“If I can make it here…”

Lehigh students, cheerleaders and the Marching 97 took to the streets of New York on Friday to build excitement in advance of the 150th playing of the Lehigh-Lafayette game.

Braving freezing temperatures, Lehigh students took Manhattan by storm on Friday, making their way from the nation’s top-rated morning TV shows to some of New York City’s most famous landmarks.

School spirit was at an all-time high on the Friday morning before the 150th playing of the rivalry with Lafayette at Yankee Stadium. More than 40 members of the Marching 97 joined Lehigh cheerleaders and Clutch the Mountain Hawk to announce Lehigh Nation’s takeover of the city. It began before dawn, as the crew split into two groups to appear on ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s The Today Show.

The Lehigh contingent—the loudest and the first to arrive—took good-natured jabs at their Lafayette counterparts, who arrived to the TV studios at nearly the same time.

“I’m really excited to be representing our school this year,” said Shannon Steiniger ’15, a mechanical engineering major who plays the clarinet. “This is a great way to end my time at Lehigh and with the band.”

The excitement continued building after the morning shows. The Marching 97 and the cheerleaders traveled by bus to some of New York City’s top landmarks to perform. From Washington Square Park to Wall Street to Central Park, and even in front of a city subway entrance, the band played to curious, but enthusiastic crowds at each stop.

“It’s so cool, it’s like we’re making history,” cheerleader Emilee Strange ’17, a biology major, said of her travels around town with the Marching 97. “I’ve heard about this since I was a kid, so to be a part of it is so exciting.”

At almost every stop, the group encountered a Lehigh or Lafayette fan, an alumnus or someone who simply knew the game was happening at Yankee Stadium this year.

Doug Solowey ’15, a bass drummer and a chemistry major, said that when he was a freshman he didn’t know the 150th game was going to be at Yankee Stadium and wasn’t expecting a stage that big.

“When I found out we were going to be in New York,” he said, “I was immediately pumped up."

“This is absolutely amazing.”