The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
A history lesson: The legendary Palestra
01.19.2007 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA -- It's a simple plaque with a strong message.
"To win the game is great.
To play the game is greater.
But to love the game is greatest of all."
The plaque is located just to the right of the entrance to section 119 after you enter the main ticket lobby at The Palestra. It simply could not have a better home.
When the Texas coaching staff planned this trip to Philadelphia for Saturday's game (12:30 p.m. CT on CBS-TV) against Villanova, the group did what it always does. If there is a way to incorporate some measure of culture or sightseeing for the players into the travel itinerary, find a way to make it happen.
Consider the mission accomplished on Friday.
The Horns stepped off their team bus a little before noon on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. They made the short walk next to historic Franklin Field, where the Penn Relays are held each spring, back to a large brick rectangular building. When they opened the doors to the legendary gym that was built in 1926, each player became part of the history of this unique building.
Longtime sportswriter Dick "Hoops" Weiss simply refers to The Palestra as a "cathedral." In 1939, the gym played host to the first-ever NCAA Tournament. Back then the tourney only consisted of eight teams.
In its 80 years of existence, The Palestra has hosted more college basketball games, more NCAA Tournament games, more visiting teams and more spectators of college basketball than any other arena in the world. Since 1955 it also has served as the home of the Big 5, the name given to the five Division I athletic colleges in Philadelphia: Penn, Temple, Villanova, LaSalle and St. Joseph's.
The Longhorns were inside The Palestra for about two hours on Friday, long enough to get their work done on the court in preparation for Saturday's game. But it also gave the team and staff enough time to take in the entire building.
All four hallways on the concourse are lined with murals and a museum-type exhibit (done in 2000). This "part museum, part hall of fame" includes the greatest moments of Philadelphia basketball, Penn basketball, high school basketball, Big 5 basketball and displays of great players and coaches who have competed at The Palestra. The list is a who's who of basketball: Wilt Chamberlin, Julius Erving, Jerry West, Kobe Bryant, Rasheed Wallace and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe, to name just a few players.
When the practice was over and the team loaded the bus to head out for part two of their Philadelphia culture lesson -- lunch at famed Jim's Steaks, home of some of the best Philly cheese steaks -- coach Rick Barnes summed the experience up best.
"Today was like going back in time," Barnes said with a smile.
The plaque is right where it should be.
