Happy 75th

Do you know what was released 75 years ago today (that would be Dec. 20, 1946)? 

TigerBlog will give you a hint - it's one of the two best Christmas movies ever made. The other was released on Nov. 18, 1983.

Guesses? It should be clear.

The one that turns 75 today is "It's A Wonderful Life." The one from 1983 is "A Christmas Story."

To TigerBlog, at least, you can make no other case for any Christmas movies other than those. It's like trying to come up with a better Christmas cartoon than "A Charlie Brown Christmas."

"It's A Wonderful Life" is a beautiful movie. It tells the story of George Bailey, from the fictional town of Bedford Falls, which is near Buffalo. All George wants to do is get out of Bedford Falls, but no matter what he tries, fate intervenes to keep him there.

In the end, it takes Clarence, his guardian angel, to show him that he really does have a "wonderful life." It's a great movie.

It also has the one scene in any movie that is guaranteed to make TigerBlog tear up:

 Yup. It worked again. He can watch that any time of year, no context, just the clip on YouTube and, well, you know.

There was no mention of the movie in the Daily Princetonian that day, but there was an interesting story about the song "Old Nassau," including this: 

In 1858, Princeton had no song indicative of the school's real spirit. The Nassau Lit, the nation's oldest collegiate literary magazine, realizing this, announced that they would offer a prize for the best college song written by an undergraduate. This contest spurred Harlan P. Peck '62, the leading poet of his class, to compose seven stanzas of lyrics entitled "Old Nassau" to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne." It was an immediate success and the prize went to Peck in February of 1859. Though the lyrics won the acclaim of all connected with the University, they were still not satisfied with the melody for they wished an original tune as well as lyrics. This prompted W. C. Stitt, an undergraduate interested in music, to search for a man connected with Princeton to write a fitting melody. At the time, a glee club had ibeen organized under the direction of a German tutor named Karl A. Langlotz, who was affiliated with the College. Realizing this man was the logical choice Stitt asked him if he would attempt to compose a melody, and Langlotz agreed. But time passed and the promised melody did not materialize. However, the perservering Stitt confronted Langlotz with the lyrics written by Peck and once more asked him to write a song. Langlotz thereupon sat at a piano and in one sitting composed the memorable tune, one of the best American alma mater songs that has ever been written.

That's a good story, the kind TB loves to read. That same story also said this: 

At the completion of every Princeton intercollegiate sporting event of importance and at every College parting, the strains of "Old Nassau" can be heard. For 87 years, Princeton undergraduates and alumni have stood bare-headed expressing their feelings "in praise of old Nassau." 

Again, interesting. Every sporting event of importance? They're all important, but hey, that's another story.

With Christmas week here, the Princeton Athletics calendar is pretty light for the rest of the month. There are, in fact, only three teams who will compete between now and the New Year.

The wrestling team will make its traditional post-Christmas trip to the Midlands Tournament at Northwestern. The basketball teams will both be in action, and both teams will play at home.

The men will take on Kean (the alma mater of, among others, Princeton Athletics IT guy supreme Brian Fitzwater) tomorrow at 7 at Jadwin.

The women will have two home games, on each of the next two Wednesdays. The first one is two days away, when the Tigers host national power Texas, with tip-off at noon. It's very likely that Texas is the best women's basketball team who has ever come into Jadwin to take on the Tigers.

Princeton's women will also be home next Wednesday, when Central Florida is here. 

Waiting just after the first of the year will be the Ivy League openers for both, when the women host Harvard and the men are in Cambridge on Jan. 2. That's a Sunday.

Remember, things are different this year in Ivy basketball. First, it's no longer the strict travel-partner format. Second, exams at Princeton end today, as opposed to having them in January.

There is a lot on the horizon in January, the month Princeton Athletics traditionally had a three-week gap for exams.

For today? Go watch "It's A Wonderful Life." If you've never seen it, you'll love it. If you have, you'll also love it.