CLEVELAND -- Penn may not have as many famous alumni as Boston College does, or perhaps even other Ivy League schools. But yesterday, perhaps the University's best-known graduate -- and certainly one of its most beloved -- took time to watch his alma mater in the NCAA Tournament.
Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell arrived at the Wolstein Center about 10 minutes before Penn and Boston College tipped off, and was greeted with a loud ovation from the Quakers student section.
Indeed, Rendell was given the full paparazzi treatment -- a Philadelphia Inquirer photographer snapped pictures of the Governor as he shook hands with fellow Penn fans on the way to his seat.
"It's fun," he said. "If [the Quakers] win it's great, it's a great surprise -- I just want them to play hard and not embarrass themselves, and we've been doing that in recent years."
Shortly after reaching his seat, Rendell made his way back out onto the arena's concourse and bought a hot dog.
But although he is known as much for his appetite as for his Democratic politics, Rendell said that he enjoyed relative anonymity in the city that was at the center of last year's presidential election firestorm.
Rendell assured those who might expect him to be doing other things with his time that no public money was spent on the trip.
"No tax dollars, none -- except for my time." he said. "I flew to Erie this morning from Harrisburg and I did some economic development work in Erie, Mercer County and then Beaver County, and then I flew over from the Beaver County airport with a friend of mine in his plane."
If Rendell was the most famous Penn fan in the house, then perhaps the most emotionally significant one was Lynn Begley, mother of Penn senior guard Tim Begley.
It was rumored that Mrs. Begley would not be able to attend yesterday's game unless Penn was sent to Worcester due to her fear of flying.
But she admitted that her love for her son was so powerful that this time would have to be an exception.
"It was never a question," she said. "I had told myself, even if I had to fly, I would -- I always knew I would make Tim's last game."
In the end, she was able to travel to Cleveland by car, with her brother behind the wheel.
Even though her son's final 40 minutes as a member of the Quakers ended in disappointment, Mrs. Begley expressed a profound appreciation for her son's leadership skills on the floor.
"It's heartwarming," she said. "I always knew he had those leadership skills -- I think it comes from his father's side of the family, and I'm glad he's blossomed into that kind" of person.
