The Palestra sold out 8,722 seats despite both Penn and St. Joe's under-.500 winning percentages before the game. The Palestra sold out 8,722 seats despite both Penn and St. Joe's under-.500 winning percentages before the game.Josh Callahan, Commentary The game between Penn and St. Joseph's featured two sub-.500 teams not likely to make the NCAA tournament in a meaningless mid-season non-conference game. A noisy, sellout crowd of 8,722 packed the Palestra for every second of heart-stopping basketball. Penn junior Paul Romanczuk was no doubt disappointed that his game-long struggles from the foul line left the Quakers three points short of victory, but by now he has hopefully realized that it really doesn't matter. Losing a wild Big 5 City-Series game by two is a lot more fun for the fans than winning by 20. It wasn't the result that mattered necessarily, but the renewal of a thrilling style of basketball nearly lost when former Villanova coach Rollie Massimino nearly broke up the Big 5 for good. Hawks coach Phil Martelli said he doubted any other city in the country could have filled the arena for such a game. That's debatable, or at least impossible to prove, but his point was right on. The Big 5 provides the best basketball of the season. The Ivy League may get Penn into the 'Big Dance', but summer bragging rights for the players are won on emotional nights like Saturday. Somehow, over the course of time, the true meaning of nail-biting two-point victory on the Palestra floor almost lost its meaning. It is unfortunate that the City-Series has been reduced from a full round-robin to just five official games (four additional games are scheduled between city rivals this year, including tonight's matchup at the Palestra between St. Joe's and Temple, but will not count towards official Big 5 standings). But enjoying Saturday's game is a better protest than complaining about the demise of the round-robin. Martelli said he didn't even think his young players understood what it meant to play a Big 5 game in the Palestra. That is nothing short of sad. History of the city rivalries play as much a part of the game as the actually athletic competition does. The fans, noise and atmosphere undoubtedly play a role in the outcome. Some sort of quiz should be required of players before they are allowed on the court to compete in a Big 5 game. A quick rundown in case anyone gets the chance to suit up: Although the five city teams had been playing informally for decades, the Big 5 was not officially formed until 1954. For 30 years, the city teams played a year-long round robin tournament, with all the games played in the Palestra, many of them as double-headers. In 1986 the teams agreed to move the games out of the Palestra and into their own home gyms, and in 1991 the league was gutted further when the series was reduced from four to two official games per team. Every Big 5 school has made the Final Four. In 1971 Villanova beat Penn 90-47 in an all-city NCAA Eastern Regional Final. Both teams were on the same flight home. If Martelli's bunch really doesn't understand the Big 5, he should have skipped the half-time pep talk garbage and kept them on the court to watch the induction of seven new members to the Big 5 Hall of Fame. It would have been an easy lesson on why to win the game. The Hawks would have watched their own Bob Lojewski, who made all-city three times and scored 10 or more points in more than 75 percent of his games, enter the Hall of Fame. They would have also seen Penn's Bob Mlkvy, a two-time all-city player, walk out with his brother, who was a star at Temple, and Penn Athletic Director Steve Bilsky, himself inducted 10 years ago. Now that they have had time to look back on their playing days, these players probably remember the Big 5 games as some of their favorites. Given the opportunity, men's basketball coach Fran Dunphy will talk endlessly about the tradition of Philadelphia basketball, the Big 5 City-Series and the Palestra. Apparently, Quakers guard Michael Jordan hasn't been listening. After the game, Jordan, a Philadelphia native, slumped in his interview chair, said he wasn't sure he was having fun during the game. "The atmosphere was great, the place was rocking," Jordan said. "That's what you want, to go out there and play in front of a crowd like that. I don't know if I had fun or not, I just like being out there in front of all those people." The Hawks' senior forward Duval Simmonds had fun on the court, albeit '90s style, by carrying on conversations (taunting) with the spectators. "When we play we try to have as much fun as possible," Simmonds said. "The whole point is to have fun out there. That includes talking to the crowd." Simmonds and Jordan will both have another opportunity to play in the Palestra against a city rival. Hopefully they will both appreciate the meaning of the court while they are on it. The Philadelphia fans will appreciate being there to see it. Penn lost Saturday night, but in the long run, who cares. The Big 5 remained undefeated.
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