Red and Blue crowd the Palestra to witness win

Thousands of Penn students and alumni stormed into the Southwest entrance of the Palestra last night to witness the two Ivy League powerhouses battle to remain atop the Ivy League. Both Penn and Princeton entered the game undefeated in Ancient Eight play. This was an important game. And the fans knew it. The "Let's go Quakers!" chants began before the competition started, as fans screamed, clapped, and stomped their feet to drown out Princeton's player introductions. Both teams showed up last night at the Palestra, but the overwhelming majority of fans were wearing red and blue. Indeed, the only competitive rivalry last night was on the court, as Penn's fans dominated the crowd war. Most of the orange t-shirts read "Puck Frinceton" in black letters, as Penn students mocked Princeton's colors. "I came to watch Princeton lose," said freshman Vicki Kimball, proudly sporting her orange tee. "The fans are the best part of the game." Playing at home, on a court that echoes like a snare drum, is clearly an advantage. But one would have expected more of Princeton's faithful to support their team. The Princeton "fan section" was almost nonexistent -- earlier in the week, between 100-200 seats reserved for Tigers fans were returned to Penn's box office because of the lack of demand. Freshman Louis Epstein was one of the few Princeton students to attend the game. And even he knew that the pre-game eight-point spread in favor of Penn was accurate. During halftime, when Penn led Princeton, 27-19, Epstein smiled and said, "Penn will probably win." The biggest story on the court was Penn senior Ugonna Oneykwe. In the Quakers' first possession, he drove the baseline for a slam dunk. The fans erupted with a "U" chant. And this was only the beginning of many more cheers for the London, England native. The most impressive play came when Oneykwe connected on a reverse alley-oop off a David Klatsky pass. "That was ridiculous!" sophomore Jon Lubin said. "I cried after Ugonna's dunk," freshman Keith Cohan said. Almost all Red and Blue fans pointed to Oneykwe's dunks, blocks and overall play as the keys to Penn's victory. But Quakers fans attributed the win to other players as well. "Andy Toole is the heart and soul of this team," sophomore Steve McLean said. "Tim Begley is the only reason I came tonight!" sophomore Rachelle Snyder said. And, as expected, the motor oil incident came up. One Red and Blue crew poster asked, "If we beat you, will you press charges?" And a popular t-shirt read, "This time you will be burned." The most gratifying thing as a fan is to intimidate the opposition. "I love seeing the fear in my opponent's eyes," said Lubin, who sits in the first row of section 116. Quakers fans yelled "airball" every time Conrad Wysocki touched the ball after his first-half gaffe. Despite the pregame hype, some fans came to the game unaware of the storied rivalry. "This is the first time I've ever seen a basketball game," Mathilde Teyssenneau said. "It's great!" Just to note, the Bordeaux, France native came with a friend at Penn to support the Red and Blue. While other fans have been a part of the rivalry for years. "How could I not come?" Matt Fifield said, a 1997 Princeton graduate and 2004 Wharton MBA candidate. "There is no doubt in my mind that Princeton will win," he asserted at halftime. Clearly, Penn's fans crushed the tiny Princeton contingent that graced the Palestra with their presence last night. And unlike the few Tigers' fans predictions, the Quakers won the game on the hardwood, too.

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