Quakers' Thanksgiving plans

You might have noticed in Tuesday's recap of Penn-Lafayette that the Quakers will remain in Philadelphia over the break to prepare for their matchup with No. 5 Pitt, and even hold practice today on Thanksgiving.

What didn't go into the recap was that tonight the team will head downtown to 1515 Fairmount Ave., a support house for formerly homeless men and women with serious mental illness, where the team will serve a Thanksgiving dinner to residents and then eat together.

Junior captain and campus ambassador Zack Rosen told me this trip would be the first of its kind for the team since he's been around, and he credited coach Jerome Allen and Penn Chaplain Charles Howard with organizing the trip, which he said the Quakers are looking forward to.

I also spoke briefly about it with Allen during practice earlier this week — before the win over Lafayette — and he told me that whether this team wins or loses, he wants to impart bigger lessons on his players, and for them to appreciate the opportunities they have as much as he does.

And I think that whether or not the team wins or loses, that's the kind of person I would like leading the Quakers into the future.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!