In 2008 Barack  Obama was elected president for the first time, Michael Phelps won eight gold medals in Beijing, Heath Ledger died, Eliot Spitzer resigned over a prostitution scandal and No Country for Old Men won best picture at the Oscars.  And Penn sprint football beat Army.

It is commonplace for athletes to use the metaphor of brotherhood or sisterhood when describing the nature of their relationship with teammates.

If Penn football hosts a game under the lights and nobody is there to see it, does it really happen?

Two Penn freshman – football’s Christian Pearson and women’s soccer’s Sasha Stevens – were named the Ivy League’s Rookie of the Week in their respective sports Monday.

In addition to the branding overhaul of the University, Grace Calhoun is quietly upgrading – no, revolutionizing – what it means to practice for Penn Athletics.

Channeling the lyrics of rock legend Tom Petty, Penn’s cross country is certainly “running down a dream” this season.

On to the next. Now that the dust has cleared, there’s not much more to say about Penn football’s win on Saturday.

So that's what the sprint in sprint football stands for.

Still Columbia. As the 2015 season has developed and Columbia football has attempted to regain any semblance of dignity after two consecutive winless seasons, I've frequently used the above phrase to describe the product the Lions have put on the field in five games. Although not inherently connected to what we've seen from Columbia in years past, there are certain aspects of the Light Blue's play that reminds us that this team went 0-for-its last 24 until its win over Wagner on Oct.

Even if you were at yesterday’s game supporting the Big Green, you felt the disappointment and saw the frustration on the faces of Penn men’s soccer after 88 solid minutes of play without a score on either side ultimately gave way to a 1-0 Red and Blue defeat.

Penn’s prospects are doubling

Penn football scored early and often in its reunion with former head coach Al Bagnoli, drubbing Columbia 42-7. The win is the Quaker’s nineteenth consecutive victory over the Lions.

Soccer is without doubt the world’s sport. Outside the United States, the majority of athletes grow up playing soccer at some point in their lives.

Penn cross country has just one meet left — the Princeton Invitational — before championship season begins, leaving little time for improvement as the men’s and women’s squads search for strength in numbers heading into nationals. The men and women both put on similar performances at their most recent meet, the prestigious Notre Dame Invitational.

In the weeks leading up to Penn football’s upcoming matchup against Columbia, the game has been framed in countless ways. One of the first winnable games of the season for the Quakers.

To improve is to change. To perfect is to change often.

A lapse in concentration and a few wasted opportunities.