A FRONT ROW VIEW: Penn is finally the media darling

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Consider it official. The Penn Quakers are now nationally media darlings. That much is for sure after the Quakers' titanic victory over Nebraska last night here at Nassau Coliseum. Penn has accomplished something the previous media darling from the Ivy League, Princeton, hadn't done in its last four trips to the Big Dance -- win. Sorry, Petey. There's a new force in the nation. Just ask CBS's James Brown. The Harvard alum and play-by-play man tried to return to his Ivy roots by shooting the breeze with me before the game last night. But his lack of knowledge showed when he asked if the Crimson still plays in Briggs Athletic Center. Hey JB, it's only been there for about 70 years. Anyway, the CBS stud didn't seem convinced the Quakers had a chance until Penn ran off a 15-4 spurt to start the game. That definitely made him a believer. Every timeout consisted of JB turning around to us and giving a look like "Can you believe this is happening? Wow." JB also asked us what downtown Philadelphia is affectionately known as. The answer, of course, is Center City. The bet here is CBS will adopt the Quakers as the new stars in the Big Dance. · CBS was not the only media interested in the Quakers' upset. At any one time after the official press conference, no less than four television cameras from around the Philadelphia area were tailing the likes of Fran Dunphy, Barry Pierce, Jerome Allen and super-center Eric Moore. Interest was not limited to the local level, though. About 75 scribes from all over the country made an appearance to hear the sage words of the new superstar of the hoops' coaching ranks -- Fran Dunphy. That number is even more than showed up for Connecticut's game earlier in the day, and that's some accomplishment, considering every small-city paper in the entire state of Connecticut had at least two representatives here to cover the Huskies. I don't know if that means the Quakers are hot or Connecticut is a pretty damn small state. · The mood at Nassau Coliseum was, well, simply Palestra-riffic (call Webster's for that word). Even though hundreds upon hundreds of Penn fans lost out in the ticket office's lottery, it seemed like any Quaker who wanted tickets was able to get them. Guess the scalpers made out big. The large numbers of Penn faithful made up for the fact every Penn student who got tickets through the lottery was supposed to be seated at least eight sections away from anyone they knew. Pretty poor job on ticket distribution. What was even wierder was the fact every other school except Penn managed to fill at least one section full of students on the floor. What gives? Looks like Penn ticket manager Peggy Kowalski has a lot of work to do to satisfy the students in time for next year's subregional. · Okay, now don't get me wrong, I like the Quaker as a mascot as much as any other Penn fan. But the costume, or lack thereof, has to go. The rule should be that you can't be a mascot unless you have a big plastic head on you. Now, the Cornhusker's head was just of a regular guy with a Cowboy hat, but it was big and it was plastic. Score one for Nebraska there. Would it be difficult to fashion a huge, plastic Ben Franklin face for the Quaker to wear? Come on, that way not only would Penn's basketball team gain national respect, but more importantly, the mascot would finally be accepted with all the other mascots. The Quaker must get a lot of taunts. Note to Quaker fans: Florida has a cool-looking Gator with an alligator head (yes, its plastic). Only annoying thing there is he thinks he is Jaws, flapping his hands up and down at the opposition. He would probably eat the Quaker alive. Of course, that wouldn't happen if the Quaker was protected with a plastic head. · And from the in case you missed it department: Best chant overheard last night: "Start the Tractor," to Nebraska, when a Penn victory was all but assured. Best sign: Someone in the band had a "Quakers Can't Be Stopped)" sign. Best sign (not kissing up to CBS): Again to the band, which had "Hey Nebraska, prepare to receive an Ivy League education." Speaking of the band, they were outfitted in brand-new, crimson shirts with "Go Quakers" written across the front. Oh by the way, the band, which has received criticism right here in this column earlier in the year for not knowing when to play "Rock and Roll Part II," played it at a great time last night. The truth is, though, the Quakers played so well that every time out was grounds for celebration. Oh by the way, for all of you who watched the game at Cavs last night, get off your butt and get over here for tomorrow's game. It'll be awesome, baby. Dan Feldman is a College senior from Dallas, Texas, and former Sports Editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian.

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