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[Fred David/The Daily Pennsylvanian] Members of the Red and Blue Crew cheer on Penn during yesterday's game against Boston College. About 50 students made the trip to Cleveland.

CLEVELAND -- Though the score may not have gone their way, the battle of the fans was a decided victory for Penn at the NCAA Tournament.

While only about 50 loyal fans made up the Quakers student section yesterday, a strong alumni turnout coupled with a poor fan turnout for Boston College gave the contest a bit of a home-game feel.

With little competition from Eagles fans, the Quakers faithful were able to make their voices heard, even when the game itself seemed out of reach.

"For the amount of people there, I thought we were really good," Penn sophomore Jay Vora said. "Everyone was really excited about the game and pumped and loud. We definitely had their players' attention, even though we were far away. Definitely better than BC's section."

Perhaps the best example of the student section's ability to get the opponent's attention came when Boston College senior Jermaine Watson responded to chants and taunts by motioning at the student section following a pair of made free throws.

"We were pretty loud for how many people we had there," Penn alumnus Pete Deakins agreed. "We were a lot louder than BC."

Even though the Penn fan section seemed to far exceed that of Boston College, many felt it could have been bigger. The combination of the Thursday time slot and the relative distance, as compared to a nearby location like Worcester, Mass., was likely the cause of any shortcomings in the student section.

"The student turnout was a bit disappointing," Vora said. "Only the most diehard fans were there. We had five rows maybe, and we could have had so many more."

As for the weaker Boston College turnout, there could be several explanations. Boston College expected to advance further, meaning many fans could be coming up for tomorrow's game or saving their travel for a potential trip to Chicago next week. It is also possible that their low turnout was due to the difference between how a favored team views a first round game, and how an underdog does.

"For us, winning a first round game is exiting," Deakins said. "For them, losing a first round game is tragic."

Because of the non-stop involvement of the Penn student section, even such a disappointing loss became a special experience.

Fans traveling over 400 miles from Philadelphia to Cleveland were left with a memorable day -- and the chance to view the tournament's first big upset. Unfortunately, that upset came in the opening game of the day, as 12th-seeded Wisconsin-Milwaukee beat fifth-seeded Alabama, and not in the Penn game that followed it.

"I thought it was worth it," Vora said. "Not specifically for the game, but the whole experience itself was worth it. Being able to say you've experienced the Tournament is one of the best things you can say, and being there to support your team is incredible."

In the end, although the Quakers basketball team was unable to pull off a memorable upset, the students in the crowd were able to create their own memories. Maybe in the absence of a better team on the floor yesterday, a louder and larger fan section can serve as a small consolation, especially to those who were in it.

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