COLUMN: Vitale rally is just the start

An annual MidnightAn annual MidnightMadness event wouldAn annual MidnightMadness event woulddo wonders for bothAn annual MidnightMadness event woulddo wonders for bothbasketball programs When Dick Vitale brings his act into the Palestra tonight, his presentation will be two-fold. Sure, the main portion of the program will about "the game of life" and "gender equity," but you can bet he will take a few minutes to kick off the extravaganza as a basketball pep rally. After Connaissance and the athletic department got together, it was agreed that Vitale would lead the player introductions and a brief shoot-around before the lecture. What a great idea -- right? Well, not really. While it is a great idea to promote the men's and women's basketball squads (and they sure need it), why didn't the athletic department sponsor a Midnight Madness event like a good number of other Division I schools? Vitale's lecture, while enlighting will not be at midnight. Nor will it be madness. In fact, Penn did hold a Midnight Madness three years ago, but only today's seniors can remember that. I have a friend that goes to Boston College and has attended Midnight Madness for three years in a row. He's played knockout with the team. He's won t-shirts. But most importantly, he's been able to sit with a bunch of students, and rally behind a team over a month before its season started. That, my friends, is school spirit. And it only takes one event to conjure up that spirit. From an athletic department point of view, Midnight Madness could only help ticket sales and attendance for both squads. In fact, several schools this year had a two-team event -- highlighted by a men versus women skills competition. The men's squad has lost all of its big-name players in the past two years, and the women's squad is coming off a dismal 3-23 season. You can bet that they could use an attention boost. Especially when you consider that basketball is probably the only sport that makes money for the University. Dick Vitale is one way to get that attention. But his coming was purely coincidental, and the athletic department will benefit from it. But let's make Midnight Madness a Penn tradition, and catch up on one experience we've all been missing out on.