Silcox | A spectacle at Rupp

As the pregame clock winds down in Lexington, Ky., the lights go dark and the booming P.A. announcer takes over from the hip hop blasting earlier. Welcome to Rupp Arena, “home of the greatest tradition in college basketball,” he says.

That one may be up for debate. As the Quakers and Wildcats squared off there last week, it was a meeting of two teams that can easily call home one of the most iconic settings in the sport.

Opened in 1927, the Palestra has hosted more NCAA basketball games than any arena. Rupp, on the other hand, holds more fans than any other.

At Rupp, the spotlights come out and player introductions are an event to behold, complete with indoor fireworks. At the Palestra, it’s a quieter affair: the lights stay on, and the only explosions are the chest bumps between Tyler Bernardini and the rest of the starting five.

On 33rd Street, the concourse is a museum to the history of Philadelphia’s basketball tradition. But on Vine Street in Lexington, the concourse is a mall, complete with a Hyatt hotel. You don’t even have to leave the building to take in a game.

There’s no need to harp on the fact that Big Blue Nation nearly filled the 23,500-seat Rupp — over winter break, no less — while attendance at the significantly smaller Palestra is rarely something to write home about.

First, the home team was ranked No. 11 in the nation. Second, on a Monday night in Lexington, there’s not much else to do but watch the Wildcats (the bourbon distillery tours only run ‘til 5 p.m.).

But which is best?

The answer, which many recruits and non-athletes alike are facing, is to each his own.

For those who want the excitement and chaos of a massive state school, Kentucky doesn’t get much better. Students were lined up to get last-minute tickets an hour before the box office even opened. The celebrity of John Wall is a testament to the glitz and glamour of the Kentucky basketball program.

Even without the fireworks, the crowd can erupt into a deafening roar at a moment’s notice.

But for those with a soft spot for tradition, not many places can compete with the Palestra. The arena is literally frozen in time. Even the floor, when it was finally replaced after forty long years of use, was turned into keepsakes — cuff links, bottle openers and pens — for the Penn faithful to fondly remember where they spent wintry February evenings.

It’s a personal preference. And while I sampled the bourbon, I still prefer to drink a highball.

CALDER SILCOX is a junior science, technology and society major from Washington, D.C., and is Senior Sports Editor-elect of The Daily Pennsylvanian. His e-mail address is silcox@theDP.com.

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