PENN
Franklin Field is a story of contrasts, pluses and minuses, comfort and schlep.
The venue's best calling card is that it oozes history. Fans my age and older, (I'm 52), can't visit Franklin Field without thinking of how it was also the home of the Philadelphia Eagles for decades and hosted one of the best NFL championship games of all time in 1960.
The fact that it's the oldest double-decker stadium in America is also top of mind, and REALLY comes in handy in bad weather. Actually, it's the best inclement weather venue in the Ivies with a multitude of seats protected from the rain or snow at all times.
"Majestic" is another word I'd use for Franklin Field, and it's status as part of the Philadelphia skyline is unique in the Ancient Eight.
Of course. its size is one of those trade-offs. It's great to be in a stadium that really is impressive with a 50,000+ seat capacity. But even during the best-attended Penn games, there are too many empty seats to forget the fact that Ivy football has lost so much of its fan base.
Most of the seats are the usual aluminum bleachers, but there are some nice chairback seats on the home side. During some part of the game, it's worth checking out the action from the second deck.
Franklin Field is the most centrally located football stadium in the Ivies, as it is literally walkable from the center of the action in Philadelphia. Despite its rise in crime in recent years, the city itself has become a vigilant walker's paradise with an expanding restaurant scene that is really hard to beat, (and I say that as a New Yorker).
You can even get to Franklin Field by taking Amtrak and then making a not-to-long walk to the stadium. I did it once and don't remember getting tired. Also try to take a walk on campus, which is right next to Franklin Field.
Tailgating and food options at Franklin Field are another mixed bag. If you get to the game early enough, good tailgating can be had if you park at the open-air top level of the main parking garage next to the stadium. Otherwise, you're pretty much out of luck as you might expect in such an urban setting.
Food inside the stadium all depends on where you look. The road side concessions are few and far between, but the options on the home side are well worth the walk over to that side before the game and at halftime.
For the few of you who might care, the "press box" situation at Franklin Field is really just a scaffolding in the open air elements. The one game I broadcast there did NOT include the free halftime snack. Oh well, no one should pity me.
I recommend making your visit to a Penn football game as much of a weekend affair as you can. Early in the season, try to also check out a Phillies game. (Eagles games are a little rough for the uninitiated, but if you can handle the intensity and frequent violence in the stands, go for it). At the very least, make sure to sample some of those restaurants. Philly is really a foodie town now.
Enjoy.
3 comments:
Especially for The Game-- the wind whips off the Charles-- causing havoc for kickers and fans alike (BUNDLE UP!!). at 38,000 the stadium is just the right size for The Game-- full and loud but not too small. Historically important-- the width of the American football field was dictated by the size of the field that could fit in Harvard Stadium. Di agree about tailgating-- Yale is better, as is PTon.
Franklin Field was the first field among the Ancient Eight to receive artificial turf. We all wondered if hash marks were painted on I95 and we played there, it would have been softer. We all still have scars from the “burns” we got from skidding on that turf. By the time Schoellkopf Field became the second field to get an artificial surface, people figured out how to added padding underneath it. Plus, the trainers figured out we needed to wear knee pads and elbow pads. The other good news, it worked out that we never had to play away at both venues in the same year.
Frosh Soccer, away game at Penn, Friday night, Franklin Field. Under the lights. !972.
So what if it was liking playing on somebody's rec room basement floor, so what it there was the occasional turf "bubble", and you could see where the patch didn't quite match the original color.
Still pretty dang exciting atmosphere for a bunch of 18 year olds.
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