Chances are Arthur Penny will have a pregame pep talk firmly in mind Tuesday when his No. 2-ranked Young girls` basketball team meets No. 1 Marshall on the Commandos` floor. Chances are, if he so chooses, he can keep that speech in his pocket.
The Dolphins will hear plenty of pep talks without Penny ever opening his mouth. They`ll hear pep talks from senior center Robin Garrett`s mother, Hattie. They`ll hear it from dozens of their classmates who will travel down Adams Street and spend a dollar to see the game.
They`ll hear it from themselves, too. Despite owning two Mayor`s tournament championships with victories over Marshall in the last three years, the Dolphins have never defeated Marshall in either Public League Red-West or postseason play. That string of losses includes a 65-59 Marshall victory last month at Young.
”It isn`t so much that it`s Marshall-Young, I like to support my daughter,” Hattie Garrett said. ”But we do get excited when we play Marshall. The rivalry is there. I think it`s a healthy rivalry. The myth has been destroyed that Marshall`s unbeatable.”
Hattie gets so worked up, she sometimes gives away more popcorn than she sells at the concessions stand. Her daughter gets so excited, she sometimes spends her pregame moments joining her mother among the candy bars and coffee. ”My daughter and I were both basket cases during the Christmas (Mayor`s) tournament,” said Hattie, who usually arrives at the games with Robin`s grandfather, and assorted aunts, uncles and cousins. ”I get sort of nervous when I look at the girls and gauge where they are. When I didn`t give a pregame talk, the girls said `Mrs. Garrett really has to be there.` ”
There was a time when Marshall versus anybody offered nothing but a blowout. Now Marshall-Young games usually rank among the best the sport has to offer.
”Rivalry`s good for the sport,” said Marshall coach Dorothy Gaters, who has coached the Commandos to nine straight Public League championships, two Class AA state championships and 301 victories over the past 10 years. ”It`s probably not too far in the future that we`ll have very competitive games in all the city. The enthusiasm is good for the sport.
”We have games where there isn`t anybody there but an echo. I like to see people come out and support us. Yes, it does matter to the girls. We might play a little harder, get more done. We`re used to it though. We`re past complaining.”
”The rivalry has grown out of the competition. There`s nothing negative to say about it,” said Penny. ”People are beginning to follow us. They really follow Marshall because Dorothy wins. We`re creeping up there. We win one a year. I figure we`re catching up. We`ll be there.”
Marshall senior Sheryl Porter has played in front of large crowds. She has played in front of many more empty bleachers. The game is the thing.
”Sometimes a crowd really gets me into it, but I try to block it out because if I pay attention to the crowd I`m not in the game,” said Porter.
”But when the crowd cheers, it does fire everybody up.”
In recent years, one or two Chicago schools have risen near Marshall`s level and have handed the Commandos a regular-season defeat or two. But no one has come close when the city finals roll around. Porter hopes to prove that one more time.
”We have something to prove to Young. They`re singing Downstate (state tournament) songs already,” Porter said. ”When we play them, we as a team feel like we have something to show them.”
