, who will be ready to roar the Bulldogs to victory in a second round against the Crimson: this time in men's ice hockey.

Tickets for the "Yale Fan Express" are being offered to both student and non-student fans alike, giving them a double opportunity to see the Bulldogs in action against the Crimson on Saturday, Nov. 21. The Amtrak train will be reserved only for Yale fans, providing non-stop transportation between New Haven's Union Station and Boston's South Station, where buses will then depart for Harvard Stadium. The gridiron contest between the Bulldogs and the Crimson -- historically called "The Game" and considered the pinnacle of both the Yale and Harvard football seasons -- will kick off at 12:30 p.m.

After The Game, which is being played for the 115th year, fans will quickly head back via buses to South Station for the train ride south, where they will arrive in New Haven in time to attend the 7 p.m. Yale-Harvard hockey competition.

This is the first time in over two decades that the Athletics Department has teamed up with Amtrak to offer the special train ride, which was once a popular mode of transportation for Yale fans intent on supporting their team when The Game was held at Harvard. More than 100 loyal Bulldog fans had signed up for the "Yale Fan Special" in the first week the train package was offered.

Fans of the Bulldogs -- in both football and hockey -- are especially charged up for the contests against Harvard this year, notes Tom Beckett, director of athletics. At the time this newspaper went to press, the Yale football team was in a four-way tie (with Harvard, Brown and Princeton) for second place in the Ivy League, with all those teams only one game behind the University of Pennsylvania. (Yale's match with Princeton was scheduled for Nov. 14.) In hockey, the Bulldogs have only just begun their season, with the hopes of meeting their fans' expectations for a year as successful as last year, when the team won the Ivy and ECAC championships.

"The outcome of the football game in Cambridge could have a big impact on the Ivy Football Championship," says Beckett. "And on Friday and Saturday nights at Ingalls Rink, the Yale Bulldogs, the defending Ivy and ECAC champions, begin their home schedule against Brown and Harvard. Both games could be sellouts! The excitement on campus over these upcoming contests is extremely high, and that is a tremendous feeling."

The "Yale Fan Express" package includes round-trip transportation from New Haven to Boston, transfers from the train to Harvard Stadium and back, along with a ticket to the football game. The cost of the package is $58 for students and $85 for non-students. Tickets can be purchased from the Yale Athletic Department's ticket office, located in the Ray Tompkins House at 20 Tower Pkwy. For further information on the train package, call 432-1400.

'The Game'
Jack Siedlecki, who is in his second year as Yale's football coach, will experience his first Yale-Harvard football game in Cambridge, and his anticipation couldn't be greater. "This year, The Game has much more significance for our team than in the last 10 years," he says. "At this point, we are in the running for a national championship, and we're in as tight a race as we've had in the Ivy League in a long time. What happens in our games against Princeton and then Harvard are going to make or break our season."

Of two things he is sure: His team has the potential to be a champion, and its fans are cheering the Bulldogs on with gusto.

"I've heard that when they are in Cambridge, our fans are even more boisterous than Harvard's," Siedlecki says. "They've really been very excited this year."

In spite of some early losses, Siedlecki says he knew from the beginning of the season that his team was better than it was a year ago, when the Bulldogs finished their season with only one win and lost to Harvard 17-7. "Now that we've won three games in the Ivy League, we've validated that we are better," says the coach. "Now, in these final games, we've just got to continue to prove it."

Those unable to attend The Game can hear it live on radio stations WELI (960 AM) and on WYBC (1340 AM). The football game will also be broadcast by the subscriber satellite service DirecTV (Channel 303).

Defending champions
The Nov. 21 contest against Harvard at Ingalls Rink will be only the fourth game of the season for the Bulldogs, but it is a game the team especially wants to win, says men's hockey coach Tim Taylor. "Harvard is our traditional number-one rival, but aside from that, Harvard typically has strong teams in hockey, and so there are other incentives to beat them," he says.

While fans have high expectations for the team because of last year's triumphs on the ice, Taylor notes that this year's Bulldogs are "a different team from last year."

"Our current team is younger and less experienced, so right now we're trying to establish our identity and capabilities," Taylor says. "We are finding pieces to the puzzle so we can put ourselves in a position to win every game we play."

Tickets for seats at the Yale-Harvard hockey game are already sold out. Standing-room only tickets are available at the Yale Athletic Department's box office. For information on tickets to future Yale hockey games, call 432-1400.