The Penn basketball season does not officially start until Friday, when the men participate in the BCA Invitational, but for the hundreds of students who lined up in the Palestra this weekend, the season is already under way.
"The Line," the annual Red and Blue tradition in which basketball fans claim their season tickets, kicked off the basketball year with a weekend of festivities. Many fans expressed their excitement for the upcoming season of Quakers hoops.
"I'm a pretty big basketball fan, so I want to get a good seat and support the team," freshman Austin Paul said. "It's all about coming together as a school and supporting athletics."
The event began at 5:30 p.m. Friday night, when participants of The Line checked in at the Palestra. Fans then amused themselves over the next few hours with paper airplane contests, lemonade pong and flip cup, working on laptops and watching the volleyball match.
The fans rallied behind the volleyball team's victory and carried their enthusiasm over to the moment everyone was waiting for: the basketball team introductions.
Jason Ginsberg, president of the Red and Blue Crew, began the introductions with the women's team. Following their introductions, coach Patrick Knapp encouraged fans to support the women's team as well as the men.
"You students are as loyal as any in the country," Knapp addressed the crowd.
Ginsberg then announced the men's team, whose introductions contained humorous nicknames such as Steve "Sugarlips" Danley and Mike "I think I'll play basketball again" Kach.
Notable absentees from the men's team, though, were seniors Ibrahim "the Franchise" Jaaber and Danley, as well as new head coach Glen Miller.
And those absences were not lost on the students.
"I think it's disappointing on a night celebrating the basketball team that key components of the team aren't here," freshman Ben Yucha said.
Despite the absences, the fans continued to show their spirit throughout the night, even participating in the Wave at the request of assistant coach Chris "Bubba" Sparks.
The highlight of the night for many fans, though, may have been the dodgeball tournament that followed. After the intense tournament, participants eventually piled into their sleeping bags and air mattresses in anticipation of the day of activities that was to follow.
After spending the night inside the Palestra, students were allowed to leave at 8 a.m. in order to regroup for the trip to Princeton to watch the Penn football team take on the Tigers.
It was not until their return to Penn's campus that the students finally received their tickets for the upcoming season.
Ginsberg, who was instrumental in organizing the weekend's activities, was pleased with the progress of the event.
"So far it's going well, the events have been running smoothly," the Red and Blue Crew president said Friday night.
Ginsberg was, however, puzzled at the turnout of the event, noting that organizers distributed more wristbands this year than in the past, yet fewer people seemed to have actually participated.
He encouraged fans who were not able to attend The Line to still support the teams by purchasing tickets at the ticket office during the coming weeks.
