Harvard or Yale? One Delaware family has split allegiances for The Game

Rob and Shannon Tattersall had a plan.

They’d spend the fall following the Yale football team around the Northeast, watching their eldest son, Robby, a junior wide receiver and special teamer for the Bulldogs. Sure, they’d miss the opportunity to support their younger son, Ryan, during his true freshman season at Harvard. However, with Ryan transitioning from quarterback to wide receiver, the family didn’t expect him to see the field in his first season of college football.

They realized they’d have to come up with a plan in 2026, with both sons (hopefully) seeing significant playing time at their respective schools. But that was a worry for another time.

Or was it?

On a Monday morning in September, Rob received a text from Harvard head coach Andrew Aurich.

Hey, unless Ryan gets injured this week in practice, he’s traveling (for the season opener at Stetson), so you might want to get your plane tickets for Florida if you guys are gonna go.

“So that was like, ‘OK, wow. There goes that whole plan.’ ” Rob said.

Since September, Ryan has come on strong, playing in all nine games for undefeated Harvard with 14 catches for 201 yards and one touchdown, including a critical grab last week against Penn that set up the Crimson’s game-winning field goal as time expired.

Rob and Shannon, who live in Wilmington, Del., have had to get creative, sometimes splitting up between Harvard and Yale so each son has at least one parent or grandparent in the stands to cheer them on when the Bulldogs and Crimson take the field.

However, on Saturday, the whole crew will be together in one place when Yale (7-2) hosts Harvard (9-0) in the 141st edition of The Game. As if there weren’t already enough on the line for the family, the winner is guaranteed to punch its ticket to the FCS playoffs.

“Both my wife and I have fall birthdays, so (my mom) gave us each a scarf. It’s white with blue stripes on one end and white with crimson stripes on the other,” Rob said. “I know my wife, (Shannon), she has the split jersey she had made — half navy blue, half crimson with the Harvard logo and the Yale logo and their numbers.

“I’m still figuring out my wardrobe. I might be wearing a lot of grey.”

Rob said the Tattersalls plan to have about 19 family members at the game, including both sets of the boys’ grandparents, as well as a few cousins, aunts and uncles. Most of the extended family will likely sit on the Yale side, Rob said. He and Shannon have tickets on the Harvard side, too, and plan to split their time between the two sections.

“When we’re sitting with somebody and something bad happens for that team but it’s good for our other son’s team, how do we react and what do we do?” Rob said. “Not many people want both teams to win.”

Bob Tattersall, the boys’ grandfather and Rob’s father, is planning to bring two hats with him: one from his daughter’s time at Harvard’s business school and another cap to represent Yale. He joked that he’s trying to figure out if he can wear both at once — though he might have a slight rooting interest if he’s being candid.

“My wife says she’s going to root for whatever team has the ball since they both play offense,” he said. “What a shame it is when a team is undefeated all year and then they lose that last game. So in that sense, I’m kind of rooting for Harvard. But I won’t be too vocal about that.

“I think next year, when Robby’s a senior, my thoughts will go towards Yale.”

Bob, the family’s patriarch, coached both of his grandsons in high school at Wilmington Friends School, where he served as head coach for 54 years and is the all-time winningest coach in Delaware high school history. Bob turned the program over to Rob in 2022, who then guided the Quakers to a state championship with Robby as the all-state senior quarterback and Ryan as a sophomore safety.

Ryan then took over the starting quarterback position in 2023 and 2024. Rob, who played at Delaware and coached collegiately at numerous stops, stepped down after last season, so that he wouldn’t miss any more of Robby’s games with Yale.

“Somebody asked me one time, ‘Isn’t it great coaching your grandsons?’ ” said Bob, or “Pop” as his grandkids call him. “Well, it is if they’re good players. They were both very effective players.”

Both brothers transitioned to the receiver position in college, knowing that their skill sets would fit better there than at quarterback. They’re both listed 6 foot 5, though Pop thinks Ryan might be inching closer to 6-6.

Robby has gotten most of his snaps on special teams. He switched over to tight end last spring but returned to receiver when the Bulldogs suffered some injuries in preseason camp and needed some depth at the position. He’s still chasing his first catch of the season, which Rob acknowledged would be extra sweet should it come against Harvard.

Both Bob and Rob like to joke that they don’t know how the boys stumbled into such great genes, considering they’re also pursuing degrees at two of the top universities in the world.

But the Tattersalls are soaking up every bit of what has been one of the most memorable seasons of their lives.

“I get more butterflies in the stomach and more anxious as a fan than I ever did as a coach or as a player,” Rob said. “So now that they’re going to be going against each other,  I don’t know (how I’m gonna feel). I’m not gonna know until we walk into that stadium and the ball is kicked off.

“My plan is to sit back, take it in … and really just enjoy the moment.”