Saturday roundtable: R-E-S-P-E-C-T
Mother nature is throwing a curveball our way this weekend with a freak October snow storm. It looks like Providence R.I. will stay snow-free until Penn and Brown finish playing today, but it could make for a fun bus ride home. This week's matchup with 5-1 Brown has some wondering if the Quakers are actually an underdog for the first time in a while. Don't tell the Red and Blue that. The team feels it's not getting the respect it deserves. So I asked my panel, why?
Kevin Esteves: I think it's simple. The Quakers were a little shaky to start off the season (see: Lafayette) and have continued to have trouble with Ivy teams they should have handled easily. The fact that the Red and Blue could dig out those wins against Dartmouth, Columbia and Yale in crunch time says much about their poise, but you can't rely on a steady diet of comebacks each week. That's probably where some of the disrespect comes — just a discounting of their wins so far. That said, Penn has been improving each week, so they seem to be on the right trajectory. They're also the two-time defending champs, which should always merit respect.
Brian Kotloff: They do get the respect they deserve. But where else are you going to find added motivation at this point? By pointing that out to his players, Al Bagnoli pushes them not just to play for history, but to play for pride, which is the ultimate motivation. And think about this from the perspective of the rest of the league. Of course they respect Penn — they've won 15 titles and haven't lost a game in the past two-plus years. In order to beat the champs however, they have to believe they can beat the champs first. It's all just mind games that really don't matter much because once both teams step on the field, it's mostly about execution.
Calder Silcox: I remember going to football media day before the 2010 season and hearing the same thing from the players and coach Al Bagnoli. The team had just been picked to finish second behind Harvard (despite returning a solid core of players). It was the type of thing they hung up in the locker room to remind them every day — the motivation Brian mentions. But I think if you look around the league (both players and media) the general consensus would be that Penn is the favorite week in and week out. The only thing that would tip this week in Brown's favor is homefield advantage.
Megan Soisson: As 2-time defending champs with 18 straight Ivy wins under their belt, the Quakers get plenty of respect. But as a 3-2 football team in 2011, I understand why this group may not get as much respect as they may deserve. But are they asking for it? They know every team is out to get them, they know every team despises them. It's for good reason. In the last 3 years of Penn's reign, lots of games have been made by close calls — the tables could have been turned, and the Quakers still wouldn't get much respect. At least now they deserve it.
Bradford Blackmon: I can't recall a single big game where Penn was predicted to win in my four years as a player. Never predicted to win the Ivy League, even as defending champions. The reason for this is pretty simple: they just simply don't want Penn to be good. The other Ivies would prefer to be able to say Penn's not a good team. They don't like that our coach wins, they don't like that the players celebrate and have fun on the field while winning, they don't like that our assistant coaches are the best in the league. But the best part about Penn never getting the credit they deserve is WE DON'T CARE. That's what makes it fun to play for Penn, proving people wrong and having fun doing it. Hopefully there will be more of the same for the rest of the year.
You can follow our liveblog right here on The Buzz, starting just before kickoff at 12:30 p.m.
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