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ECONOMISTS MAKE POINT - ON COURT
Appeared in The Boston Globe - December 22, 2002
By Jonathan Bloom, Globe Correspondent
The rumble in Cambridge all came down to supply and demand.
As it should, given the loaded rankings of Harvard's first-year economics Ph.D. candidates and their MIT counterparts. According to US News & World Report: MIT's Ph.D. program is No. 1 in the land, Harvard's a mere No. 2.
But on Dec. 12, the two schools took to creaky Hemenway gym to duke it out with a different measure - the basketball court. Who would corner this market?
"Hopefully we can make a little tradition out of it," Harvard captain Brent Neiman said. "We all met at an inter-departmental happy hour. We've been trying to set it up for months."
The game had a stagnant beginning, with MIT finally hitting the rim on its seventh shot. Harvard's points began to compound, thanks to Dilyan Donchev, who came to Harvard from Bulgaria via Wesleyan.
He was also a ringer - sort of. "I'm not really part of the economics department. Well, I might be later. But I'm in political economics," said Donchev.
In addition to an elastic definition of economics, the West Cambridge squad had home-court advantage. On the sidelines, Harvard's seven fans sounded more like ethicists than economists, as they discussed whether to cheer nice MIT plays. Like the players on the court, the fans were sacrificing a lot. "I'm missing a karaoke night at the Kennedy School," said Joe Mazer. "But it's worth it."
As MIT made a run on points, some suggested Harvard was practicing trickle-down economics. "The only reason it's so close now is that I think some of our players may have bet on the spread," said first-year student Richard Holden.
Both on and off the court, interest rose steadily as the score tightened. "Go for the kill," one Crimson fan cried. At the final bell it was Harvard, 21-14.
Harvard's chief import, it seems, are econ hoops players. "I think there's only one American. I'm sure they all got here on basketball scholarships," joked Mazer.
But Harvard's lone American, Chicagoan Neiman, was no mere token. After scoring the winning bucket, Neiman and his mates celebrated, shook hands with the MIT economists, and looked around. With no champagne on hand, the players broke for the water bubbler.
Next year, Neiman promises a tangible prize. "We're working on a trophy. But we're Ph.D. students, so there's no rush - we'll be here for years," said Neiman.
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