Spring Break
College football played at historic venue just minutes from Drexel
Shawn Gauby
Issue date: 10/26/07 Section: Sports
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As a fan of Drexel athletics as well as Philadelphia professional sports, I follow a good number of teams, but one sport that is often ignored is college football. I had never been to a college football game in my life before attending the Penn vs. Yale game Oct. 20 at Franklin Field.
The Quakers (2-3, 1-1 Ivy) had been struggling this season as they lost three straight to open up the season, but they had rebounded winning in the previous two weeks. They would need all that momentum to compete with the Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0). Yale was ranked 16th in the Football Championship Subdivision, also known as Division I-AA.
I was at the game just for the experience. Considering that Drexel does not have a football team and the Quakers play just four blocks south of campus, I thought many Drexel students would make the hike to 33rd and South Street. To my surprise, I was probably the only Drexel student in attendance.
That is a shame. Franklin Field is a museum of college sport. If the Palestra is the cathedral of college hoops, then Franklin Field is the sanctuary for football. The arena was erected in 1895 to accommodate the Penn Relays, and it featured a lot of firsts. Franklin Field was the first to have a scoreboard in 1895, and it is the oldest stadium still in operation that hosts football. In 1925, the stadium was renovated and it was one of the first to incorporate a second tier.
If nothing else, Franklin Field has the feel of an old-time football experience. There are no modern amenities: no huge Jumbotron, no elevators, and more than 95 percent of the seats are bleachers. In an age of futuristic stadiums that kind of look old and are supposed to feel old, Franklin Field can actually make you forget we live in 2007. It even has an academic building, Weightman Hall, embedded into the arena itself.
The University has traditions that add to the feel of the event. Before the game, the band lines up on the field to form the word "Penn" and an old man of at least 80 years starts all of the chants for the Penn student section.
The Quakers (2-3, 1-1 Ivy) had been struggling this season as they lost three straight to open up the season, but they had rebounded winning in the previous two weeks. They would need all that momentum to compete with the Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0). Yale was ranked 16th in the Football Championship Subdivision, also known as Division I-AA.
I was at the game just for the experience. Considering that Drexel does not have a football team and the Quakers play just four blocks south of campus, I thought many Drexel students would make the hike to 33rd and South Street. To my surprise, I was probably the only Drexel student in attendance.
That is a shame. Franklin Field is a museum of college sport. If the Palestra is the cathedral of college hoops, then Franklin Field is the sanctuary for football. The arena was erected in 1895 to accommodate the Penn Relays, and it featured a lot of firsts. Franklin Field was the first to have a scoreboard in 1895, and it is the oldest stadium still in operation that hosts football. In 1925, the stadium was renovated and it was one of the first to incorporate a second tier.
If nothing else, Franklin Field has the feel of an old-time football experience. There are no modern amenities: no huge Jumbotron, no elevators, and more than 95 percent of the seats are bleachers. In an age of futuristic stadiums that kind of look old and are supposed to feel old, Franklin Field can actually make you forget we live in 2007. It even has an academic building, Weightman Hall, embedded into the arena itself.
The University has traditions that add to the feel of the event. Before the game, the band lines up on the field to form the word "Penn" and an old man of at least 80 years starts all of the chants for the Penn student section.
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