34th Street Magazine's "Toast" is a semi-weekly newsletter with the latest on Penn's campus culture and arts scene. Delivered Monday-Wednesday-Friday.
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Towards the end of spring break, the basketball teams -- and respective fan bases -- from Harvard and Yale gathered at the Palestra for the Ivy League's one game playoff.
Exactly one year ago today, Penn baseball stood tied atop the Lou Gehrig Division heading into a four-game series against Columbia.
Some outside the program viewed their success as unexpected, shocking even.
The number 20 was plastered all over the Palestra Tuesday afternoon for the introductory press conference of new basketball coach Steve Donahue.
It was proudly emblazoned on the Penn jersey that adorned the podium on the dais.
There’s no place like home.
Penn basketball has been desperately searching for a victory for exactly a month now, losing five straight games on the road with only a brief return to the Palestra in mid-February.
Penn women’s lacrosse has been perched atop the Ivy League throne for so long that it’s the only view any player on the current roster has known in her collegiate career.
It’s mindboggling to look at the Quakers’ continued string of success.
Well, this is getting pretty familiar.
On a snowy Boston night at a sold-out Lavietes Pavillion, the Quakers were handed another humbling loss by Harvard, a 69-46 defeat that emphasized just how far Penn is from the Ancient Eight’s top tier.
It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Quakers, with each defeat coming by at least 16 points.
It means that with the game on the line and Alex Mitola in possession of the ball, it wasn’t Dartmouth celebrating a win: It was Penn and that’s something to hang your hat on, at least for one day.
Take a step back into the world of 1990’s rap, if you will, and pause to consider Penn coach Jerome Allen surveying the state of his team with a withering look somewhat akin to the gaze of the Nurse Ratched figure in Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady” video.
“I don’t really know where we’re at,” he said when asked to describe his team’s progress following last night’s 82-67 loss to La Salle.
About a half-hour before one of Penn basketball’s typical Tuesday evening practices, assistant coach Ira Bowman was counting out Greg Louis — literally.
When was the last time you heard of a Penn athlete who achieved national celebrity status? For most current Penn students, the answer to this question is probably “never.” This is not necessarily a problem of student apathy towards Penn athletics, however, but rather a reflection of Penn’s priorities as a university.
This season, the two schools will tip off for the 231st and 232nd time in the historic matchup on dates that are inconvenient for the majority of Penn’s student body. But that is this year. It absolutely shouldn’t become a trend, especially if you want students to be engaged with the best of Penn traditions.