By BRENDAN F. QUINN, The Bulletin

Philadelphia — Before this party really takes shape, let’s look deeper.

Before over 70,000 fans flock to the red bricks of Franklin Field on Friday and Saturday, before the street vendors fill the University City air with the overpowering scent of jerk chicken, before the traffic in West Philly becomes an epic calamity, before the Jamaicans turn Penn’s campus into a muddled maze of green and yellow fanfare, before all of that, let’s meet the man with the white beard.

Hutchinson Gym sits sandwiched between the cathedral known as the Palestra and the coliseum known as Franklin Field.  To the right of Hutchinson’s front door, a nondescript sign reads: Penn Relays Office.  Tucked deep in the stern of the building, Dave Johnson’s domain bustles. 

Phones are ringing.  Papers are rustling.  Voices are chattering.