The Bill Russell quote doesn't hit you in the face when you walk through the doors. You have to do some looking to find it on one of the exhibits.
"Athletes have a unique ability to inspire, motivate and exhilarate," it reads. "Through their actions, athletes touch the hearts and lives of all Americans. Herein lies the hidden message of sports: sports inspire us individually and as a nation to be better."
That is the message that the collection "Sports: Breaking Records, Breaking Barriers," now shown at the National Constitution Center, wants to stuff down the throats of its visitors, and it does so at every turn. Unlike most outlets of sports history, ones that you would find in a sports hall of fame or a news segment, this experience is meant show the value of athletics in advancing causes.
Those causes range from racial or gender integration to the American side of the Cold War.
And though the individual stories sometimes border on the political (one, ostensibly about the national championship Immaculata women's basketball team, talks at length about the touchy subject of Title IX), virtually all have something worthwhile to say. They won't dazzle every visitor with aesthetics, in part because they demand that the casual viewer take the time to read every caption and do more than just absorb "The first woman to..."
At the same time, the exhibit wisely keeps most of the material relevant. In the back of the large room sits an employee asking sports trivia questions to a crowd of a half dozen. I found myself testing my own useless knowledge base after a short time.
And it stays practical. Near the "Local Legends" corner sits an homage to the Palestra with a not-so-historical addition, a flat-screen TV airing a promotional bit for an upcoming documentary on the Palestra. The film, entitled "The Palestra: Cathedral of Basketball," is produced and written by Mikaelyn Austin, who graduated from Penn in 2004 after four years on the women's basketball team.
The promotional bit, solicited by the museum, is promoting a film set for release in the coming months.
"We've been editing for the past two weeks," Austin said. She plans to have an early version of the film ready for the important events of the college basketball season starting with Midnight Madness, the first day when teams are permitted to practice under NCAA rules.
Right next to that, every Philadelphian can be reminded that Dawn Staley -- who coaches a women's basketball powerhouse at Temple in her free time -- was a bona fide Olympian, bringing home medals in 2000 and 2004. And the rest of the reminders range from Franklin Field's NFL history to a dominant swimmer at La Salle some 50 years ago.
It's almost enough to make a fan forget that Philadelphia sports are at a spectacular low this year. Almost.
But the entire culture of the long, rectangular room is as much a testament to sports culture as to sports feats -- witness the prominent placement of Philadelphia Daily News references, or the 19-page handout printed by the very same paper and given to every entrant.
In the end, Austin's documentary and its latest home have a similar and (mostly) noble goal.
"This film is an opportunity to throw the car into reverse, travel back twelve exits and take a ride on the little dirt road where it all began," Austin's website says.
Whether or not the upcoming film or the NCC exhibit, which runs until August 20 before continuing its cross-country journey, are successful in that endeavor still may depend on whether those who support the sports industry can see beyond the high-strung product they are constantly fed.
