COLUMN: Penn's indecision crushes a tradition

From Eric Moskowitz's, "An Obstructed View," Fall '99 Two weeks ago, both the Philadelphia Catholic League and the Public League -- left stranded by Penn's refusal to make a decision on whether the Palestra would once again host the high school championship games -- were forced to pack up and move. Penn has been mum about the games' status since last March 1, when gunfire following the PL championship doubleheader left one dead and three injured, including one Penn student. Unable to wait, the PL has settled on St. Joseph's Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse, while the CL has moved its championship games to the Apollo of Temple. "When you talk to a high school player, he'll say, 'I want to play at the Palestra,' and everybody knows what that means," said Mitchell Kurtz, who has served as president of the Public League's Coaches Association for almost 11 years. A critical matter has been left out of the recent heated debate over whether Penn's responsibility for campus safety or its responsibility to the city is more important -- the importance of these games to the storied tradition of Philadelphia high school basketball. Penn's decision -- or lack thereof -- on the status of the championship games marks more than an attempt to make campus safer. It signals the end of an era for the city of Philadelphia and the fabled Palestra. "Having the opportunity to play the Public League championship game at the Palestra was a dream come true for me," said Big 5 Hall of Famer Tim Smith, who captained West Philadelphia High to a championship at the Palestra in '75. "I still look at [the 1995 Catholic League championship] as the highlight of my basketball career right now," said Penn tri-captain Paul Romanczuk. As a senior, he led Archbishop Carroll to a win over Roman Catholic in the title game at the Palestra, avenging a loss to Roman in the '94 semifinal, also at the Palestra. Reaching the Palestra has long been the goal of every high school basketball player in Philadelphia. But this year, for the first time in over two decades, not a single high school hoopster in the city will be able to realize the dream of winning a title in the Palestra. "The high school guys are being a little bit cheated," Romanczuk said. While the Catholic League will be holding its championship games away from the Palestra for the first time in years, economic reasons forced the Public League to move its title games in the late '80s to Temple's McGonagle Hall and then to the Civic Center before returning to the Palestra in 1997. "Even while we were at some of the other sites, all the kids wanted to do was play at the Palestra," Kurtz said. There is no doubting the significance of the Palestra to Philly's high school ballplayers. "It was one of those feelings that you couldn't really describe," Romanczuk said. "Nothing beats winning the championship and winning it at the Palestra." But, thanks to Penn's indecision, every hoopster in the city must now put those feelings on hold indefinitely. Alumni Fieldhouse's 3,200 seats are a far cry from the Palestra's 8,700 capacity. Gym size, however, is hardly the concern. Temple's beautiful new Apollo seats upwards of 10,000 for basketball games. The games could be played at any gym in Philadelphia and the leagues would still desire to hold their championships at the Palestra. "Not to take anything away from the Spectrum or the First Union Center, but the Palestra has always been there," Kurtz said. "And it will always be there and it will always be the goal for these kids to play a high school game there." "The Palestra is still looked at, as far as I'm concerned, as the Mecca for basketball," Romanczuk said. "I think everybody should in their lifetime get an opportunity to just walk into that gym whether it's just to shoot a basket or to go sit in a seat and see a game." Smith, who earned first-team All-Public League honors in '75, is convinced of the Palestra's elite status. "It's definitely No. 1," the former Penn forward said. "I've played at Madison Square Garden and quite a few other famous facilities around the country, but the Palestra -- there's nothing like the Palestra." While only a lucky few have the opportunity to play at the Palestra in a tradition-steeped Big 5 battle, the Public and Catholic League championships have long provided an opportunity for high schoolers to experience the magic of the Palestra. "It's part of tradition having those high school games there. So to lose the high school games is tough," Romanczuk said. "It's really not the same at St. Joe's. It's just a different feeling walking into the Palestra and playing basketball there than at any other gym."