Like many of my fellow Penn students, I grew up in Philadelphia rooting for the local teams.
Yeah, yeah, we all know the score. 21 years, zero titles.
It's true we townies have endured seasons that pass with the agonizing pace of a Jose Mesa hanging curveball. We've weathered scores of sophistic draft picks, from Antone Davis to Sharone Wright.
When we do make the playoffs, our jump shooters can't shoot and our wide receivers can't catch. We've known perpetual hurt worse than any Bostonite or Chicagoan, what with our across-the-board futility. Yet we keep coming back, like the obsessive sadists we are.
During my time at Penn, I've had the opportunity to contribute, in a small way, to this tradition so central to my identity as a Philadelphia native. I covered the back-to-back Ivy League football champions and the No. 1-ranked college basketball team in America. For who? For what? For DPOSTM. And I've enjoyed every minute I've spent writing for the Quakers and their Big 5 brethren.
My point?
As a Penn student, you live in the best sports town in America.
So if you're not yet graduating, make the most of your time in a city where sports are a matter of cultural importance. Philly's a town where fourth-grade teachers don't give homework when the Eagles beat the Cowboys on Monday Night Football. It's a town where a guy like Pete Incaviglia, a career .246 hitter who platooned in left field for the Phillies in 1993, will never have to pay for a meal. It's a town where the kids still buy thirty-packs and get together to watch Sixers games -- in the middle of December.
It's a town whose champions are celebrated for all time, a place where the games matter most.
In light of this, I encourage you to indulge in The City That Loves You Back by enjoying one of the many sporting events a mere stone's throw from campus. Attend a city series tilt at that veritable basketball cathedral on 33rd and Spruce, the acoustic powder-keg known as the Palestra. Take in a Friday night card at the Blue Horizon, the legendary boxing venue on North Broad Street. Negotiate your way into an Eagles game at brand-spanking-new Lincoln Financial Field, the nation's premier football venue.
Scale the Art Museum steps immortalized by Rocky Balboa, Philly's most celebrated folk hero this side of Billy Penn.
On Monday morning, the Class of 2004 will graduate on the very field where Norm Van Brocklin led the Eagles to an NFL Championship in 1960 against a vaunted Green Bay side -- the Pack's only postseason loss under Vince Lombardi. Indeed, the history is all around us.
Even if your personal allegiances prevent you from enjoying the success of the profane, surly blue-collar town that hurled snowballs at Santa Claus, batteries at J.D. Drew and obscenities at Kobe Bryant, there's no denying Philadelphia's palpable sports history.
The Phillies, the oldest continuous single-city franchise in pro sports history, were running the bases an entire generation before the Yankees even existed. With a pair of Stanley Cups and seven Finals appearances through their 37-year history, the Flyers boast more success than any NHL franchise outside the Original Six.
The Big 5 city series -- the annual round robin contested among Penn, La Salle, St. Joe's, Temple and Villanova -- is widely acknowledged as the most unique, competitive and frenetic intracity rivalry in college sports.
Ithaca? Hanover? They're practically Elba when compared to our University's tradition-rich metropolis. If you're sticking around Philly next fall, make a point to enjoy it.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.