From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

2004 Harvard–Yale prank

American football prank

Summary

American football prank

Harvard fans holding up placards - The Harvard Satyrical Press's photo

Another photo from the Harvard Satyrical Press, zooming into the crowd

At the annual Harvard–Yale football game on November 20, 2004, Yale students, costumed as a Harvard "pep squad", distributed placards to Harvard fans for a card stunt. When the fans raised the placards together, they read "We Suck".

The practical joke was conceived of and coordinated by Michael Kai and David Aulicino, two Yale students in the class of 2005, and was executed with the help of 20 classmates. The perpetrators handed crimson-and-white placards to fans in the central area of the Harvard side of the stadium—mostly Harvard alumni, with a few faculty, students, and others. The group told the crowd that, by lifting the placards, they would spell "Go Harvard".

Most Harvard students were sitting in a section off to the side of the alumni area where the prank was executed, and they left the stands unaware of the prank; however, players on the field did see the placards.

Response

Initially, many at Harvard denied that the prank had happened. In response, Yale students registered the domain name "harvardsucks.org" (as well as "yalesucks.com" in a preemptive move) and posted a video detailing their efforts. Chuck Sullivan, Harvard's director of athletic communications, said, "[It was] all in good fun." In an interview with The Harvard Crimson, the prank's organizers claimed that members of the Harvard Band were complicit with the Yale pranksters.

Media and Internet coverage

The prank was covered by newspapers, radio programs, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, MSNBC, and several other TV shows. Several magazines have listed the prank among the greatest in college history.

Similar pranks

In 2024, two YouTubers pranked Paris Saint-Germain F.C. fans by putting an Olympique de Marseille tifo in the stands of the Parc des Princes during a Coupe de France game.

References

Ruggeri, Amanda. (2004-11-29). "Elis outsmart Harvard with prank at Game". Yale Daily News.
(29 Nov 2004). "Elis outsmart Harvard with prank at Game". [[Yale Daily News]].
(29 Nov 2004). "Photo from 'Elis outsmart Harvard with prank at Game'". [[Yale Daily News]].
[[ESPN]] documentary on the Harvard-Yale rivalry, featuring the "We Suck" prank, December, 2005.
Kelly, M. Aidan. (2004-12-02). "Yale's Brief Shining Moment". [[The Harvard Crimson]].
"Video of the incident".
''New York Sun'', December 1, 2004
''New Haven Register''{{full citation needed. (August 2025)
(2005-12-24). "From Hermes to bonsai kittens". The Economist.
(2005-12-12). "Pranks for the Memories".
(February 2005). "Ivy Beleaguered". [[Maxim (magazine).
(March 2005). "Harvard Gets Pranked!". [[FHM]].
(March 2005). "Sportsmanship HARVARD SUCKS". PCFormat.
"VIDEO. Football : "Humiliation totale du PSG, du jamais vu en France..." Une tribune du Parc des Princes piégée par un tifo de l'OM".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

american-college-football-incidents college-football-controversies harvard-crimson-football practical-jokes yale-bulldogs-football november-2004-in-the-united-states 2004-in-massachusetts

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about 2004 Harvard–Yale prank — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report