An hour before the biggest game of his life, Joe Aleffi lay on his back inside the Swarthmore College field house, staring at the ceiling. Aleffi, a senior running back for Swarthmore's football team, the Garnet Tide, had spent the morning listening to Metallica and trying to calm himself. "This is the most excited I've ever been for a game," he said. "I had trouble sleeping last night." Other Swarthmore players nearby strapped on their pads in silence. The night before, one had gone to the center of the field to meditate alone in the darkness.
Football at Swarthmore has often...
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