COLUMN: Losing is not an option

From Lee Goldsmith's "Standing Room Only," Fall '95 That's why it seems so hard for the Penn football team to lose these days. And it's why The Streak is alive and kicking at 24 consecutive victories. After Bucknell's John Sakowski came up with a spectacular touchdown catch in the final minutes at Franklin Field last Saturday, Penn probably should have lost. The Quakers hadn't played well all day, momentum was with the opponent and time was running out. But somehow, the Quakers didn't lose. Why? At face value, because the offense got the ball into field goal range and Jeremiah Greathouse connected from 41 yards out. But if you ask me, there's a lot more to it than just that. The Quakers didn't lose because they never thought about losing. And they never thought about losing because they've never learned how to do it. Not one player currently on the Penn gridiron roster has lost a varsity football game while wearing the Red and Blue. When you stop and think about it, that fact is nothing short of staggering. All the Quakers have done is win. Sometimes it's pretty, sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's tense. But the bottom line is always the same -- victory. In the process of establishing this state of affairs, the Quakers have often overwhelmed their adversaries. Make no mistake about it -- there has been some serious talent playing for Penn coach Al Bagnoli these past few years. Enough talent, in fact, to occasionally blow teams out of the water. Last season's 59-8 thumping of Holy Cross is a perfect example. As I recall, the game was over that day before most fans even got to Franklin Field. But there have also been plenty of thrillers. Penn needed a fourth-quarter goal-line stand to hold off Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H. last year. In 1993, the Quakers rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat Cornell and clinch the Ivy League title in the season's final game. Saturday's win, of course, takes the cake. Sure, a pair of questionable unsportsmanlike conduct penalties helped immensely, but things still looked bleak with a minute left. Despite the score and the clock, though, losing was never an option for Penn Saturday. That attitude -- and the confidence that comes from it -- runs top to bottom on the home sideline at Franklin Field. It starts with Bagnoli and his staff. And it runs throughout the roster, from Tom McGarrity and Miles Macik to each and every second-stringer. The result of such an approach is Penn's uncanny ability to find ways to win. Whatever the situation, losing is never the outcome. Victory is never out of reach and is always the bottom line. This philosophy defines the Quakers. It characterizes The Streak. Above all, it makes for a championship team.