Life, 1923-11-15 · page 38 of 40
Life — November 15, 1923 — page 38: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This poem satirizes the hollow consolation of a college football loss. An Old Grad weeps after his alma mater was decisively defeated—"the other team scored all the points." When his grandson asks why he's grieving, the grandfather explains he's "celebrating" a "moral victory," the coach's euphemism for losing nobly. The satire targets the gap between actual defeat and the comforting language used to spin it. The grandfather's absurd response—sitting weeping while claiming victory, then giving "three rousing groans" in celebration—exposes how ridiculous this rationalization is. The poem mocks both the self-deception of disappointed fans and coaches who invoke "moral victories" to salvage pride from tangible failure. This reflects early-20th-century college football culture, where institutional pride ran high and losing was genuinely shameful, making such verbal cushioning common.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
~~ LEPE: « w a Santa Fe superior service and scenery- plus Fred Harvey meals ~-your assurance of a pleasant journey there Pullmans via Grand Canyon- National Park @ -Open all the year cil ths . , Pass. Traf. Mg. Santa Fe System Lines 1174 Railway Exchange, Chicago Please mail to me the following Santa fe Booklets CALIFORNIA PICTURE BOOK - GRAND CANYON OUTINGS CALIFORNIA LIMITED Also details as to cost of tip The Moral Victory (With a Southey-ly Exposure) Oxe chill November evening, An Old Grad sat and wept, While all his family upstairs Were safe in bed, and slept. All somnolent, his kith and kin, Except his grandson, Peterkin. Young Peter saw the Old Grad's grief, And boldly up and spoke: “Why do you thus wear sorrow’s crown, Or is it just a joke? Come, Grandpa, dry the starting tear, And tell me what's the big idear.” The Old Grad looked upon the lad, Who stood expectant by; And then the O. G. shook his head And with a natural sigh, “I’m celebrating, son,” said he, “Our recent moral victory. “To-day there was a football game, My college ‘gainst another ; Right lustily the two teams fought, Zach for its alma mother. And, oh—the thought congeals my joints— The other team scored all the points! “We could not snake-dance on the field, Nor throw our hats a A headline writer would have si That we had Lost the Day. But then our coach says cheerfully, ‘We won a moral victory.’ “So that is why I sit and weep, And why you hear my moans; And why I rise bareheaded now, And give three rousing groans, To show how much it means to me, To win a moral victory!” “NOW DON’T MOVE.” L —Le Rire (Paris). WYNKOOP HALLENBECK CRAWFORD COMPANY, NEW YORK Aspirin Say “Bayer” and Insist! Unless you see the name “Bayer” on package or on tablets you are not gat- ting the genuine Bayer product pre- scribed by physicians over twenty-two years and proved eafe by millions for Colds Headache Toothache Lumbago Earache Rheumatism Neuralgia Pain, Pain Accept “Bayer Tablets of Aspirin” only. Each unbroken package contains proper directions. Handy boxes of twelve tablets cost few cents. Drug- | gists also sell bottles of 24 and 100. | Aspirin is the trade mark of Bayer Manufacture of Monoaceticacidester of | Salicylicacid. 'DRIVE IN AND OUT OF A WARM GARAGE ALL WINTER Enjoy the same comfort that tens of thousands did with their WASCO Systems during the past long, drawn-out winte! of the patented automatic re tion, no matter how cold the night, your garage is a warm—your car, and dry, ready to start. THE WASCQ REGULATES ITSELF ALL WINTER WITHOUT ATTENTION Y ut on a little coal once touch the drafts. Our n to city water. Write today for catalogue and price list. Some good territory open for live distributors. W. A. Scuterr Mra. Co., Inc. | 349 Eastwood Station Syracuse, N. Y. Also used or eating 0 ffices, Sto READY-T0-SET-UP os BOYS and GIRLS EARN XMAS MONEY Write for 50 sets AMERICAN CHRISTMAS SEALS. Sell for 10c a set. When sold, send us $3 and keep $2. Neubecker Bros., 961 E. 23rd St., Dept. 184, Brooklyn, N.Y, comicbooks.com