COLUMN: Whoa frosh: it's time to root for Penn

From: Jed Walentas' "Two Minute Warning," Fall '95 Although most who know me would argue that I am still basically clueless, I would like to pass on a few words about my experiences from the wide world of Penn sports to this year's freshman class -- and whoever else is particularly bored in class this morning. Three years ago, as I arrived in West Philly, the Penn football team was coming off a 2-8 season. The Quakers had a new head coach from a Division III program, and a quarterback controversy stole all the headlines. Even by the time the first game rolled around, I did not know a single soul or recognize a single name or face on the varsity squad. Week one sent the Red and Blue all the way north to Hanover, N.H., to battle Dartmouth, the early Ivy League favorite -- or so I was told. As I sat perched on a couch somewhere in the Quad listening to Keith Jackson yell "Whoaaa Nellie" at Charlie Ward's theatrics, a score rolled across the bottom of the screen: Pennsylvania 7, Dartmouth 0 -- Half I sat up in the couch, suddenly thinking maybe our football team wasn't so bad after all. Eagerly, as I watched the Seminoles blow out their ACC cupcake of the week, I waited to see if my Quakers could hang on to their lead. ABC's production staff kept me on the edge of my seat until the postgame show. The scores rolled: Dartmouth 36, Pennsylvania 17 -- Final After Jay Fiedler, now the Philadelphia Eagles' third-string quarterback, led Dartmouth to that disappointing trouncing of the Quakers, I anticipated another losing season of Penn football. To be perfectly honest, I didn't really have a whole lot of interest in the program. In my eyes, a successful season would simply mean avoiding a loss to the hapless Columbia Lions. After growing up in New York City, one thing I did know was that nobody lost to Columbia. The next Saturday was our home opener against against Colgate. Somehow, the Penn-Colgate matchup failed to overwhelmingly inspire me. It just didn't conjure up images of an epic college gridiron clash. So, I decided to return to my couch with a frothy beverage and Keith Jackson. Somehow, several friends from my hall managed to drag me away from my utopia and all the way down Spruce Street to majestic Franklin Field. "Why was I leaving a comfortable couch and a big-time game to go see a classic showdown between the Patriot League and the Ancient Eight?" It made no sense to me at all. As it turns out, Al Bagnoli and his Quakers have gone 26-3 in my tenure here, and I have missed only a handful of those games, home or away. Your Penn Quakers have won 21 straight games -- the longest streak in all of college football -- and are the two-time defending Ivy League champions. Surely the Red and Blue don't play the calibre of football you are used to from your favorite team. But now, like it or not, the Quakers are your team. Mark DeRosa is not as talented a quarterback as Ron Powlus, but you won't run into Powlus at WaWa any time soon. You won't see Keyshawn Johnson on the walk every afternoon, but I encourage you to say "Hi!" to Miles Macik if you cross paths. Sure, it will take some time to learn the starting lineup, and the words to "The Red and the Blue." You may not yet have heard of Jeff Davis and you may not even know when to throw toast or how to burn it just right to reach the field from your seats. But this Saturday, at 1:30 p.m., get off your couch. Forget about Notre Dame and Miami and Nebraska and the Nittany Lions. You're a Quakers fan now, for better or for worse. If you come to Franklin Field with a bag full of toast and a well-rested voice, it will be for the better. I promise. Jed Walentas is a senior economics major from New York and sports editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. Two Minute Warning appears alternate Tuesdays.