Owls and the power of the people

Philly fans are a unique breed - passionately loyal to their teams and passionately hostile to their opponents. They are notorious for their fervor and fanaticism. Their sports opinions and obsessions bordering on obnoxious – and oftentimes not just bordering…but running head long into the land of stark raving zeal.

 My son, Nate, is a student at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa.

I live in Washington, DC so he’s just a couple of hours away and one Saturday we’d planned a father-son day together. Our plan was to take in a Temple basketball game, dinner afterwards, a walk around campus before I headed back home.

Truth of it is that things in DC have been hard recently. Lots of tragedies – nearly all of them man made. People losing their jobs, and livelihoods. Folks I care about being told by political leaders that their life’s work – work aimed at making the world a better place, a safer place, and a more just place – didn’t matter much. When things are hard, sometimes you just need a day to yourself, and on this day, I just wanted to see my oldest son, take in some college basketball and eat a hot dog.

Temple University was started in the 1880’s by a minister – Russell Conwell - who began providing night classes and tutoring for his working class neighbors. It’s why their mascot is the Owl, a sign of respect to those first students who worked all day, but arrived at the minister’s church in the evening in an attempt to better their lives and the lives of their families, and their neighbors.

The Temple Basketball Team plays at the Liacourus Center on Broad St. in the heart of North Philly – just blocks from the site of those first nighttime tutoring sessions. Nate and I arrived at the arena just ahead of tip off. The Temple Owls taking on the mighty Pirates from Eastern Carolina. We found our seats and then got down to business cheering on the Owls along with the other students and alum that were sitting in our section.  We had decent seats just behind the benches.

Temple wasn’t playing well in the first half and at halftime they were down bad. The second half though was a wild one and with 2 minutes to go, Temple’s down by 5 but making a run. And it’s getting intense on the court and off. The Temple fans - and a group of students in particular - were doing their best to cheer on the Owls, and letting the Pirate fans know that Temple was about to win this one; in ways only the Philly faithful can communicate. The game was getting tight, and the fans were getting after it.

In any other city, the raucous shouts, name calling, protests, and cheers may have been considered out of hand, or inappropriate, but in Philadelphia, it was just a Saturday afternoon.  The emotional temperature in the stands is getting turned up and before long the Arena Security Guards came down and started talking with the group of Temple Students. They were yelling, and carrying on. It looked like they were going toss the students out, and force them to leave the arena and miss what was shaping up to be an amazing finish to the game.

But, then the Temple alum and other fans began standing up for the students, and voicing their displeasure. They stood to their feet… “Let the fans be the fans!” they shouted. “Everybody’s ok”. “Leave the kids alone”. They even started shouting to the Eastern Carolina fans a few sections over, “Yall are ok!” “Relax”.

 After a few rounds of this back and forth – the Temple alum trying to reason with the Security Guards, trying to protect the students, trying to stop what seemed was coming - finally the Security Guard looked at the sea of Temple Red and White and sort of shrugged and walked back up the steps to concourse. Leaving the students where they were, in the stands. So they could continuing  cheering on their classmates as they battled it out with Pirates on the court.

 And the Temple Fans erupted - with cheers, and shouts, and applause, and the victorious hooty hoots of the Temple Owl. 

I leaned over to Nate and said, “Nate, never underestimate the power of the people”.

Temple went on to win in overtime.

That night I drove home, made my way back to DC. Challenged by the 140 year witness of minister Russell Conwell. And encouraged with the reminder that Owls – those that work to better themselves and others around them – can still beat Pirates. Even if it takes longer than it should.