Matt Meltzer: Extend the rivalry beyond basketball

Since 1956, 51 Ivy League men's basketball championships have been awarded, and Penn and Princeton have combined to take home at least a share of 48 of them.

That history, along with geographic proximity, has fueled a great basketball rivalry.

But it is about time the Tigers and Quakers had a real rivalry that went past the basketball court.

Even though Princeton is 0-4 in conference play this year, next Tuesday's game will be just as intense as always. The crowd will still show up. After all, last year Princeton drew 7,802 fans to the Palestra on a Tuesday night - and to put that in perspective, the Quakers averaged a crowd of 4,785 against the other six Ivy opponents on Fridays and Saturdays.

Likewise, Princeton drew 3,633 fans to New Jersey for the Penn game, while they averaged 2,858 per game against other Ivy teams.

Penn and Princeton have produced incredible games on the hardwood, including last year's stunning 60-59 loss at Jadwin Gymnasium and 2005's miracle win at the Palestra.

The basketball rivalry is not to be debated. However, in order for it to be anything more, Princeton needs to consider Penn as a true rival.

Currently, Princeton is wrapped up in despising Harvard and Yale. Unfortunately for the Tigers fans, Harvard and Yale already have a full-fledged blood feud and they could largely care less about Princeton.

Princeton students are really depriving themselves of a great opportunity by acting as the Ivy hussy and flirting with schools that want no part of a rivalry with them. Penn, while not desperate, is waiting for the chance to hiss and cuss at the scholars from Old Nassau.

Princeton needs to stop looking at Penn as a little brother that is beneath them.

In a November Daily Princetonian column, senior Todd Ebe listed the top ten rules for Princeton sports fans. His No. 3 rule: "Tell everyone you don't care about Penn, but take immense pride in our superiority." He concluded his point by stating, "There's no other team we - generally - take more pride in beating, and hate more to lose against.

"Just don't tell anyone."

Well, that is just silly. If you take pride in beating Penn, show it. If Princeton indulges itself in this rivalry, it allows the Quakers to do the same. By admitting this is a real rivalry, Princeton would help other sporting events take on a greater intensity.

Penn students are ready to commit. Hundreds took buses up to New Jersey - on an experiment by the Athletic Department - to watch the football game in the fall, and the resulting atmosphere made for a more enjoyable experience. And Princeton students care as well - I remember hundreds of orange-and-black clad fans coming to the de facto championship game for volleyball in 2003.

Penn and Princeton will continue to battle for basketball championships, regardless of the Tigers' recent struggles.

Why not spread the ire to every playing surface and to the rest of campus? It's about time.

Matt Meltzer is a senior political science major from Glen Rock, N.J. His e-mail address is meltzerm@sas.upenn.edu.

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