A FRONT ROW VIEW: The emotion was not the same

The festivities began early Saturday night. They always do when Princeton comes to the Palestra. Even before the game started, Princeton center Rick Hielscher felt the tension. His anger erupted as he faced off with a Penn fan during the pregame warmups. And as the Quakers came out for the opening tip, every single person in attendance could feel the pending excitement. The players sensed the importance of this game too. Jerome Allen was not going to disappoint on his 22nd birthday. He sailed above Princeton on his way to a game-high 13 points. He soared through the air and ripped down rebound after rebound. Shawn Trice added emotion and heart. He attacked the boards with reckless abandon. His determination on the offensive end led to countless second-chance shots. Then Tim Krug provided Penn with an emotional explosion. He came off the bench to swat Tiger shots and play solid defense. Krug added the ultimate exclamation point with a two-handed dunk over Hielscher. The Quakers were up 28-10, and the crowd went into a frenzy. Ira Bowman added his own flair to the game. He played ferocious defense and slammed home the victory with his acrobatic dunks and dribbling ability. With the Quakers' lead extended to 19 points by halftime, the game's outcome was no longer in doubt. There would be no Tigers comeback. There would be no classic Princeton slow-down tempo and easy back-door layups. Saturday night belonged to the Quakers. But everyone really knew that before the game even began. The Tigers had to have felt like sacrificial lambs when they walked onto the Palestra hardwood. And when both teams returned after the 15-minute intermission to play the second half, the emotion was gone. The Tigers never got closer than 17 points. Princeton hit just two-of-six three-pointers in the final stanza. The emotion was gone. Penn coach Fran Dunphy played the starters for most of the game, but they were just going through the motions. After so many classic Penn-Princeton battles, Saturday night will not go down in the history books as yet another. Rather, it will go down as a precursor for what is to come in the Ivy League this season. I found myself having difficulty cheering sincerely for Penn. Although I'll root for the Quakers and against the Tigers until my dying day, it just seemed ridiculous after halftime. My hatred had mellowed as a greater sense of mocking came over me. There was no reason to cheer at the top of my lungs -- Penn did not need any outside help to beat Princeton. In fact, when the game was over, I didn't even feel an urge to rush the court. When was the last time the Quakers thrashed the Tigers and no one mobbed the floor? I can assure you it was not during my collegiate days. That is the moral of this tale -- winning the Ivies gets Penn to the Big Dance, but it's just not going to be that difficult to accomplish this goal. The Quakers play on another level than the rest of the Ivies. That's why the emotion was gone by halftime. That's why no one rushed the floor. But don't expect that level of apathy to continue when March comes around. Joshua Friedman is a College senior from Beverly Hills, Calif., and former sports editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian.

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