I wasn't the only one dismayed during last Saturday's men's basketball contest between Penn's own, the Quakers, and the ever-loathed Harvard Crimson.
I sat surrounded by an astonishing array of Penn alumni who, remembering the days of Matt Maloney, Jerome Allen and Red and Blue dominance in the Ivy League, were buzzing with excitement over this promising squad.
But Saturday's game wasn't exactly what they were expecting.
Twenty minutes into the first half the fan sitting directly behind me was less than impressed.
"Hey, I thought this team got votes for the top 25," he shouted to his friend amidst the uproar over yet another Harvard bucket scored by guard Patrick Harvey. "They sure don't look like a top 25 team to me."
And he was right.
Saturday night the Quakers didn't look much like the team that they were at the beginning of the season when it ousted Georgia Tech and Villanova and stood up to challenge then-No. 2 Illinois over Thanksgiving.
Somehow in the midst of all the hoopla and praise for Penn's start to this season and its seemingly impeccable perimeter shooting, the Quakers forgot to show up at Harvard.
Penn looked like, well, just an average Ivy League squad struggling to field a solid and consistent team in the early weeks of January.
What this disappointing overtime loss to the Crimson can teach the Quakers, and their loyal fans, is that rankings mean absolutely nothing.
When it comes down to game time, it's the play that matters, not the number that sits next to the team's name.
Penn coach Fran Dunphy, who has a vote on the ESPN/ USA Today Coaches' Poll that elects the Top 25, admitted -- and reiterated -- that the national polls are frivilous.
"I think it was more important to focus our energies towards being the best team we can be," Dunphy said.
The Quakers would have been wise to listen to their headman this weekend.
Every coach, whether at the professional, collegiate or high school level, will tell you that top rankings can be a blessing, but also a curse.
Once, when I was young, I asked my dad why teams like the Chicago Bulls even bothered playing against the nobodies that they obliterated time and time again.
So, what was the point?
The point is there are underdogs, and there are upsets in this world of sports. Without the little guy pulling off the upset, competiton would be monotonous and uneventful.
This weekend, Penn had a little refresher course in the rules of sports.
Because polls are not the final say, you must go out and play the game.
As a soccer coach of mine told me in high school, "who cares what the opposition looks like on paper, you have to go out there and beat them in real life."
In the upcoming weeks, as the Quakers delve deeper into the Ivy League season, it will be imperative that they forget the rankings, the national coverage and March Madness.
Instead, show up and play the game, and the rest will fall into place.
If the Penn fans and the squad itself continue to dwell on the bragging rights that come from rankings, soon enough those underdogs will be creeping up.
A loss to Harvard is acceptable. A loss to Columbia won't be.
