Video Of The Week: Which Blue Are You?



This week's (admittedly a bit silly, but certainly very appropriate) video comes to us from Merrie Englande, where the Henley Boat Races are in the books, and the Oxford and Cambridge Men's Boat Race is set to take over the Tideway this Sunday. The video gives us a bit of a humorous, inside look at the Boat Race Gala Dinner, which took place on 21 March and saw friendly Boat Race and Olympic rivals rubbing elbows at the London Film Museum. The Henley Boat Races (comprised of the Oxbridge Women's and Lightweight Boat Races), while traditionally held on the same stretch of the Thames as Henley Royal Regatta, were transferred to Eton Dorney last weekend due to rough weather—and the results were convincingly Dark Blue. In fact, Oxford swept four of four varsity events over Cambridge this year (for a full rundown of the events at Dorney, see here.)

And, unfortunately for Cambridge, we see that trend continuing this coming weekend—our pick for the 2013 Boat Race is Oxford. Given Oxford's pedigree, with a stern pair made up of 2012 Olympic medalists Malcolm Howard of Canada and GB's Constantine Louloudis, and a bevy of results in Tideway fixtures—including an outstanding performance against a very classy German men's eight on 17 March—we feel that the Dark Blues are the favorites this year, and we're predicting a victory for Oxford of three lengths. In our minds, it's never a good idea to bet against a boat named 'Acer,' as the Oxford Blue Boat was recently christened, in honor of their fallen former teammate.

We know, however, that there is plenty of support out there for both sides, and the Light Blues will be bringing their own Olympic and international medals to the table when the two crews take off from Putney Bridge this Sunday, with tough & proven athletes like George Nash, Milan Bruncvik, and Ty Otto in the mix. (You can view a side-by-side comparison of the two crews via the official website of the Boat Race.) So, we're opening up a vote: voice your opinion on who will win the 2013 Boat Race in our new RR poll, or in the comments below!

-RR

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