 "Photo: Photo By Mark Becker/ The Ram")
While not in the same breath as some of the major college football rivalries, the annual tilt between the Fordham Rams and the Columbia Lions has become both a battle for New York City football bragging rights and a moment of remembrance for those lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001. Despite being two of the longer-running football programs in the country (Columbia since 1870 and Fordham since 1882), and the only two collegiate football programs in the city, the Rams and the Lions only started playing annually in 2000, with the battle for the Liberty Cup beginning in 2002.
The two schools had a game scheduled for Sept. 15, 2001 but decided to postpone the game until Nov. 22 in the wake of the attacks in New York, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. In total, 43 Columbia alumni and 35 Fordham alumni died, including former Fordham football players Nick Brandemarti (CBA '00) and Kevin Szocik (CBA '97).
The game was played on Thanksgiving Day, Fordham's first game on the holiday since 1936, a 7-6 loss to NYU which spoiled an undefeated season and a trip to the Rose Bowl for the Rams. This time the Rams came out and won the rescheduled home game handily by a score of 41-10.
The two teams met for the first Liberty Cup the following September, and Columbia came away victorious in a closely contested match. The Rams hit a go-ahead field goal with nine minutes left and blocked a Columbia kick with just over two minutes remaining, but could not block another one with 10.5 seconds left. The Lions prevailed in the game 13-11, but the win was not without controversy.
During the halftime band performance, a Columbia "poet laureate" made an off-color comment about the Roman Catholic priest sex-abuse scandal, offending many at Fordham and in the Catholic community. Fordham did go on to win a share of the Patriot League title that season and advanced to the second round of the playoffs while Columbia only finished 1-9.
The 18th-ranked Rams were able to extract a bit of vengeance in 2003 when they survived a scare, 37-30. Fordham took a 20-3 lead into the locker room, but saw Columbia score 27 points to their own 17 to make a game of it in the end. Fordham was able to retain the cup for the second year in a row, winning the 2004 contest by a score of 17-14 and becoming the first team in the series to hold the Liberty Cup for more than one season.
The Lions regained the cup and held on to it, resulting in rough years for Fordham during 2005 and 2006. The first of the two losses for Fordham saw the Rams fall to the Lions on Jack Coffey Field by a score of 23-17. The latter of the two losses was a 37-7 embarrassment at Columbia, as the Rams fumbled four times and had a pass picked off, leading to 20 Lions points and giving first year Columbia coach Norries Wilson his first win with the program.
The following year was one of the stronger years for Fordham football in recent history. Not only did it include the breakout of offensive studs junior Xavier Martin and senior John Skelton, but it also included a fantastic run to an outright Patriot League Championship. One of the season's many highlights included a 27-10 win over the Lions and the reclamation of the Liberty Cup. Martin ran for 157 yards and three touchdowns in the contest.
The game that saw Fordham win consecutive Liberty Cups for the first time since 2003, 2004 was one of the more back-and-forth games in the series. Despite trailing 14-3 early, the Lions scored 19 unanswered points and took a 22-14 lead into the half. The Rams scored 15 points in the second half, however, and held on for a 29-22 victory. Martin carried the team with four touchdowns and 155 yards.
Despite Fordham's edge in the battle for the Liberty Cup, Columbia leads the overall series between the two schools. Since competing for the trophy, the Rams have won four times to the Lion's three; Columbia has won 11 games in the series compared to the six won by Fordham. Recently, a key for the Rams has been Xavier Martin.
In two games against the Lions the junior running back has scored seven touchdowns and racked up 312 yards on the ground. Ram fans may be disheartened to know that history is not on their side this year: in the young history of the rivalry, no team has won more than two consecutive games.
However, with the way that the games have gone in this series, anything is possible. From blocked field goals to late-game two-point conversions, the annual rivalry between the Rams and the Lions has rarely disappointed.
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