A Look Back at Christmas (Five Months of It)

There hasn't been a home game for more than two  weeks, so no posts in that time. But I thought I'd try something different. The Owls will be  in New York City tomorrow night to match up against Fordham for their first game of 2011. Below is  a post from February 2009, when Fordham was a much weaker side than now, and visited the Liacouras Center.
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The oddsmakers are brilliant. The spread for last night's Temple-Fordham game was 26. With just under 7 minutes remaining in the game, the Owls' lead was , yup, you guessed it, 26. And so, for the final 7 minutes, the lead went up and down, never more than 28, nor less than 22.
And, at the end, after Juan Fernandez scored his first points of the game, the Owls beat the spread. The oddsmakers should be our weather forecasters, and the weather forecasters should be our oddsmakers. The world would be a better place.
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For a betting person, 26 points is a lot to be conceding. I would have taken the points (as would have everyone polled in last night's informal survey in Section 114 of the Liacouras Center). With seven minutes remaining in the first half, the score was tied at 18. The Owls were sloppy and playing without any intensity. At that point, a win of any margin was in doubt. Fordham went the next six minutes without a basket, and the Owls led at half-time by 11.
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Intermission brought out two pairs of salsa dancers (among the best halftime entertainment this season) and a pitch from the head of Temple's Transplant Service to be an organ donor (no, February is not National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Month , it's April, but hey, it's not likely that there will be nearly 4000 fans in the Liacouras Center stands in April). Come to think of it, it's not likely that there would be 3800 fans in attendance for a Wednesday night game against a Fordham team with 20 losses already on their record - the official attendance was 3837, but there couldn't have been more than 2500 fans in the stands.
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The Owls' play was considerably better in the second half. All in all, a decent effort (15 assists to 10 turnovers), balanced scoring, good shooting (50% from the field, although Christmas hasn't regained his stroke) and tight defense.
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In my office, I have an Al Shrier bobblehead (Al Shrier has served the athletic program at Temple in a PR capacity for more than 50 years).
This Sunday, if I'm among the first 3000 fans (I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't 3000 fans in attendance) I'll add a Dionte Christmas bobblehead to my collection (hey, I know it's not Cole Hamels, but I have to give Temple credit for their Five Months of Christmas campaign, it's clever and well-executed.)
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We heard the winning 50-50 raffle ticket announced last night. Once again, we were advised by the student-athlete sellers, (it was the men's soccer team last night, so of course we were full supporters) to listen for the announcement at halftime. We know better. We listened carefully during the first time out AFTER intermission. No announcement. But our patience and attentiveness was rewarded during the next timeout. We missed the winning number by TWO.
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Temple's record now stands at 16 up, and 9 down. Five games left in the regular season. Before last night's game, Temple was 34th in the RPI rankings. That is their best ranking in more than 5 years. An at-large bid to March Madness remains a possibility, but not a distinct one. 22 wins (including the A10 tournament) is what it will take (I believe) to earn a bid, if the Owls do not win the Atlantic 10 conference tournament.
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For a 17-year old just out of high school and living in a foreign country, Juan Fernandez handles himself with lots of poise on the court. And off it as well, as we learned last night at the post-game spot (St. Stephen Green, 17th and Green) at which we had gathered for some gustatory delights. We had a good meal there recently, and although the service was at best uneven, we thought we would give it another chance (it's but five minutes from the Liacouras Center, and parking is relatively easy). Well, the food was good, but the kitchen was very slow in getting our orders out ( it seems to us that the kitchen gets overwhelmed easily), and our server not especially attentive. But she did notice our Temple apparel, and proudly noted to us that 1) she's a Temple student and 2) there's a Temple basketball player in our midst.
Sure enough, it was Juan Fernandez (with a soft drink in front of him), and on our way out, we stopped by his table to convey our wishes for a successful academic and playing career at Temple. He and his dining companions seemed very appreciative of our gesture. I'd like to think that years from now, he'll look back on his early days in the US (and at Temple) and recall the advice and encouragement he received from some fans after a game at a bar long forgotten.