David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

demoralizing the Big Pond was to
everyone but the best. To Glimp’s mind,
his job was to find students who were
tough enough and had enough
achievements outside the classroom to
be able to survive the stress of being
Very Small Fish in Harvard’s Very
Large Pond. Thus did Harvard begin the
practice (which continues to this day) of
letting in substantial numbers of gifted
athletes who have academic
qualifications well below the rest of
their classmates. If someone is going to
be cannon fodder in the classroom, the
theory goes, it’s probably best if that
person has an alternative avenue of
fulfillment on the football field.